Large-scale mantle convection and the history of subduction

Autor:	Mark A. Richards, David C. Engebretson
Rok vydání:	1992
Předmět:	Tectonics Paleontology Multidisciplinary Mantle convection Subduction Hotspot (geology) Transition zone Geodynamics Eclogitization Geology Mantle (geology)
Zdroj:	Nature. 355:437-440
ISSN:	1476-4687 0028-0836
DOI:	10.1038/355437a0
Popis:	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.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::1e8bdebbc4a29543fe6873365c71d6a4 https://doi.org/10.1038/355437a0 Zobrazit plný text záznamu