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    Supercontinent cycles, true polar wander, and very long-wavelength mantle convection

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Zhong, S.
    Zhang, N.
    Li, Zheng-Xiang
    Roberts, J.
    Date
    2007
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Zhong, Shijie and Zhang, Nan and Li, Zheng-Xiang and Roberts, James. 2007. Supercontinent cycles, true polar wander, and very long-wavelength mantle convection. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 261 (3-4): pp. 551-564.
    Source Title
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters
    DOI
    10.1016/j.epsl.2007.07.049
    ISSN
    0012821X
    Faculty
    Department of Applied Geology
    Faculty of Science and Engineering
    The Western Australian School of Mines
    Remarks

    The link to the journal’s home page is: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503328/description#description

    Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7131
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    We show in this paper that mobile-lid mantle convection in a three-dimensional spherical shell with observationally constrained mantle viscosity structure, and realistic convective vigor and internal heating rate is characterized by either a spherical harmonic degree-1 planform with a major upwelling in one hemisphere and a major downwelling in the other hemisphere when continents are absent, or a degree-2 planform with two antipodal major upwellings when a supercontinent is present. We propose that due to modulation of continents, these two modes of mantle convection alternate within the Earth's mantle, causing the cyclic processes of assembly and breakup of supercontinents including Rodinia and Pangea in the last 1 Ga. Our model suggests that the largely degree-2 structure for the present-day mantle with the Africa and Pacific antipodal superplumes, is a natural consequence of this dynamic process of very long-wavelength mantle convection interacting with supercontinent Pangea. Our model explains the basic features of true polar wander (TPW) events for Rodinia and Pangea including their equatorial locations and large variability of TPW inferred from paleomagnetic studies. Our model also suggests that TPW is expected to be more variable and large during supercontinent assembly, but small after a supercontinent acquires its equatorial location and during its subsequent dispersal.

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