Evolving mantle convection from bottom-up to top-down
Evolving mantle convection from bottom-up to top-down
When it comes to convection, what goes up must come down. Or is it, what goes down must come up? The truth is it depends. Although convection must be mass balanced, there is no reason that it must be force balanced: the positive and negative buoyancy forces driving convection up and down, respectively, do not necessarily need to be balanced. The balance, or imbalance, all depends on the top and bottom boundary layers. Thus, convection in Earth's mantle depends on the temperature differences across the core-mantle boundary below and the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary above. Convective asymmetry predominated by positive buoyancy, or bottom-up convection, would be driven by plume ascent, whereas if it were predominated by negative buoyancy, or top-down convection, it would be driven by plate subduction. Symmetric convection would balance plume ascent and plate subduction. Is mantle convection on Earth balanced, dominantly top down or bottom up, or time dependent?
Mitchell, Ross
67dc31eb-1339-407b-9ab7-3ae601310994
Brown, Michael
ca26b4eb-23c4-4643-b671-5768d03ac72d
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
Spencer, Christopher
533261a4-0be8-44ab-a8f2-62a234dcd0c4
8 November 2022
Mitchell, Ross
67dc31eb-1339-407b-9ab7-3ae601310994
Brown, Michael
ca26b4eb-23c4-4643-b671-5768d03ac72d
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
Spencer, Christopher
533261a4-0be8-44ab-a8f2-62a234dcd0c4
Mitchell, Ross, Brown, Michael, Gernon, Thomas and Spencer, Christopher
(2022)
Evolving mantle convection from bottom-up to top-down.
Innovation, 3 (6), [100309].
(doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100309).
Abstract
When it comes to convection, what goes up must come down. Or is it, what goes down must come up? The truth is it depends. Although convection must be mass balanced, there is no reason that it must be force balanced: the positive and negative buoyancy forces driving convection up and down, respectively, do not necessarily need to be balanced. The balance, or imbalance, all depends on the top and bottom boundary layers. Thus, convection in Earth's mantle depends on the temperature differences across the core-mantle boundary below and the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary above. Convective asymmetry predominated by positive buoyancy, or bottom-up convection, would be driven by plume ascent, whereas if it were predominated by negative buoyancy, or top-down convection, it would be driven by plate subduction. Symmetric convection would balance plume ascent and plate subduction. Is mantle convection on Earth balanced, dominantly top down or bottom up, or time dependent?
Text
1-s2.0-S2666675822001059-main
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 30 August 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 September 2022
Published date: 8 November 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Funding was provided by the Natural National Science Foundation of China ( 41888101 and 42125206 ) and the Key Research Program of the Institute of Geology & Geophysics , Chinese Academy of Sciences ( IGGCAS-201905 ).
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 470127
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470127
PURE UUID: 2fca462e-5933-440a-a77e-868dfc7e5f59
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 03 Oct 2022 17:02
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:20
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Ross Mitchell
Author:
Michael Brown
Author:
Christopher Spencer
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
