  Numerical calculations of vortex flows in Taylor-Couette systems with counter
rotating cylinders are presented. The full, time dependent Navier-Stokes
equations are solved with a combination of a finite difference and a Galerkin
method. Annular gaps of radius ratio $\eta=0.5$ and of several heights are
simulated. They are closed by nonrotating lids that produce localized Ekman
vortices in their vicinity and that prevent axial phase propagation of spiral
vortices. Existence and spatio temporal properties of rotating defects, of
modulated Ekman vortices, and of the spiral vortex structures in the bulk are
elucidated in quantitative detail.
