Progress in the numerical modeling of mantle plumes

Leng, Wei; Líu, Hao

doi:10.1007/s11430-022-1058-x

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In the cases with slightly decreased plume diameter (e.g., 300 km) or temperature anomaly (100 K), the transitional mode with local craton destruction is predicted (Figure S18 in Supporting Information S1). It is worth noting that the nature of such a plume is at the high value end‐member or even beyond the typical natural plumes in the upper mantle of the present Earth (Koppers et al., 2021; Leng & Liu, 2023), which indicates that the plume‐induced craton destruction is also not easy. In the cases with depleted lithospheric mantle (Figure 12f), the craton destruction is even more difficult, which only occurs with a plume diameter of 400 km and temperature anomaly of ≥250 K. In the intermediate cases with layered lithospheric mantle, that is, depleted above and fertile below MLD, the craton destruction requires a similar parameter range as the fertile cases (cf.…”

Section: Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of Continental Mid‐Lithosphere Discontinuity in the Craton Instability Under Variable Tectonic Regimes

Fu,

2024

JGR Solid Earth

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The continental mid‐lithosphere discontinuity (MLD) is widely detected within cratons, with the dominant depth range of 70–100 km and a significant reduction of shear‐wave velocity of 2%–12%. However, the formation mechanism and corresponding strength of the MLD are widely debated, which may strongly affect the roles of MLD in craton evolution. The comparisons among variable mechanisms indicate that the strength of the MLD varies from the relatively high viscosity of wet olivine to the rather low viscosity of antigorite. Thus, systematic numerical modeling has been conducted with the MLD of contrasting strengths, that is, the wet olivine‐induced MLD or antigorite‐induced MLD, to investigate the roles of MLD in the craton instability under variable tectonic regimes (stable, extension, compression, mantle flow traction, or mantle plume). The models show that the cratonic lithosphere with wet olivine‐induced MLD maintains its stability under all the tectonic regimes. In contrast, the antigorite‐induced MLD with lowest viscosity could significantly promote the decoupling of lithosphere, and facilitate the lithospheric deformation. However, lithospheric delamination only occurs with the rather weak MLD interacting with the sub‐plate asthenosphere upwelling during craton extension or mantle plume activity. The sufficient amount of melts is essential for this process, which requires a large amount of extension or a mantle plume with rather high temperature anomaly and large size. Therefore, craton destruction is still difficult, and requires additional strict conditions. This may explain the general stability of most cratons with widespread MLDs.

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Section: Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%