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Large-scale mantle convection and the history of subduction

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Abstract

A LARGE-SCALE pattern of mantle convention is evident in the shape of the Earth's gravity field1, lateral variations in seismic velocity2,3, the distribution of hotspots4, and long-wavelength bathv metric anomalies5. Paradoxically, these signals of mantle convection bear little resemblance to present-day plate motions1,4, although they seem to be related to past subduction-zone configurations6. Here we quantify this relationship by correlating a time-integrated history of subduction, calculated in the hotspot reference frame for the past 180 Myr, with regions of the deep mantle inferred from other geophysical observations to be colder than average. Our results support suggestions6–9 that a direct relationship exists between large-scale thermal heterogeneity in the lower mantle and subduction during the Cenozoic and Mesozoic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Mark A. Richards

  2. Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, 98225, USA

    David C. Engebretson

Authors
  1. Mark A. Richards
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  2. David C. Engebretson
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Richards, M., Engebretson, D. Large-scale mantle convection and the history of subduction. Nature 355, 437–440 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/355437a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/355437a0

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