3-D Spherical Shell Modeling of Mantle Flow and Its Implication for Global Tectogenesis

Abstract

In order to study the relationship between mantle flow and global tectogenesis, we present a 3-D spherical shell model with incompressible Newtonian fluid medium to simulate mantle flow which fits the global tectogenesis quite well. The governing equations are derived in spherical coordinates. Both the thermal buoyancy force and the self-gravitation are taken into account. The velocity and pressure coupled with temperature are computed, using the finite-element method with a punitive factor. The results show that the lithosphere, as the boundary layer of the earth’s thermodynamic system, moves with the entire mantle. Both its horizontal and vertical movements are the results of the earth’s thermal motion. The orogenesis occurs not only in the collision zones at the plates’ boundaries, but also occurs within the plates. If the core-mantle boundary is impermeable and the viscosity of the lower mantle is considerable, the vertical movement is mostly confined to the upper mantle. The directions of the asthenospheric movements are not fully consistent with those of the lithospheric movements. The depths of spreading movements beneath all ridges are less than 220 km. In some regions, the shear stresses, acting on the base of the lithosphere by the asthenosphere, are the main driving force; but in other regions, the shear stresses are the resisting force.