Читать книгу Mantle Convection and Surface Expressions - Группа авторов - Страница 16

An important surface expression of mantle dynamics is dynamic topography. Dynamic topography arises directly from mantle flow and the related stresses at the base of the lithosphere. It thus contains information about the density structure of the mantle. The study of dynamic topography can potentially provide a picture of Earth’s mantle flow and structure through time, when coupled with geological constraints of subsidence and uplift. Mark Hoggard et al. review the progress made in quantifying dynamic topography, summarize the inherent limitations, and point out future research directions.

Trond Torsvik et al. bring together the main topics discussed in this book in a single chapter. They discuss the role of mantle upwellings (plumes) and downwellings (slabs) on atmospheric evolution and climate. Plume heads may rise from the margins of LLSVPs and sustain flood‐basalt volcanism, outgassing and silicate weathering at the surface. Slab subduction and related arc volcanism, in turn, control the ingassing of atmospheric species, including greenhouse gases. Together, these key ingredients of mantle convection stabilize Earth’s long‐term atmospheric conditions, climate, and habitability.

While Earth’s surface is currently reshaped by plate tectonic processes that are intimately linked to mantle convection, other terrestrial bodies in the solar system display a stagnant lid that does not participate in underlying mantle convection. In other words, the surfaces of these planets consist of just one single plate with very restricted surface deformation. Nicola Tosi and Sebastiano Padovan present key processes and observations to understand mantle convection in the stagnant‐lid regime, which is much more common in our solar system, and most probably throughout the universe, than the plate‐tectonic regime. The comparison of mantle convection styles in both these regimes leads to a more coherent picture of planetary interior dynamics and evolution.

Hauke Marquardt University of Oxford, UK Maxim Ballmer University College London, UK Sanne Cottaar University of Cambridge, UK Jasper Konter University of Hawaii at Mānoa, USA