Subduction Zone History and Dynamics from Viscous Fluid Calculations with Non-Newtonian Rheology and Phase Transformation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9903002KingThe PI proposes to conduct a systematic investigation of thermal convection in a compressible fluid with non-Newtonian temperature and depth-dependent rheology and phase transformations in a series of 2-D calculations designed to study subduction at Rayleigh numbers appropriate for Earth's mantle. The goal of this research is to map out the relationship between the initial conditions, boundary conditions, equation of state, properties of the major phase transformations, and rheology laws on the observables (e.g., slab thermal structure, geoid anomaly, topographic anomaly, plate velocity, and plateness' of the surface velocities). The final result will be a seires of 2-D and 3-D phase diagrams relating the variation in one or two of the fluid dynamical input parameters with observables features of specific subduction zones.