Thermohaline instability in anisotropie porous media

The onset of thermohaline convection in a horizontal porous layer is investigated theoretically. The layer is homogeneous, anisotropic, and of infinite horizontal extent. Horizontal isotropy with respect to permeability, thermal diffusivity, and solute diffusivity is assumed. For porous media with thermally insulating solid matrices the stability diagram has the same shape as in the case of isotropy. The critical wave number is constant and equal to that of the one‐component case. For thermally conducting matrices, new features may occur: The locus of the direct mode in the stability diagram may not be a straight line, and the corresponding wave number may be nonconstant. The initiation of salt fingers is studied by linear theory. It seems that the width of salt fingers is influenced by anisotropy in the diffusivities. Anisotropy may or may not favor salt fingers, depending on a dimensionless diffusion parameter D being greater than or less than 1.