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Convection in the mantle with an endothermic phase transition

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Abstract

An endothermic phase transition at a depth of 660 km in the mantle partially slows down mantle flows. Many models considering the possibility of temporary layering of flows with separation of convection in the upper and lower mantle have been constructed over the past two decades. The slowing-down effect of the endothermic phase transition is very sensitive to the slope of the phase-equilibrium curve. However, laboratory measurements contain considerable uncertainties admitting both a partial convection layering and only an insignificant slowing down of a part of downgoing mantle flows. In this work, we present results of calculations of mantle flows within a wide range of phase-transition parameter values, determine ranges of one-and two-layer convection, and derive dependences of the amplitude and period of oscillations on phase-transition parameters.

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Correspondence to V. P. Trubitsyn.

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Original Russian Text © V.P. Trubitsyn, A.N. Evseev, A.A. Baranov, A.P. Trubitsyn, 2007, published in Fizika Zemli, 2007, No. 12, pp. 3–13.

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Trubitsyn, V.P., Evseev, A.N., Baranov, A.A. et al. Convection in the mantle with an endothermic phase transition. Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 43, 981–991 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351307120014

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1069351307120014

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