American Geophysical Union Become an AGU Member
Subscribe to AGU Journals		 AGU Home AGU Publications

Read Full Article (file size: 262410 bytes)    Cited by

GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS, VOL. 6, Q09003, doi:10.1029/2005GC000924, 2005

Mantle convection with reversing mobile plates: A benchmark study

Donald E. Koglin Jr.

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-2051, USA


Sanaz R. Ghias

Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, 117 Petrie Science and Engineering Building, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3 Canada


Scott D. King

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-2051, USA


Gary T. Jarvis

Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, 117 Petrie Science and Engineering Building, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3 Canada


Julian P. Lowman

School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK


Abstract

Recent investigations of mantle convection with mobile plates have documented a mode of convection with periodic and/or aperiodic plate reversals (2-D) or reorganizations (3-D). We show that it is possible to calibrate plate formulations so that three different modeling methods reproduce the global flow diagnostics to within 3%. In 2-D calculations, plate reversals are independent of the method of plate generation once the calculations are tuned to reproduce the same physical characteristics (e.g., Nusselt number and plate velocity). The periods of oscillation of the flow reversals from three different plate methods agree to within 4%.

Received 17 January 2005; accepted 13 July 2005; published 7 September 2005.

Keywords: mantle convection; plate tectonics.

Index Terms: 1223 Geodesy and Gravity: Ocean/Earth/atmosphere/hydrosphere/cryosphere interactions (0762, 1218, 3319, 4550); 8149 Tectonophysics: Planetary tectonics (5475); 8120 Tectonophysics: Dynamics of lithosphere and mantle: general (1213).

Read Full Article (file size: 262410 bytes)    Cited by

Citation: Koglin, D. E., Jr., S. R. Ghias, S. D. King, G. T. Jarvis, and J. P. Lowman (2005), Mantle convection with reversing mobile plates: A benchmark study, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 6, Q09003, doi:10.1029/2005GC000924.