Numerical model of the supercontinental cycle stages: integral transfer of the oceanic crust material and mantle viscous shear stressesстатья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 10 августа 2018 г.
Аннотация:We compute the transfer of oceanic lithosphere material from the surface of the model
to the inner convective mantle at successive stages of the supercontinental cycle, in the
time interval from the beginning of convergence of the continents to their complete
dispersal. The sequence of stages of a supercontinental cycle (Wilson cycle) is calculated
with a two-dimensional numerical model of assembling and dispersing continents driven
by mantle flows; in turn, the flows themselves are forming under thermal and mechanical
influence of continents. We obtain that during the time of the order of 300 Myr the
complete stirring of oceanic lithosphere through whole mantle does not occur. This
agrees with current ideas on the circulation of oceanic crust material. Former oceanic
crust material appears again at the Earth’s surface in the areas of mantle upstreams.
The numerical simulation demonstrates that the supercontinental cycle is a factor
which intensifies stirring of the material, especially in the region beneath the
supercontinent. The reasons are a recurring formation of plumes in that region as well as
a global restructuring of mantle flow pattern due to the process of joining and separation
of continents.
The computations of viscous shear stresses are also carried out in the mantle as
a function of spatial coordinates and time. With a simplified model of uniform mantle
viscosity, the numerical experiment shows that the typical maximal shear stresses in the
major portion of the mantle measure about 5 MPa (50 bar). The typical maximal shear
stresses located in the uppermost part of mantle downgoing streams (in a zone that
measures roughly 200 × 200 km) are approximately 8 times greater and equal to 40 MPa
(400 bar).