Linking plate tectonics and mantle flow to Earth's topography
RIS ID
114372
Abstract
It has long been known that solid-state convection within Earth's mantle should result in deformation of its surface (Pekeris, 1935), a phenomenon referred to as dynamic topography. This topography is relatively elusive: it is transient over time scales of 1-10 m.y., it occurs over spatial scales covering a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers, and its amplitude is on the order of 1 km at long wavelengths. This amplitude is small in comparison to the secular bimodal topography of Earth (the average elevation contrast between oceans and continents is ∼4.5 km), mostly because of thickness and density contrasts at crustal and lithospheric depths, that is modulated by tectonic processes, resulting in mountain belts up to several kilometers high.
Publication Details
Flament, N. (2014). Linking plate tectonics and mantle flow to Earth's topography. Geology (Boulder), 42 (10), 927-928.