Thermal and chemical heterogeneity in the mantle: a seismic and geodynamic study of continental roots

Chemical differences in the mantle below continents and oceans are investigated in the context of a recent seismic model of three-dimensional mantle structure. This analysis of the existence and magnitude of deep continent-ocean chemical differences is based on a model of a viscous flowing mantle an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of the earth and planetary interiors 1995-11, Vol.92 (1), p.45-55
Main Authors: Forte, Alessandro M., Dziewonski, Adam M., O'Connell, Richard J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Chemical differences in the mantle below continents and oceans are investigated in the context of a recent seismic model of three-dimensional mantle structure. This analysis of the existence and magnitude of deep continent-ocean chemical differences is based on a model of a viscous flowing mantle and it suggests that this continent-ocean heterogeneity is internally supported and thus produces little flow. This stabilization reduces the vertical flow of mass and heat across the upper mantle and results in a large continent-ocean signal in the surface gravity and topography fields. The stabilization of continent-ocean heterogeneity also provides an explanation for the large amplitude of the nonhydrostatic ellipticity in the Earth's geoid.
ISSN:0031-9201
1872-7395
DOI:10.1016/0031-9201(95)03060-A