Tectonic modes of mantle convection and their implications for Earth's tectonic evolution based on three-dimensional numerical simulations.

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Title: Tectonic modes of mantle convection and their implications for Earth's tectonic evolution based on three-dimensional numerical simulations.
Authors: Xiang, Song1,2 (AUTHOR), Huang, Jinshui1,2 (AUTHOR) jshhuang@ustc.edu.cn, Wu, Bingcheng1 (AUTHOR)
Source: SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences. Jan2025, Vol. 68 Issue 1, p270-296. 27p.
Subjects: Earth currents, Plate tectonics, Surface of the earth, Yield stress, Earth sciences
Abstract: Five tectonic modes of mantle convection are obtained and analyzed with three-dimensional numerical models in a spherical shell domain. The five tectonic convective modes are non-plate mobile-lid, plate-like mobile-lid, episodic plate-like mobile-lid, episodic stagnant-lid, and stagnant-lid convective modes, respectively. The typical characteristics of these five tectonic modes and their numerical classification criteria based on plateness, mobility, and their standard deviations are presented and discussed. The results show that the yield stress of the lithosphere has profound effects on the tectonic convective modes. With the gradual increase of yield stress, the tectonic mode of mantle convection changes from one to another sequentially through the aforementioned five modes. Additionally, as the Rayleigh number increases, the range of yield stress for the platelike mobile-lid convective mode decreases, and the dimensionless transition stress between different tectonic modes increases. Specifically, the dimensional transition stress between the non-plate mobile-lid convective mode and plate-like mobile-lid convective mode increases with the increase of Rayleigh number, but decreases between other tectonic modes. Furthermore, we find that the transition stress between different tectonic modes is inversely proportional to the internal heating rate, with the transition stress decreasing as the internal heating rate increases. The fitting analysis of the transition stress between tectonic modes shows that Earth's current plate tectonics correspond to a lithospheric yield stress of 150–250 MPa, which aligns with the strength of serpentinized mantle rock determined by experimental petrography. If the Archean mantle was 300°C warmer than it is today, then the Earth was in an episodic stagnant-lid convective mode. The tectonic evolution of the Earth's surface is closely related to the lithospheric strength and the process of thermal evolution. If the lithospheric strength was only 150 MPa, plate tectonics in the early mantle rapid cooling model would have begun before 3.8 Ga, and plate tectonics in the late mantle rapid cooling model would have begun at approximately 1.5 Ga. However, at a lithospheric strength of 200 MPa, plate tectonics in the late mantle rapid cooling model would have begun later than 0.95 Ga, and plate tectonics in the early mantle rapid cooling model would have begun at approximately 2 Ga. The early Earth was in the episodic stagnant-lid convective mode, which means that subduction might still have occurred at that time. The presence of the episodic plate-like mobile-lid convective mode in Earth's later history indicates that there might also have been intermittent surface stagnation during plate tectonics, which may provide an explanation for the quiet period of tectonic activity at approximately 1.0 Ga on Earth. This indicates that tectonic inactivity during a geological period is not an indicator that plate tectonics did not begin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Tectonic modes of mantle convection and their implications for Earth's tectonic evolution based on three-dimensional numerical simulations.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22SCIENCE+CHINA+Earth+Sciences%22">SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences</searchLink>. Jan2025, Vol. 68 Issue 1, p270-296. 27p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Earth+currents%22">Earth currents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plate+tectonics%22">Plate tectonics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Surface+of+the+earth%22">Surface of the earth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Yield+stress%22">Yield stress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Earth+sciences%22">Earth sciences</searchLink>
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  Data: Five tectonic modes of mantle convection are obtained and analyzed with three-dimensional numerical models in a spherical shell domain. The five tectonic convective modes are non-plate mobile-lid, plate-like mobile-lid, episodic plate-like mobile-lid, episodic stagnant-lid, and stagnant-lid convective modes, respectively. The typical characteristics of these five tectonic modes and their numerical classification criteria based on plateness, mobility, and their standard deviations are presented and discussed. The results show that the yield stress of the lithosphere has profound effects on the tectonic convective modes. With the gradual increase of yield stress, the tectonic mode of mantle convection changes from one to another sequentially through the aforementioned five modes. Additionally, as the Rayleigh number increases, the range of yield stress for the platelike mobile-lid convective mode decreases, and the dimensionless transition stress between different tectonic modes increases. Specifically, the dimensional transition stress between the non-plate mobile-lid convective mode and plate-like mobile-lid convective mode increases with the increase of Rayleigh number, but decreases between other tectonic modes. Furthermore, we find that the transition stress between different tectonic modes is inversely proportional to the internal heating rate, with the transition stress decreasing as the internal heating rate increases. The fitting analysis of the transition stress between tectonic modes shows that Earth's current plate tectonics correspond to a lithospheric yield stress of 150–250 MPa, which aligns with the strength of serpentinized mantle rock determined by experimental petrography. If the Archean mantle was 300°C warmer than it is today, then the Earth was in an episodic stagnant-lid convective mode. The tectonic evolution of the Earth's surface is closely related to the lithospheric strength and the process of thermal evolution. If the lithospheric strength was only 150 MPa, plate tectonics in the early mantle rapid cooling model would have begun before 3.8 Ga, and plate tectonics in the late mantle rapid cooling model would have begun at approximately 1.5 Ga. However, at a lithospheric strength of 200 MPa, plate tectonics in the late mantle rapid cooling model would have begun later than 0.95 Ga, and plate tectonics in the early mantle rapid cooling model would have begun at approximately 2 Ga. The early Earth was in the episodic stagnant-lid convective mode, which means that subduction might still have occurred at that time. The presence of the episodic plate-like mobile-lid convective mode in Earth's later history indicates that there might also have been intermittent surface stagnation during plate tectonics, which may provide an explanation for the quiet period of tectonic activity at approximately 1.0 Ga on Earth. This indicates that tectonic inactivity during a geological period is not an indicator that plate tectonics did not begin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1007/s11430-024-1393-4
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 27
        StartPage: 270
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Earth currents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Plate tectonics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Surface of the earth
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Yield stress
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Earth sciences
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Tectonic modes of mantle convection and their implications for Earth's tectonic evolution based on three-dimensional numerical simulations.
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            NameFull: Xiang, Song
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              M: 01
              Text: Jan2025
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              Y: 2025
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