Implications for Mantle Dynamics from the High Melting Temperature of Perovskite
Abstract
Recent studies have implied that (Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskite, a likely dominant mineral phase in the lower mantle, may have a high melting temperature. The implications of these findings for the dynamics of the lower mantle were investigated with the use of numerical convection models. The results showed that low homologous temperatures (0.3 to 0.5) would prevail in the modeled lower mantle, regardless of the effective Rayleigh number and internal heating rates. High-temperature ductile creep is possible under relatively cold conditions. In models with low rates of internal heating, local maxima of viscosity developed in the mid-lower mantle that were similar to those obtained from inversion of geoid, topography, and plate velocities.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
BOEHLER, R, TEMPERATURES IN THE EARTHS CORE FROM MELTING-POINT MEASUREMENTS OF IRON AT HIGH STATIC PRESSURES, NATURE 363: 534 (1993).
BOEHLER, R, HIGH-PRESSURE MELTING OF (MG,FE)SIO3-PEROVSKITE - REPLY, SCIENCE 264: 280 (1994).
CHOPELAS, A, THERMAL-EXPANSION MEASUREMENTS AT VERY HIGH-PRESSURE, SYSTEMATICS, AND A CASE FOR A CHEMICALLY HOMOGENEOUS MANTLE, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 16: 1347 (1989).
CHOPELAS, A, THERMAL EXPANSIVITY IN THE LOWER MANTLE, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 19: 1983 (1992).
CHRISTENSEN, U, CONVECTION WITH PRESSURE-DEPENDENT AND TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT NON-NEWTONIAN RHEOLOGY, GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 77: 343 (1984).
Fleitout, L., Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 89: 9227 (1984).
FOWLER, A. C., JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICS-ZEITSCHRIFT FUR GEOPHYSIK 53: 42 (1983).
Frost, H. J., Deformation-Mechanism Maps: The Plasticity and Creep of Metals and Ceramics (1982).
HEINZ, D.L., HIGH-PRESSURE MELTING OF (MG,FE)SIO3-PEROVSKITE, SCIENCE 264: 279 (1994).
IVINS, E. R., JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH 98: 4579 (1993).
OSAKO, M, THERMAL-DIFFUSIVITY OF MGSIO3 PEROVSKITE, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 18: 239 (1991).
Peltier, W. R., Geophysical Fluid Dynamics 5: 47 (1973).
RICARD, Y, INFERRING THE VISCOSITY AND THE 3-D DENSITY STRUCTURE OF THE MANTLE FROM GEOID, TOPOGRAPHY AND PLATE VELOCITIES, GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 105: 561 (1991).
RICARD, Y, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH 98: 21895 (1993).
SCLATER, J.G., THE HEAT-FLOW THROUGH OCEANIC AND CONTINENTAL-CRUST AND THE HEAT-LOSS OF THE EARTH, REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS 18: 269 (1980).
Straughan, B., Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics 34: 227 (1985).
SU, W.J., DEGREE-12 MODEL OF SHEAR VELOCITY HETEROGENEITY IN THE MANTLE, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH 99: 6945 (1994).
VANDENBERG, A.P., THE EFFECTS OF A COMPOSITE NON-NEWTONIAN AND NEWTONIAN RHEOLOGY ON MANTLE CONVECTION, GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 115: 62 (1993).
VANKEKEN, P.E., EOS 75: 326 (1994).
VERONIS, G, PENETRATIVE CONVECTION, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL 137: 641 (1963).
WEERTMAN, J, HIGH-TEMPERATURE CREEP OF ROCK AND MANTLE VISCOSITY, ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES 3: 293 (1975).
ZERR, A, MELTING OF (MG,FE)SIO3-PEROVSKITE TO 625 KILOBARS - INDICATION OF A HIGH-MELTING TEMPERATURE IN THE LOWER MANTLE, SCIENCE 262: 553 (1993).
ZHANG, S, GEOID ANOMALIES FROM CENOZOIC SUBDUCTION IN SEMI-DYNAMICAL FLOW MODELS INCLUDING A PHASE-BOUNDARY, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 20: 2383 (1993).
(0)eLetters
eLetters is a forum for ongoing peer review. eLetters are not edited, proofread, or indexed, but they are screened. eLetters should provide substantive and scholarly commentary on the article. Embedded figures cannot be submitted, and we discourage the use of figures within eLetters in general. If a figure is essential, please include a link to the figure within the text of the eLetter. Please read our Terms of Service before submitting an eLetter.
Log In to Submit a ResponseNo eLetters have been published for this article yet.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 264 | Issue 5164
3 June 1994
3 June 1994
Copyright
1994 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 11 January 1994
Accepted: 4 April 1994
Published in print: 3 June 1994
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Cite as
- Peter E. van Keken et al.
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
View Options
Check Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF