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Where Do Subducted Slabs Go?: Accumulates at The 670 KM Discontinuity

The document discusses several key concepts in geophysics: 1. Subducted slabs accumulate at the 670 km discontinuity and core-mantle boundary, and may promote hotspots via upwelling plumes. 2. Seismic data suggests plumes may be linked to the return of subducted crust to the upper mantle. 3. Jumps in seismic wave speed in the transition zone are caused by olivine phase transformations, which increase density.

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33 views

Where Do Subducted Slabs Go?: Accumulates at The 670 KM Discontinuity

The document discusses several key concepts in geophysics: 1. Subducted slabs accumulate at the 670 km discontinuity and core-mantle boundary, and may promote hotspots via upwelling plumes. 2. Seismic data suggests plumes may be linked to the return of subducted crust to the upper mantle. 3. Jumps in seismic wave speed in the transition zone are caused by olivine phase transformations, which increase density.

Uploaded by

asdfghj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Where do Subducted Slabs go?

Accumulates at the
Accumulates at the core-mantle boundary
670 km discontinuity
Hotspots or Plumes
Seismic data suggest plumes may be linked to return of
crust via subduction.

THEORY: Accumulation of subducted material promotes hotspots.


Reynolds number
A second dimensionless number used in fluid dynamics, the Reynolds
number (Re), measures the ratio of the inertial to viscous forces,
Is the inertial or viscous term more important?

We can use a scaling argument to get the ratio Re:


Nusselt number

In heat transfer at a boundary (surface) within a fluid, the Nusselt number is the ratio of
convective to conductive heat transfer across (normal to) the boundary. It is a
dimensionless number. 1
Qd Ra 3
Nu  ( )
k T Rac
where Q is the heat flow, d the thickness of the layer, k the thermal conductivity and T the
difference in temperature between the top and bottom of the layer.

A Nusselt number close to one, namely convection and conduction of similar magnitude,
is characteristic of "slug flow" or laminar flow.
A larger Nusselt number corresponds to more active convection, with turbulent flow
typically in the 100–1000 range.
Péclet number
The Péclet number is a dimensionless number relevant in the study of transport
phenomena in fluid flows. It is defined to be the ratio of the rate of advection of a
physical quantity by the flow to the rate of diffusion of the same quantity driven by
an appropriate gradient. In the context of the transport of heat, the Peclet number
is equivalent to the product of the Reynolds number and the Prandtl number.

ul
Pet   Re Pr

 
Prandtl number
The Prandtl number is a dimensionless number; the ratio of momentum
diffusivity (kinematic viscosity) to thermal viscosity.

It is defined as:

 Pet
Pr  
 Re
What is observed in the transition zone??

Dense

Denser

Densest

Jumps in seismic wave speed  olivine phase transformations 


density increases
Negative P-T slope at 670 km

Positive P-T slope at 410 km

Slope of the Clapeyron curve (γ)

where dy is the change in vertical


Clapeyron Curve
location of the phase transition
corresponding to a change in
temperature dT.
A boundary at 660 km depth exists that inhibits material
transfer between the upper and lower mantle

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