that a Babcock-Leighton type solar dynamo cannot operate in this case. Dikpati [*et al.*]{} (2002) considered the contribution of the near-surface shear layer in their simulations (which we have not) and concluded that this near-surface layer contributes only about 1 kG to the total toroidal field production and hence insufficient to drive a large-scale dynamo. Guerrero & de Gouveia Dal Pino (2008) also utilized a near-surface shear layer with radial pumping and found solar-like solutions only under special circumstances; however, given that for this particular case they utilized a local $\alpha$-effect for the latter simulations (with a spatially distributed $\alpha$-effect in the near-surface layer) it is not evident that these simulations are relatable to the Babcock-Leighton solar dynamo concept. The upper layers of the SCZ is highly turbulent and storage and amplification of strong magnetic flux tubes may not be possible in these layers [@park75; @moren83] and therefore this result is not unexpected. While Brandenburg (2005) has conjectured that the near-surface shear layer may be able to power a large-scale dynamo, this remains to be convincingly demonstrated in the context of a Babcock-Leighton dynamo.

In the second scenario with a shallow meridional flow, we allow magnetic flux tubes to buoyantly 