Abstract
Creep data for olivine, when normalized by the melting temperature, can be extrapolated directly to the pressure, temperature and chemical environment of the upper mantle by using the appropriate solidus and geotherms. The data presented here, collected over a broad pressure range, predict effective viscosities that are consistent with geophysical and tectonic constraints for a dry upper mantle. These systematics suggest that the effective viscosity of the mantle has risen over the age of the Earth as outgassing has progressively raised the solidus.
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Borch, R., Green, H. Dependence of creep in olivine on homologous temperature and its implications for flow in the mantle. Nature 330, 345–348 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/330345a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/330345a0
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