2D numerical experiments on a plume-fed asthenosphere: Necessary preconditions and implications for geoid and dynamic topography

Abstract

We explore the conditions necessary for mantle flow to include a plume-fed asthenosphere (PFA) as a key structure within its large-scale flow pattern. Using 2D finite element-based experiments, we examine temperature-dependent rheological effects of ridge accretion, plate cooling, and numerically well-resolved ∼10–30 km-thick asthenosphere dragdown by subducting slabs. We find that an average plume flux ∼1.2 times big as the average slab flux is needed to maintain a persistent PFA. These numerical experiments also demonstrate that, instead of generating dynamic topography on the sea floor, flow-induced dynamic relief due to sub-asthenospheric density anomalies will preferentially form at the buoyancy contrast associated with the base of a buoyant asthenosphere. This mode of dynamic internal relief may contribute significantly to near-surface density anomalies that are associated with Earth's low-order geoid, and local relief at the base of the asthenosphere near plumes, ridges, and trenches that can be imaged in seismic experiments.