Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.u31a..07l&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #U31A-07
Physics
8121 Dynamics: Convection Currents, And Mantle Plumes, 8125 Evolution Of The Earth (0325), 8147 Planetary Interiors (5430, 5724, 6024)
Scientific paper
Numerous seismic studies reveal the presence of two large, low velocity anomalies beneath Africa and the central Pacific. Efforts to characterize these anomalies have yielded a variety of interpretations over the years, both isochemical and thermochemical. Previous interpretations have included large, isochemical superplumes, clusters of smaller thermal plumes, and doming thermochemical superplumes. A conceptual mantle model that is presently growing favor involves long-lived thermochemical piles. In anticipation that nutation studies will provide better topographic constraints on the core-mantle boundary (CMB) in the future, we examine the effects of thermochemical piles at this boundary. In this study, we perform numerical modeling of thermochemical and isochemical convection as a function of convective vigor and temperature-dependent viscosity to predict the topography at Earth's CMB. Here, we show that although thermochemical piles are intrinsically more dense, the large thermal buoyancy associated with them leads to an overall relative buoyancy that is on par with adjacent slabs. As a result, thermochemical convection with pile structures yields an overall reduction in the magnitude of CMB topography with respect to isochemical systems.
Lassak Teresa Mae
McNamara Allen K.
Zhong Sijia
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