How to assess similarities and differences between mantle circulation models and Earth using disparate independent observations
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Mantle circulation in the Earth acts to remove heat from its interior and is thus a critical driver of our planet’s internal and surface evolution. Numerical mantle circulation models (MCMs) driven by plate motion history allow us to model relevant physical and chemical processes and help answer questions related to mantle properties and circulation. Predictions from MCMs can be tested using a variety of observations. Here, we illustrate how the combination of many disparate observations leads to constraints on mantle circulation across space and time. We present this approach by first describing the set-up of the example test MCM, including the parameterization of melting, and the methodology used to obtain elastic Earth models. We subsequently describe different constraints, that either provide information about present-day mantle (e.g. seismic velocity structure and surface deflection) or its temporal evolution (e.g. geomagnetic reversal frequency, geochemical isotope ratios and temperature of upper mantle sampled by lavas). We illustrate the information that each observation provides by applying it to a single MCM. In future work, we shall apply these observational constraints to a large number of MCMs, which will allow us to address questions related to Earth-like mantle circulation.
Date Issued
2025-06-11
Date Acceptance
2025-05-09
Citation
Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2025, 481 (2315)
ISSN
1364-5021
Publisher
The Royal Society
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume
481
Issue
2315
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Subjects
CONVECTION
CORE
DATA ASSIMILATION
DYNAMIC TOPOGRAPHY
geochemistry
geomagnetism and paleomagnetism
geothermometery
GRAVITY-ANOMALIES
mantle circulation models
Multidisciplinary Sciences
REVERSAL FREQUENCY
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
seismology
SHEAR
SURFACE
surface deflection and geoid
TEMPERATURE
WAVE VELOCITY
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
20240827
Date Publish Online
2025-06-11