Rice Univesrity Logo
    • FAQ
    • Deposit your work
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   Rice Scholarship Home
    • Faculty & Staff Research
    • Faculty Publications
    • View Item
    •   Rice Scholarship Home
    • Faculty & Staff Research
    • Faculty Publications
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    The efficiency of plate tectonics and nonequilibrium dynamical evolution of planetary mantles

    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Moore_et_al-2015.pdf
    Size:
    770.0Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    View/Open
    Author
    Moore, W.B.
    Lenardic, A.
    Date
    2015
    Citation
    Moore, W.B. and Lenardic, A.. "The efficiency of plate tectonics and nonequilibrium dynamical evolution of planetary mantles." Geophysical Research Letters, 42, no. 21 (2015) 9255-9260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065621.
    Published Version
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065621
    Abstract
    Consideration of the structure of dynamical equilibria in terrestrial planets using simplified descriptions of the relevant heat transport processes (rigid-lid convection, plate tectonics, and heat pipe volcanism) reveals that if the efficiency of plate tectonic heat transport decreases at higher mantle temperature, then it cannot govern quasi-equilibrium dynamical evolution, and the system is always evolving away from the plate tectonic regime. A planet on which plate tectonics is less efficient at higher temperature stays in heat pipe mode longer, spends less time undergoing plate tectonics, and has a low and ever-decreasing Urey number during this phase. These conclusions are based solely on the structure of the equilibria in a system with less efficient plate tectonics in the past and are independent of the mechanisms leading to this behavior. Commonly used quasi-equilibrium approaches to planetary thermal evolution are likely not valid for planets in which heat transport becomes less efficient at higher temperature.
    Type
    Journal article
    Citable link to this page
    http://hdl.handle.net/1911/90562
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Collections
    • Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Publications [151]
    • Faculty Publications [3507]

    Home | FAQ | Contact Us
    Managed by the Digital Scholarship Services at Fondren Library, Rice University
    Physical Address: 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005
    Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O.BOX 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892
     

     

    Searching scope

    Browse

    Entire ArchiveCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsTypeThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsType

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Home | FAQ | Contact Us
    Managed by the Digital Scholarship Services at Fondren Library, Rice University
    Physical Address: 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005
    Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O.BOX 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892