HR: 11:35h
AN: U42A-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Connecting Top to Bottom: The Relationship Between Tectonic Plates and Mantle Plumes
AU: * Lenardic, A
EM: ajns@rice.edu
AF: Rice University, Department of Earth Science, Houston, TX 77251, United States
AU: Jellinek, A M
EM: mjellinek@eos.ubc.ca
AF: University of British Columbia, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Vancouver, BC , Canada
AU: Robin, C M
EM: crobin@physics.utoronto.ca
AF: University of Toronto, Department of Physics and Geology, Toronto, ON , Canada
AU: Thayalan, V
AF: MIT, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Boston, MA , United States
AB: Some 15 years ago Nataf noted that thermal convection in purely temperature dependent fluids could not produce thermal upwellings of the type invoked by mantle plume theories of the day. Since then there have been bursts of investigations addressing the question of how active overturn of the lithosphere, which does not happen in purely temperature-dependent viscosity convection, might influence the dynamics and morphology of mantle upwellings. The first wave of these investigations made specific theoretical predictions and conjectures that went largely untested. Recent advance in numerical techniques and computer power have allowed for the exploration of convection simulations with very large viscosity contrasts. At the same time, advances in laboratory methods have allowed for fluid tank experiments that can mimic active plate subduction. These two expanded research tools have allowed us to revisit the connection between plates and plumes. As well as launching new investigations we have also made efforts to confirm or refute previous theoretical speculations regarding the influence of plate tectonics on the dynamics of the core-mantle boundary region. We will briefly review the history of the problem and present our recent numerical and laboratory results that explore the potential connections between tectonic plate, mantle plumes, and the structure of the core mantle boundary region.
DE: 8115 Core processes (1213, 1507)
DE: 8121 Dynamics: convection currents, and mantle plumes
DE: 8124 Earth's interior: composition and state (1212, 7207, 7208, 8105)
DE: 8137 Hotspots, large igneous provinces, and flood basalt volcanism
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly