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Dynamics of the Earth's Deep Interior: What computational models and observations reveal about mantle convection
Applied Math| Speaker: | Louise Kellogg, Geology, UC Davis |
| Location: | 693 Kerr |
| Start time: | Fri, Apr 12 2002, 4:10PM |
Under the elevated temperatures and pressures of earth's deep interior, rock responds to stress by slow, creeping flow. The resulting mantle convection drives plate motion, mountain-building, and volcanic activity at the surface. Because the mantle is inaccessible to direct observation, geophysicists must combine observations made at the surface (including seismic tomography, heat flow, and geochemical data) with computational and analog models of convection. A major challenge remains understanding whether the mantle is homogeneous in composition or heterogeneous. This talk will present recent computational models of mantle convection, focussing on possible compositional heterogeneity and mixing in the mantle. I will also discuss future directions and challenges for numerical models of mantle convection.
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