Dynamics and longevity of an initially stratified mantle

Details Dynamics and longevity of an initially stratified mantle Dynamics and longevity of an initially stratified mantle

May 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002georl..29j..33g&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 29, Issue 10, pp. 33-1, CiteID 1399, DOI 10.1029/2002GL014851

Physics

15

Tectonophysics: Planetary Interiors (5430, 5724), Tectonophysics: Earth'S Interior-Composition And State (1212), Tectonophysics: Dynamics Of Lithosphere And Mantle-General, Tectonophysics: Dynamics, Convection Currents And Mantle Plumes, Tectonophysics: Heat Generation And Transport

Scientific paper

We performed laboratory experiments of thermochemical convection in order to determine the rate at which an initially density-stratified, and hence layered, mantle will be homogenized. In the experiments, two layers of fluid with similar viscosities are superposed and heated from below. Initially, in the ``stratified'' regime, mechanical entrainment into both layers occurs by viscous coupling and theoretical models for the entrainment rate agree well with our experimental data. Over time entrainment and mixing reduce the density difference between the layers until the ``doming'' regime is reached. The density interface becomes unstable, thermal plumes of the dense fluid penetrate into the overlying layer and the entrainment rate reaches a constant. Applying our results to the Earth's mantle, we confirm that it is possible for a compositionally distinct layer to persist over the age of the Earth, even if the initial density difference is less than 2%.

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