Exploring the effect of mantle composite rheology on surface tectonics and topography

Earth’s surface dynamics and topography are tied to the properties and dynamics of mantle flow. In particular, upper mantle rheology controls the coupling between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere, and therefore partly dictates Earth’s surface tectonic behaviour and topographic response to mantle convection (dynamic topography). The presence of seismic anisotropy in the uppermost mantle suggests the existence of mineral lattice-preferred orientation (LPO) caused by the asthenospheric flow. Together with laboratory experiments of mantle rock deformation, this indicates that Earth’s uppermost mantle can deform in a non-Newtonian way, through dislocation creep. Although several studies suggest the potentially significant effect of upper-mantle non-Newtonian rheology on mantle convection (e.g. Schulz et al., 2020) and topography (e.g. Asaadi et al., 2011, Bodur and Rey, 2019), it is usually not considered in whole-mantle models of mantle convection self-generating plate tectonics.

 

Here, we investigate the effects of using a composite rheology (with both diffusion and dislocation creep) on surface tectonics and dynamic topography in 2D-spherical annulus models of mantle convection with plate-like tectonics and continental drift. We systematically vary the amount of dislocation creep by changing the activation volume for dislocation creep and the reference transition stress between diffusion and dislocation creep. We show that for low yield stresses promoting plate-like behavior in diffusion-creep-only models, modeling a composite rheology in the mantle favors more surface mobility while for large yield stresses which still generate plate-like motions in diffusion-creep-only models, a progressive increase in the amount of dislocation creep leads to stagnant-lid convection. We then compare the amplitudes and spatio-temporal distribution of dynamic topography in models with and without dislocation creep, in light of observed Earth present-day residual topography characteristics.

 

References:

Schulz, F., Tosi, N., Plesa, A. C., & Breuer, D. (2020). Stagnant-lid convection with diffusion and dislocation creep rheology: Influence of a non-evolving grain size. Geophysical Journal International, 220(1), 18-36.

Asaadi, N., Ribe, N. M., & Sobouti, F. (2011). Inferring nonlinear mantle rheology from the shape of the Hawaiian swell. Nature, 473(7348), 501-504.

Bodur, Ö. F., & Rey, P. F. (2019). The impact of rheological uncertainty on dynamic topography predictions. Solid Earth, 10(6), 2167-2178.