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Effects of an endothermic phase transition at 670 km depth in a spherical model of convection in the Earth's mantle

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Abstract

Numerical modelling of mantle convection in a spherical shell with an endothermic phase change at 670 km depth reveals an inherently three-dimensional flow pattern, containing cylindrical plumes and linear sheets which behave differently in their ability to penetrate the phase change. The dynamics are dominated by accumulation of downwelling cold material above 670 km depth, resulting in frequent avalanches of upper-mantle material into the lower mantle. This process generates long-wavelength lateral heterogeneity, helping to resolve the contradiction between seismic tomographic observations and expectations from mantle convection simulations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA

    Paul J. Tackley

  2. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA

    David J. Stevenson

  3. Earth and Environmental Sciences Division and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545, USA

    Gary A. Glatzmaier

  4. Department of Earth and Space Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA

    Gerald Schubert

Authors
  1. Paul J. Tackley
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  2. David J. Stevenson
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  3. Gary A. Glatzmaier
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  4. Gerald Schubert
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Tackley, P., Stevenson, D., Glatzmaier, G. et al. Effects of an endothermic phase transition at 670 km depth in a spherical model of convection in the Earth's mantle. Nature 361, 699–704 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361699a0

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