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The large-scale structure of convection in the Earth's mantle

Nature volume 344, pages 209–215 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

The Earth's mantle is undergoing subsolidus thermal convection, driven by internal radiogenic heat sources and heat conducted from the outer core. Seismic tomographic images reveal a large-scale pattern of convection in the upper mantle compatible with surface plate motions, demonstrating the central role of mantle convection in tectonics. A circum-Pacific ring of descending flow extends throughout the lower mantle. The most controversial issue is the amount of mass exchanged between the upper and lower mantle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    Peter Olson

  2. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, 20015, USA

    Paul G. Silver & Richard W. Carlson

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  1. Peter Olson
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  2. Paul G. Silver
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  3. Richard W. Carlson
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Olson, P., Silver, P. & Carlson, R. The large-scale structure of convection in the Earth's mantle. Nature 344, 209–215 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344209a0

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