Neutron star oceans: Instability, mixing, and heat transport

Stability of the ocean of magnetic neutron stars is considered. We argued that the ocean is unstable if the temperature varies along the surface. The instability grows on a time scale ∼0.1−100 s depending on the lengthscale of perturbations and generates a weak turbulence. Turbulence can be responsible for mixing between the surface and deep ocean layers and can enhance heat transport in the surface region.