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Published April 15, 1995 | Published
Journal Article Open

Towards a realistic simulation of plate margins in mantle convection

Abstract

We have incorporated faults as plate margins into time-dependent mantle convection models by using a mixed Eulerian and Lagrangian finite element formulation. Plate margins in our models can migrate dynamically in response to variations in mantle buoyancy, and this enables us to study the dynamics of mantle and plates including changes in plate size. Convection models in a cylindrical geometry with such a faulted converging margin, non-Newtonian rheology, and continents indicate that the converging margin tends to migrate oceanward. The oceanward trench migration leads to an increase in the size of the overriding continental plate.

Additional Information

© 1995 by the American Geophysical Union. We would like to thank G. Houseman for suggesting the comparison with the analytic solution. Funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and NSF grant EAR-9496185. This is Contribution 5431 of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences of the California Institute of Technology.

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August 20, 2023
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