Deep earth structure and dynamics using seismological tools. Earthquake processes and scaling laws. Real time estimation of earthquake parameters. Development of modern broadband seismic and geophysical observatories on land and in the oceans. Planetary seismology.

Superplumes from the Core-Mantle Boundary to the Lithosphere: Implications for Heat Flux

Barbara Romanowicz     less than 1 minute read         

Superplumes from the Core-Mantle Boundary to the Lithosphere: Implications for Heat Flux

Abstract

Three-dimensional modeling of upper-mantle anelastic structure reveals that thermal upwellings associated with the two superplumes, imaged by seismic elastic tomography at the base of the mantle, persist through the upper-mantle transition zone and are deflected horizontally beneath the lithosphere. This explains the unique transverse shear wave isotropy in the central Pacific. We infer that the two superplumes may play a major and stable role in supplying heat and horizontal flow to the low-viscosity asthenospheric channel, lubricating plate motions and feeding hot spots. We suggest that more heat maybe carried through the core-mantle boundary than is accounted for by hot spot fluxes alone.

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