Chapter 5

Geodynamics
5.1 Heat flow
Thermally controlled processes within Earth include volcanism, intrusion of igneous rocks, metamorphism, convection within the mantle and outer core, and plate tectonics. The global heat flow
can be measured by measuring the temperature gradient everywhere at the surface of the Earth.
This gives us an estimate of the mean rate of heat loss of the Earth, which can be broken up into
various components (Table 7.3 in Fowler):

Continents
Oceans

Area
(km )
201
309
Conductive cooling
Hydrothermal circulation

Total Earth

510

Heat Flow
(mWm
)
58
100
[66]
[34]
83

Heat Loss
(10 W)
11.5
30.4
[20.3]
[10.1]
41.9

The amount of heat lost through the ocean basins in enormous! up to 73%! (The oceans
cover about 60% of the Earths surface). This was a famous paradox before the discovery of plate
tectonics. It was well known that the abundance of radioactive elements (which are a source of
heat through radioactive decay) in the ocean basins was much lower than that in the continents.
So what causes the significantly higher heat flow in the oceans? With the discovery of plate
tectonics it was realized that most of the heat loss occurs through the cooling and creation of
oceanic lithosphere. The mean rate of plate generation therefore depends on the balance between
the rate of heat production within the Earth and the rate of heat loss at the surface.
In this course we will address some of the basic concepts of heat flow and Earths thermal structure,
and we will discuss in some detail the cooling of oceanic lithosphere and the implications of Earth
thermal structure for mantle convection.
Heat sources
There are several possibilities for the source of heat within the earth:
1. Original or primordial heat; this is the release of heat due to the cooling of the Earth.
The amount of heat released by this process can be estimated by calculating the heat released
165

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

166

by a change in temperature of 1 at constant pressure. This depends on the specific heat,


which is the energy that is needed to heat up 1 kg of material by 1 (i.e., its a material
property).
We can do a quick calculation to find out how much heat would be released by dropping the
temperature of the mantle by 1 C (Lets for now ignore latent heat due to phase changes):




Mantle; for silicates:


4.1 10 kg
Core; for iron:



 





Jkg

Jkg

C
; the mass of the mantle is about

C
; the mass of the core is about 1.9 10



!"
#$% '&

kg

For 
C this gives 
of any other sources for heat
 J.10In)( absence
production, the)observed
global
heat
flux
of
4.2
W
can
thus
be
maintained by a cooling

 (
* '&
* +
rate of 4.2 10 [W] divided by 3.7
[J]= 1.1
Cs
.


In other words, since the formation of Earth, 4.5 Ga ago, the average temperature would
/.10/2
C. Note that the actual cooling rate is much lower because
have dropped by -,
there are sources of heat production.
2. Gravitational potential energy released by the transfer of material from the surface to depths.
Imagine dropping a small volume of rock from the crust to the core. The gravitational
potential energy released would be:

 ms 9: and 8 ;
 5<2= m
   5476"58 <
3
, with( 63,
(



3

  ( kgm
( , so that 54 O< (
4?>A@CBC@CD)EGFIH+>J/,
<   kgm(
and 4 C@ KALNM , <
3P, :
Jm
.

kgm
.

The present-day heat flux would thus be equivalent to dropping a volume of about 350 m
every second. This is equal to dropping a 22 m thick surface layer every million years.

So even if a small amount of differentiation were taking place within the earth, this would
be a significant source of heat!
3. Radioactive decay: for an order of magnitude calculation, see Stacey 6.3.1. The bottom line
is that for the Earth a very significant fraction of heat loss can be attributed to radioactive
decay (primarily of Uranium (U), Thorium (Th) and Potassium (K). More, in fact, than can
be accounted for by heat production of the MORB source.
Heat transfer
The actual cooling rate of the Earth depends not only on these sources of heat, but also on the
efficiency at which heat is transferred to and lost at the Earths surface.
How does heat get out of the system?
Conduction this will be discussed below in the context of the cooling of oceanic lithosphere.
Convection For example, in the mantle.
Radiation most of the heat that the Earth receives from external sources (i.e. the Sun) is radiated out. The mean rate of heat gain/loss due to this process is 2.1017 W, which corresponds
to a flux of 4.102 W/m over the whole earth.

5.2. HEAT FLOW, GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT, DIFFUSION

167

Radiation
The net effect is that the Earth is cooling at a small rate (of the order of 50-100 C per Ga!) (See
Stacey (1993), p. 286.)

Figure 5.1:

5.2 Heat flow, geothermal gradient, diffusion

The rate of heat flow by conduction across a thin layer depends on
1. the temperature contrast across the layer (  )
2. the thickness of the layer ( 

3. the ease with which heat transfer takes place (which is determined by the thermal conduc

tivity ). The thinner the layer and the larger the temperature contrast (i.e., the larger the
gradient in temperature), the larger the heat flow.
In other words, the heat flow  at a point is proportional to the temperature gradient at that point.
This is summarized in Fouriers Law of conduction:

 9



 
;,9





(5.1)

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

168

where the minus sign indicates that the direction of heat flow is from high to low tempertaures
(i.e., in the opposite dirtection of if is depth.). (For simplicity we talk here about a 1D flow of
heat, but Fouriers Law is also true for a general 3D medium).
We can use this definition to formulate the conduction (or diffusion) equation, which basically describes how the temperature per unit volume of material changes with time. This change depends
on
1. the amount of heat that flows in or out of the system which is described by the divergence
of heat flow
2. the amount of heat produced within the volume (denoted by the density of heat sources

3. the coupling between this change in heat and a change in temperature (which is controlled
by the specific heat)
The thermal diffusion equation is given by:

4


   9  

(5.2)

Or: the change in heat content with time equals the divergence of the heat flow (into and out of the
volume) and the generation of heat within the volume.
Combined with Fouriers Law the diffusion equation can be written as




4

  9 
9




 
 

 

(5.3)

In a situation of steady-state the diffusion equation transforms to the expression of the geotherm,
the variation of temperature with depth in the Earth:






4


 O    9


 

(5.4)

If there is no heat production (by radioactive decay), i.e.,

, then the temperature increases
P
linearly with increasing depth. If
then the temperature/depth profile is given by a secondorder polymomial in . In other words, the curvature of the temperature-depth profile depends on
the amount of heat production (and the conductivity).

Figure 5.2: Heat production causes nonlinear geotherms.



A typical value for  the geotherm is of order 20 Kkm
, and with a value for the conductivity

 "

Wm
K
this gives a heat flow per unit area of about 60 mWm
(which is close to

5.2. HEAT FLOW, GEOTHERMAL GRADIENT, DIFFUSION

169

the global average, see table above). If the temperature increases according to this gradient, at a
depth of about 60 km a temperature of about 1500 K is reached, which is close to or higher than
the melting temperature of most rocks. However, we know from the propagation of shear waves
 ). So what is going on here?
that the Earths mantle behaves as a solid on short time scales (
Actually, there are two things that are important:



1. At some depth the geothermal gradient is no longer controlled by conductive cooling and
adiabatic compression takes over. The temperature gradient for adiabatic compression (i.e.,
the change of temperature due to a change of pressure alone, without exchange of heat with
its invironment) is much smaller than the gradient in the conducting thermal boundary layer.
2. With increasing pressure the temperature required for melting also increases. In fact it can
be shown that with increasing depth in Earths mantle, the actual temperature increases
(from about 0 C at the surface to about 3,500 1000 C at the core-mantle boundary CMB)
but the melting temperature 
increases even more as a result of the increasing pressure.
Consequently, at increasing depth in the mantle the ratio of  over 
(the homologous
temperature) decreases. At even larger depth, in Earths core, the temperature continues to
increase, but the melting temperature for pure iron drops (pure chemical compounds such
as pure iron typically have a lower melting temperature then most mixtures such as
silicate rock) so that the actual temperaute exceeds the melting temperature and the material
is in liquid state. Even tough the mantle is solid it behaves as highly viscous fluid so that
flow is possible over very long periods of time.



If we ignore heat production by radioactive decay we can simplify the conduction equation to

with

4


  
  

   4
     

(5.5)

the thermal diffusivity





4

(5.6)

We will look at solutions of the diffusion equation when we discuss the cooling of oceanic lithosphere after its formation at the mid oceanic ridge. Before we do that lets look at an important
aspect of the diffusion equation.
From a dimensional analysis of the diffusion equation




  




(5.7)


we see that the diffusivity has the dimension of length

time
. We can now define a diffusion

.
length as
If a temperature change occurs at some time  , then after a characteristic time interval it will

have propagated over a distance
through the medium with diffusivity . Similarly, it
takes a time
for a temperature change to propagate over a distance .

  

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

170

Figure 5.3: Geotherms in the Earth.

5.3 Thermal structure of the oceanic lithosphere

Introduction
The thermal structure of the oceanic lithosphere can be constrained by the observations of:
1. Heat flow
2. Topography (depth of the ocean basins)
3. Gravity (density depends inversely on temperature)

4. Seismic velocities (
 ,
  ); in particular, surface waves are sensitive to
radial variations in wave speed and surface wave dispersion is one of the classical methods
to constrain the structure of oceanic (and continental) lithosphere.
In the following we address how the heat flow and the depth of ocean basins is related to the
cooling of oceanic lithosphere.
The conductive cooling of oceanic lithosphere when it spreads away from the mid-oceanic ridge
can be described by the diffusion equation

5.3. THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE

171

  




(5.8)

We will simplify this equation by (1) ignoring the heat production by radiocative decay, so that
 
(this is reasonable for the oceanic lithosphere since the basalts do not contain a significant
fraction of major radio-isotopes Uranium, Potassium, and Thorium)1 , and (2) by assuming a 2D
geometry so that we can ignore the variations in the direction. The latter assumption is justified
for regions away from fracture zones. With these simplifications the diffusion equation would
reduce to a

  







 




(5.9)

with the depth below the surface and  the distance from the ridge. The variation in temperature
in a direction perpendicular to the ridge (i.e., in the spreading direction  ) is usually much smaller
than the vertical gradient. In that case, the heat conduction in the  direction can be ignored, and
the cooling of a piece of lithosphere that moves along with the plate, away from the ridge, can be
described by a 1D diffusion equation:

 



 

(5.10)

  ). Note that,
(i.e., the observer, or the frame of reference, moves with the plate velocity 
in this formulation, the time plays a dual role: it is used as the time at which we describe the
temperature at some depth , but this also relates to the age of the ocean floor, and thus to the
  
distance 
from the ridge axis).

Figure 5.4: The cooling of oceanic lithosphere.

The assumption that the oceanic lithosphere cools by conduction alone is pretty good, except at
small distances from the ridge where hydrothermal circulation (convection!) is significant. We
will come back to this when we discuss heat flow. There is a still ongoing debate as to the success
of the simple cooling model described below for large distances from the ridge (or, equavalently,
for large times since spreading began). This is important since it relates to the scale of mantle
1

See table in the back for the abundance of the heat-producing elements.

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

172

Figure 5.5: Bathymetry changes with depth.

convection; can the cooling oceanic lithosphere be considered as the Thermal Boundary Layer
(across which heat transfer occurs primarily by conduction) of a large scale convection cell or is
small scale convection required to explain some of the observations discussed below? See the
recent Nature paper by Stein and Stein, Nature 359, 123129, 1992.

Cooling of oceanic lithosphere: the half-space model

The variation of temperature with time and depth can be obtained from solving the instant cooling
(or  in Turcotte and Schubert) is instantly brought
problem: material at a certain temperature 
to the surface temperature where it is exposed to surface temperature  (see cartoons below; for
a full derivation, see Turcotte and Schubert).

Figure 5.6: The heating of a halfspace

Diffusion, or relaxation to some reference state, is described by error functions 2 , and the solution
to the 1D diffusion equation (that satisfies the appropriate boundary conditions) is given by

 .    
     

9   

or
2

So called because they are integrations of the standard normal distribution.

 

(5.11)

5.3. THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE


.

   9<
 %
 9   

173

 

(5.12)



  the temperature within the cooling boundary layer,  and 
the
temperature
at the
with 


3
surface and in the mantle, respectively, the thermal diffusivity ,
4 ( is the thermal


conductivity and
the specific heat), and the error function operating on some argument
defined as

   


 
 

:

(5.13)



The so called complementary error function, erfc, is defined simply as  

9    .
4
The values of the error function (or its complement) are often presented in table form . Figure 5.7
depicts the behavior of the error function: when the argument increases the function value creeps
P .
asymptotically to a value  

Figure 5.7: Error function and complimentary error function.



 

Lets look at the temperature according to (5.12) for different boundary conditions. For large
;
. 
  ; at the surface,
so
values of the solution of the diffusion equation becomes 

 . 
.
that 
  , and= after a very long time, 
  , i.e., the whole system has cooled
so that the temperature is the same as the surface temperature everywhere.
 
so that  ,    , 

For the Earth we can set 
:   for most practical
purposes; but the above formulas are readily applicable to other boundary layer problems (for
instance to the cooling of the lithosphere on Venus where the surface temperature is much than
that at Earth).
Examples of the geothermal gradient as a function of lithospheric age are given in the diagram
below (from Davies & Richards, Mantle Convection J. Geol., 100, 1992).
Figure 5.9 (from Turcotte & Schubert, 1982) shows a series of isotherms (lines of constant temper
P /2 C; it shows that the depth to the isotherms
.
ature (i.e, 
) for  9 
9 

 



!#"  

The thermal diffusivity has the dimension of distance /time; a typical value for is 1 mm /s. The square root of
the product
is porportional to the diffusion length
. If the temperaure changes occur over a characteristic
time interval they will propagate a distance of the order of . Similarly, a time
is required for temperature
changes to propagate distance .
4
Type help erf in M ATLAB

&'

$ % 

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

174

Figure 5.8: Cratonic and oceanic geotherms.

Figure 5.9: Oceanic geotherms.

as defined by (2) are hyperbola. From this, one can readily see that if the thermal lithosphere is
bounded by isotherms, the thickness of the lithosphere increases as  . For back-of-the-envelope
calculations you can use
:
  for lithospheric thickness. (For P mm and    :

Ma, which is the average age of all ocean oceanic lithosphere currently at the Earths surface,
/ km). This thickening occurs because the cool lithosphere reduces the temperature of the
underlying material which can then become part of the plate. On the diagram the open circles depict estimates of lithospheric thickness from surface wave dispersion data. Note that even though
the plate is moving and the resultant geometry is two dimensional the half space cooling model
works for an observer that is moving along with the plate. Beneath this moving reference point
the plate is getting thicker and thicker.









5.3. THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE

Intermezzo 5.1

175

LITHOSPHERIC THICKNESS FROM SURFACE WAVE DISPERSION

In the seismology classes we have discussed how dispersion curves can be used to extract information
about lithospheric structure from the seismic data. The thickness of the high wave speed lid, the structure
above the mantle low velocity zone, as determined from surface wave dispersion across parts of oceanic
lithosphere of different age appears to plot roughly between the 900 and 1100 C isotherms, or at about
(see Figure 5.10). So the seismic lithosphere seems to correspond to thermal lithosphere. In other words; in short time scales i.e. the time scale appropriate for seismic wave transmission
(sec - min) most of the thermal lithosphere may act as an elastic medium, whereas on the longer time
scale the stress can be relaxed by steady state creep, in particular in the bottom half of the plate. However,
a word of caution is in order since this interpretation of the dispersion data has been disputed. Anderson
and co-workers argue (see, for instance, Anderson & Regan, GRL, vol. 10, pp. 183-186, 1983) that interpretation of surface wave dispersion assuming isotropic media results in a significant overestimation of the
lid thickness. They have investigated the effects of seismic anisotropy and claim that the fast isotropic LID
C, than the base of the thermal lithosphere.
extends to a much cooler isotherm, at

  
 


  

Figure 5.10: Elastic thickness.

Heat flow
If we know the temperature at the surface we can deduce the heat flow by calculating the temperature gradient:





with

9


  9



















9 

  9  
 9   9   




: 
: 

(5.14)

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

176




:

 


 

:
 
 



 



 

: 

(5.15)

so that

O

For the heat flow proper we take

  9  





(5.16)

( is measured at the surface!) so that

  9     




the conductivity (do not confuse with , the diffusivity!).

 9

 9

;

and
(5.17)

with
The important result is that
according to the half-space cooling model the heat flow drops of as 1 over the square root of the
age of the lithosphere. The heat flow can be measured, the lithospheric age  determined from, for
instance, magnetic anomalies, and if we assume values for the conductivity and diffusivity, Eq.
(5.17) can be used to determine the temperature difference between the top and the bottom of the
plate

 
 

9  
<

 "


(5.18)


; /
 $ (

Parsons
& Sclater did this (JGR,
JK
m
s
,

( assuming "
"
  ( kgm1977);
Jkg
K
, and 4
and using
mWm
as the best fit to the data they


9< P 20/
: /0 C.
found: 
Comparison to observed heat flow data:
Near the ridge crest the observed heat flow is significantly lower than the heat flow predicted from
the cooling half-space model. In old oceanic basins the heat flow seems to level off at around 46
mW/m , which suggests that beyond a certain age of the lithosphere the rate of conductive cooling
either becomes smaller or the cooling is partly off set by additional heat production. Possible
sources of heat which could prevent the half-space cooling are:

1. radioactivity (A is not zero!)

2. shear heating
3. small-scale convection below plate
4. hot upwelings (plumes)

5.4. THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE

177

Figure 5.11: .
Intermezzo 5.2 P LATE - COOLING M ODELS
There are two basic models for the description of the cooling oceanic lithosphere, a cooling of a uniform
half space and the cooling of a layer with some finite thickness. The former is referred to as the half-space
model (first described in this context by Turcotte and Oxburgh, 1967); The latter is also known as the plate
model (first described by McKenzie, 1967).
Both models assume that the plate moves as a unit, that the surface of the lithosphere is at an isothermal
condition of 0 C, and that the main method of heat transfer is conduction (a good assumption, except at the
ridge crest). The major difference (apart from the mathematical description) is that in the half-space model
the base of the lithosphere is defined by an isotherm (for instance 1300 C) so that plate thickness can grow
indefinitely whereas in the plate model the plate thickness is limited by some thickness .
The two models give the same results for young plates near the ridge crest, i.e. the thickness is such that the
bottom of the lithosphere is not yet sensed. However, they differ significantly after 50 Myr for heat flow
predictions and 70 Myr for topography predictions. It was realized early on that at large distances from the
ridge (i.e., large ages of the lithosphere) the oceans were not as deep and heat flow not as low as expected
from the half-space cooling model (there does not seem to be much thermal difference between lithosphere
of 80 and 160 Myr of age). The plate model was proposed to get a better fit to the data, but its conceptual
disadvantage is that it does not explain why the lithosphere has a maximum thickness of . The half space
model makes more sense physically and its mathematical description is more straightforward. Therefore,
we will discuss only the half space cooling model, but we will also give some relevant comparisons with
the plate model.

5.4 Thermal structure of the oceanic lithosphere

Bathymetry
The second thermal effect on the evolution of the cooling lithosphere is its subsidence or the
increase in ocean depth with increasing age. This happens because when the mantle material
cools and solidifies after melting at the MOR it is heavier than the density of the underlying
mantle. Since we have seen that the plate thickens with increasing distance from the MOR and if
the plate is not allowed to subside this would result in the increase in hydrostatic pressure at some
reference depth. In other words the plate would not be in hydrostatic equilibrium. But when the

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

178

lithosphere subsides, denser material will be replaced by lighter water so that the total weight of a
certain column remains the same. The requirement of hydrostatic equilibrium gives us the lateral
variation in depth to the ocean floor. Application of the isostatic principle gives us the correct
ocean floor topography.

Figure 5.12: Oceanic isostasy.

22

Let 4 and 4
represent
the density of water (4
kg/m ) and the mantle/asthenosphere
(
2
/
2

.
 the density as a function of time and depth within
(4
kg/m ), respectively, and 4
the cooling plate. The system is in hydrostatic equilibrium when the total hydrostatic pressure of
a column under the ridge crest at depth
  is the same as the pressure of a column of the same
width at any distance from the MOR:





or

4 




9<4   

4 .

4 9 4 

(5.19)

O

(5.20)

According to (5.20) the mass deficiency caused by
4 9 4  (which is less than 0!) is bal( 0!) integrated over the (as yet unknown) lithospheric
anced by the difference between 49 4
thickness. The lithosphere is thus heavier than the underlying half space! (Assuming, as we do
here, that the lithosphere has the same composition as the asthenosphere). This increase in density
is due to cooling; the relationship between the change in density due to a change in temperature is
given by



 9 4    4 9<4




9 4 %
 9   
. 

4  4  
  4 

with  the coefficient of thermal expansion, so that



9<4    4

9 

;

9 

(5.21)
(5.22)

(5.23)

5.4. THERMAL STRUCTURE OF THE OCEANIC LITHOSPHERE

With 

179

.
   , this gives (verify!!)

9 4  


4





4


4







9   9 

9  

9  








9 

9   


 



  


  
 
: 


(5.24)

we can change the integration boundary from  to

because at the base of the lithosphere
  and 4 4 so that we can take the compensation a t any depth beneath the base of the
:
)
cooling lithosphere (and erfc integrated from  to is very small). If we also use
(see above) than we can write

9 4  
<




now use

 

 

 

:4




9  
9  

     



  : 4    
 9  


4 9 4  



 


:
4
   9  



4 9 4  

(5.25)

(5.26)

the depth below the ridge crest; if the crest is at depth

 

  
: 

 

to get

with


4



(5.26) becomes
(5.27)

So from the half-space cooling model it follows

that the depth to the sea floor increases as the


"





square root of age! Using 

 C
, Pars ons & Sclater (1977) found from the fit to
20/  [m], for    Ma.
 0/:2
bathymetry data gives:
 
:
 
There is still a lively debate about the details of the parameters that give the best fit to the model,
see, for instance the papers by Stein & Stein (Nature, 1992) and McNutt (Reviews of Geophysics,
1995). But despite the ongoing discussions it is fair to say that these models have been very
successful in predicting heat flow, topography, gravity, and have thus played a major role in the
understanding of the evolution of oceanic lithosphere with time. The typical game that is played
by such successful theoretical models, in particular ones that are so simple (= easy + fast to compute) as the cooling models is to predict the first order behavior of a certain process and take out
that trend from the observed data. In this case, the residual signal is then analyzed for deviations
from the simple conduction model. The addition of heat to the system (for instance by plumes)

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

180

could cause anomalous topography (thermal topography) whereas the effect of deep dynamic
processes in the Earths mantle can cause dynamic topography. Removing the effects of conduction alone thus helps to isolate the structural signal due to other processes. This is likely to
continue, perhaps with the new model (GHD1) by Stein & Stein (1992) instead of that by earlier
workers; since regional differences are often larger than the residual between observed and predicted heat flow and depth curves one could question how useful a (set of) simple model(s) is (are).
For instance, if one allows the thermal expansion coefficient as a free parameters in the inversions,
one might also look into allowing lateral variation of this coefficient. Davies and Richards argue
that the success of the cooling models in predicting the topography and heat flow over almost the
entire age range of oceanic lithosphere (they attribute the deviations to the choice of the wrong
sites for data which is rather questionable) indicates that conductive cooling is the predominant
mode of heat loss of most of the lithosphere (about 85% of the heat lost from the mantle flows
through oceanic lithosphere), which suggests that the lithosphere is the boundary layer of a convective system with a typical scale length defined by the plates (plate-scale flow). They follow
up on a concept tossed up by Brad Hager that the oceanic lithosphere organizes the flow in the
deeper mantle. It is for arguments such as these that question as to whether or not the topography
levels off after, say, 80Ma, in not merely of interest to statisticians. It is quite clear that the details of the bathymetry of the oceans still contain significant keys to the understanding of dynamic
processes in the deep interior of the Earth. One of the remarkable aspects of the square root of
time variation of ocean depth is that it does a very good job in describing the true bathymetry,
even at distances pretty close to the MORs. This indicates that conduction alone is likely to be
the predominant mode of heat loss, even close to the MOR. The absence of any substantial dynamic topography near the ridge crest suggests that the active, convection related upwellings are
not significant. The upwelling is passive: the plates are pulled apart (mainly as the result of the
gravitational force, the slab pull, acting on the subducting slabs) and the asthenospheric mantle
beneath the ridges flows to shallower depth to fill the vacancy. In doing so the material will cross
the solidus, the temperature at which rock melts (which decreases with decreasing depth) so that
the material melts. This process is known as decompression melting (see Turcotte & Schubert,
Chapter 1), which results in a shallow magma chamber beneath the MOR instead of a very deep
plume-like conduit.

5.5 Bending, or flexure, of thin elastic plate

Introduction
We have seen that upon rifting away from the MOR the lithosphere thickens (the base of the ther,  /2 C) and subsides, and that the cooled
mal lithosphere is defined by an isotherm, usually 
lithosphere is more dense than the underlying mantle. In other words, it forms a gravitationally
unstable layer. Why does it stay atop the asthenosphere instead of sinking down to produce a more
stable density stratification? That is because upon cooling the lithosphere also acquires strength.
Its weight is supported by its strength; the lithosphere can sustain large stresses before it breaks.
The initiation of subduction is therefore less trivial than one might think and our understanding of
this process is still far from complete.
The strength of the lithosphere has important implications:

1. it means that the lithosphere can support loads, for instance by seamounts

5.5. BENDING, OR FLEXURE, OF THIN ELASTIC PLATE

181

Figure 5.13: Pressure-release melting.

2. the lithosphere, at least the top half of it, is seismogenic
3. lithosphere does not simply sink into the mantle at trenches, but it bends or flexes, so that it
influences the style of deformation along convergent plate boundaries.
Investigation of the bending or flexure of the plate provides important information about the mechanical properties of the lithospheric plate. We will see that the nature of the bending is largely
dependent on the flexural rigidity, which in turn depends on the elastic parameters of the lithosphere and on the elastic thickness of the plate.
An important aspect of the derivations given below is that the thickness of the elastic lithosphere
can often be determined from surprisingly simple observations and without knowledge of the
actual load. In addition, we will see that if the bending of the lithosphere is relatively small
the entire mechanical lithosphere behaves as an elastic plate; if the bending is large some of the
deformation takes place by means of ductile creep and the part of the lithosphere that behaves
elastically is thinner than the mechanical lithosphere proper.

5.5.1 Basic theory

To derive the equations for the bending of a thin elastic plate we need to





1. apply laws for equilibrium: sum of the forces is zero and the sum of all moments is zero:
PO and
;
2. define the constitutive relations between applied stress

 

and resultant strain

3. assume that the deflection

, the typical length scale of the system, and 8 , the thickness
of the elastic plate
. The latter criterion ( 3) is to justify the use of linear elasticity.

 

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

182

Figure 5.14: Deflection of a plate under a load.

In a 2D situation, i.e., there is no change in the direction of , the bending of a homogeneous,

  can be described by the fourth-order differential equation that is
elastic plate due to a load
well known in elastic beam theory in engineering:

 
 

  
(5.28)


the deflection, i.e., the vertical displacement of the plate, which is, in fact, the
the flexural rigidity, and
a horizontal force.


 
with

ocean depth(!),
The flexural rigidity depends on elastic parameters of the plate as well as on the thickness of the
plate:
(
   8
: 
9  

(5.29)

with  the Youngs modulus and the Poissons ratio, which depend on the elastic moduli and
(See Fowler, Appendix 2).
The bending of the plate results in bending (or fiber) stresses within the plate,
; depending
on how the plate is bent, one half of the plate will be in compression while the other half is in
extension. In the center of the plate the stress goes to zero; this defines the neutral line or plane. If
the bending is not too large, the stress will increase linearly with increasing distance away from
 8 :
the neutral line and reaches a maximum at
. The bending stress is also dependent on
 
the elastic properties of the plate and on how much the plate is bent;
elastic moduli



 :
curvature, with the curvature defined as the (negative of the) change in the slope



  



 9  8
9 




     

(5.30)

This stress is important to understand where the plate may break (seismicity!) with normal faulting
above and reverse faulting beneath the neutral line.
The integrated effect of the bending stress is the bending moment , which results in the rotation
of the plate, or a plate segment, in the  9
plane.


  
   

(5.31)

5.5. BENDING, OR FLEXURE, OF THIN ELASTIC PLATE

183

Figure 5.15: Curvature of an elastic plate.

Equation (5.28) is generally applicable to problems involving the bending of a thin elastic plate.
It plays a fundamental role in the study of such problems as the folding of geologic strata, the
development of sedimentary basins, the post-glacial rebound, the proper modeling of isostasy, and
in the understanding of seismicity. In class we will look at two important cases: (1) loading by sea
mounts, and (2) bending at the trench.
Before we can do this we have to look a bit more carefully at the dynamics of the system. If
we apply bending theory to study lithospheric flexure we have to realize that if some load
or moment
causes a deflection of the plate there will be a hydrostatic restoring force owing
to the replacement of heavy mantle material by lighter water or crustal rock. The magnitude
of the restoring force can easily be found by applying the isostasy principle and the effective
load is thus the applied load minus the restoring force (all per unit length in the direction):
 E
BC@CH 9$54
6
with
the deflection and 6 the gravitational acceleration. This formulation
also makes clear that lithospheric flexure is in fact a compensation mechanism for isostasy! For
 4 9 4
 4 9 4
oceanic lithosphere 54
and for continental flexure 54
. The bending
equation that we will consider is thus:

 
 





 54
6

Loading by sea mounts

Lets assume a line load in the form of a chain of sea mounts, for example Hawaii.

Figure 5.16: Deflection of an elastic plate under a line load.

(5.32)

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

184

 

 

 

  
Let
be the load applied at 
and
for 
. With this approximation we can
solve the homogeneous form of (5.32) for 
and take the mirror image to get the deflection

  for    . If we also ignore the horizontal applied force we have to solve

 



The general solution of (5.33) is

 




O

 54
6





(5.33)










the flexural parameter, which plays a central role in the extraction of structural information


(5.34)

with 
from the observed data:

  
54?6


(5.35)

Figure 5.17: .

The constants 9
can be determined from the boundary conditions. In this case we can apply

  

the general requirement that
  
for  
so that
, and we also require that
O


;


O



 : the solution



the plate be horizontal directly beneath 
:
for 
so that
becomes









(5.36)

From this we can now begin to see the power of this method. The deflection
as a function of
distance is an oscillation with period   and with an exponentially decaying amplitude. This

indicates that we can determine  directly from observed bathymetry profiles
  , and from
equations (5.36) and (5.29) we can determine the elastic thickness 8 under the assumption of

5.5. BENDING, OR FLEXURE, OF THIN ELASTIC PLATE

185

values for the elastic parameters (Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio). The flexural parameter
 has a dimension of distance, and defines, in fact, a typical length scale of the deflection (as a
function of the strength of the plate).

Figure 5.18: A deflection profile.

P

the deflection at 
and it can be shown (Turcotte &
The constant can be determined

  (   from

, the deflection beneath the center of the load. The final
Schubert) that
expression for the deflection due to a line load is then

 


 




Lets now look at a few properties of the solution:




   

  




(5.37)

;

     


The half-width of the depression can be found by solving

for






 . From
  it follows



(5.37)



that
 
9
  or 



9



,
 . /. .1


For ; the half-width of the depression is found to be 
.
:

The height,
, and location,  , of forebulge
find the optima of the solution (5.37). By






solving


we find that     must be zero
 , and for those optima




.
/

.
1
.


    




:  For the
,
location
of
the
forebulge:
,
and the




/










height of the forebulge
9


or
9
(very small!).



 

  



 








 


Important implications: The flexural parameter can be determined from the location of either the

zero crossing or the location of the forebulge. No need to know the magnitude of the load! The
depression is narrow for small  , which means either a weak plate or a small elastic thickness (or
both); for a plate with large elastic thickness, or with a large rigidity the depression is very wide.

In the limit of very large the depression is infinitely wide but the amplitude
, is zero
no
depression at all! Once  is known, information about the central load can be obtained from Eq.
(5.37)
Note: the actual situation can be complicated by lateral variations in thickness 8 , fracturing of the
lithosphere (which influences ), compositional layering within the elastic lithosphere, and by the
fact that loads have a finite dimensions.

Flexure at deep sea trench

With increasing distance from the MOR, or with increasing time since formation at the MOR, the
oceanic lithosphere becomes increasingly more dense and if the conditions are right 5 this gravi5
Even for old oceanic lithosphere the stresses caused by the increasing negative buoyancy of the plate are not large
enough to break the plate and initiate subduction. The actual cause of subduction initiation is still not well understood,

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

186

tational instability results in the subduction of the old oceanic plate. The gravitational instability
is significant for lithospheric ages of about 70 Ma and more. We will consider here the situation
after subduction itself has been established; in general the plate will not just sink vertically into
the mantlebut it will bend into the trench region.

Figure 5.19:

 
 

This bending is largely due to the gravitational force due to the negative buoyancy of the part of
the slab that is already subducted
. For our modeling we assume that the bending is due to an
end load
and a bending moment
applied at the tip of the plate. As a result of the bending
 






moment the slope
at 
(note the difference with the seamount example where
this slope was set to zero!). The important outcome is, again, that the parameter of our interest,
the elastic thickness 8 , can be determined from the shape of the plate, in vertical cross section,

i.e. from the bathymetry profile
  !, in the subduction zone region, without having to know the
magnitudes of
and
.
  P for
We can use the same basic equation (5.33) and the general solution (5.34) (with
the reason given above)

 










(5.38)

 

the bendbut the boundary conditions are different and so are the constants and . At 
6
ing moment is 9
and the end load 9
. It can be shown (Turcotte & Schubert) that the


expressions for and are given by






  
:

 9

and

 

(5.39)

so that the solution for bending due to an end load and an applied bending moment can be written
as

 



:



      


 


(5.40)

We proceed as above to find the locations of the first zero crossing and the fore bulge, or outer
rise.
but the presence of pre-existing zones of weakness (e.g. a fracture zone, thinned lithosphere due to magmatic activity
e.g. an island arc) or the initiation of bending by means of sediment loading have all been proposed (and investigated)
as explanation for the triggering of subduction.
6
At this moment, it is important that you go back to the original derivation of the plate equation in Turcotte &
Schubert and realize they obtained their results with definite choices as to the signs of applied loads and moments
hence the negative signs.

5.5. BENDING, OR FLEXURE, OF THIN ELASTIC PLATE

 
 O






  

-  
 
 9 9 :


187

    
  

 
  
(5.42)
In contrast to similar solutions for the sea mount loading case, these expressions for   and  


still depend on  and  . In general  and  are unknown. They can, however, be elim
inated, and we can show the dependence of
  on   and   , which can both be estimated
from the
profile. A perhaps less obvious but elegant way of doing this is to work out
    nathymetry

  9    . Using sine and cosine rules (see Turcotte & Schubert, 3.17) one finds that
    9   
(5.43)


         , O . /. .1".


For O one finds that O       , so
so that   9  

:


9 
that the elastic thickness 8 can be determined if one can measure the horizontal distance between
  and   .
O


Figure 5.20:

(5.41)

  9  ,      ,

After a bit of algebra one can also eliminate  to find the deflection
  as a function of



and  . The normalized deflection

as a function of normalized distance  9   
is known as the Universal Flexure Profile.

 



 



9 

 

9  
  9   







9 




 99  

(5.44)

In other words, there is a unique way to bend a laterally homogeneous elastic plate so that it goes
 
.'
.
 and 
 with the condition that the slope is zero at 
through the two points 
.
The example of the Mariana trench shown in Figure 5.20 demonstrates the excellent fit between
the observed bathymetry and the prediction after Eq. (5.44) (for a best fitting elastic thickness 8
as determined from the flexural parameter calculated from equation (5.43).

Bending stress and seismicity

Many shallow earthquakes occur in near the convergent margin. Both in the overriding plates as
well as in the subducting plate. The latter can be attributed to the bending stresses in the plate. The
bending stress is given by Eq. (5.30). Earthquakes are most likely to occur in the region where the

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

188

bending stress is largest (thats the place where the elastic plate is most likely to fail if there are no
pre-existing inhomogeneities such as transform faults). To find the horizontal location where the
stress is largest we must solve

 


O

O


 

 (
(


(5.45)

This gives the location x where the stress is a maximum (or minimum!) and substitution in (5.30),
with the flexural parameter
determined as above from the bathymetry profile, then gives the
amplitude of the maximum stress. If this stress exceeds the strength of the plate, failure will occur.
The mechanism of the earthquake depends on the location relative to the neutral stress plane.

5.6 The upper mantle transition zone

Derivation of density variation with depth: Adams-Williamson Equation
How about density? Can the radial variation in density and the elastic moduli be constrained
independently from the travel time curves? Indirectly, yes! This was first shown by Adams and
Williamson in 1923. Here, we will only give the basic principles and, in particular, discuss its
implications for our understanding of the Earths physical state.
The fundamental result I want you to remember is that the Adams-Williamson equation relates the
gradient in density to radial variations in seismic wave speed (through the seismic parameter) and
the mass of the Earth, which quantities are assumed to be known, but that this result only applies
to homogeneous regions of the same physical phase.

 and
From the travel time curves we can determine radial variations of P and S-wave speed, 


.









(5.46)

(5.47)

which can be combined to get what is known as the seismic parameter





 
9
4

(5.48)

 ,  , 4  ,  ,  , and  .
where  , , 4 , , , and are all functions of radius:
The seismic parameter is also known as the bulk sound velocity, as the counterpart of the shear


velocity . (Notice that the incompressibility in these equations is, in fact, the adiabatic in
compressibility or bulk modulus
because the time scale of any change in due to changes in
temperature  are much larger than the transit time of a seismic wave.) The aim is to show that not
only the density-normalized shear and bulk moduli can be determined, but also the density itself
(and thus and ).
In general, variations in density can be due to changes in pressure ( ), temperature (  ), composition ( ) and physical phase ( ), which can be written (in gradient form) as:







 
4

4



4  
4  

  
 

(5.49)

5.6. THE UPPER MANTLE TRANSITION ZONE

189

For a homogeneous medium (same composition and phase throughout) this equation simplifies to;







 
4

4



(5.50)

For the sake of the argument I will concentrate on the effect of adiabatic compression, i.e., there
is no variation of density with temperature.







4

(5.51)

This assumption seems reasonable for most of the convecting mantle, and leads to the original
Adams-Williamson equation. For thermal boundary layers such as the lithosphere and the lowermost mantle (D), and - in case of layered convection a TBL between the upper and the
lower mantle, an additional gradient term has to be taken into account, and this modification has
been applied by Birch in his famous 1952 paper (see Fowler 4.3, and Stacey 5.3.1).
For adiabatic self-compression the increase in pressure that results from the descent from radius

to radius is due to the weight of the overlying shell with thickness , so that the pressure
gradient can be written as:

 9*6?4 .

with

6  

(5.52)

The other term in Eq. (5.51), the pressure derivative of the density, can be evaluated in terms of

the adiabatic bulk modulus :



increase in pressure
fractional change in volume

 9




 4 

4

(5.53)

Substitution of (5.52) and (5.53) in (5.51) and using (5.48) gives the Adams-Williamson equation:

 9  4



 
4
9 

(5.54)


 

     4      
EK F 9    4     
(5.55)

shows that 
 is, in fact,

the mass of the Earth less the mass of the shell between point and
the radius of the Earth  EK F  . The mass of the Earth is assumed to be know from astronomical
data and is an important constraint on the density gradient. So the only unknown in (5.55) is the


density 4  between and  EK F  . We can find a solution of (5.54) by working from the Earths

which relates the density gradient to the known seismic parameter and the gravitational attraction


of the mass
 . Rewrite for


surface to larger depths: at the surface, the density of crustal rock is fairly well known so that the
density gradient can be determined for the crust. This gradient is then used to estimate the density
at the base of the crust, which is then used to calculate the mass of the crustal shell. In this way
we can carry on the differentiation and integration to larger depths. As already mentioned, and
explicit in (5.55), any solution of (5.54) must agree with the total mass of the Earth, as well as
with the moment of inertia, which forms the second independent constraint on the solution. This
 
O , and in this form one must also
process can only be applied in regions where 

190

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

 

require
4

, but as mentioned above there are approximations to (5.54) that take
small deviations from adiabatic compression into account.
Application of the (modified) Adams-Williamson equation by, amongst others, Bullen resulted in
pretty good density models for the Earth.
13

12
11

Density (gcm3)

10
9
8
7

6
5

4
3
0

1000

2000

3000
Depth (km)

4000

5000

6000

Figure 5.21: The density of the Earth according to model

ak135.

The upper mantle transition zone

In 1952, Birch realized that both the density gradient and the wave speed gradients in the Earth
mantle between 200 and 900 km in depth are larger than expected from adiabatic compression
 
O

only, see the abstract of his famous paper (attached). This means that either 
or

, or both. The mantle region where the density and wave speed gradient are larger than predicted
from adiabatic compression alone is loosely referred to as the (upper mantle) transition zone 7 .
 

There is no consensus yet on which one applies to the Earth but it is now clear that 
is a
sufficient condition and is probably the most important factor to explain the excess density. Birch

 .   

suggested that phase transformations in the Mg, Fe silicate system

(olivine, spinel)

 .    (
(pyroxene) could explain the increase in density required to explain the nonand

adiabatic parts of the density and wave speed gradients. We now know that phase transformations
do indeed occur in this mineral system at depths of about 410 and 660 km. Initially the sharpness
of the interface as deduced from the reflection and phase conversion of high frequency seismic
waves was used as evidence for compositional layering and against effects of a phase change.
However, experimental rock mechanics in the late eighties demonstrated that phase changes can
occur over sufficiently narrow depth ranges to explain the seismic observations, see attached phase
diagrams by Ito and Takahashi (JGR, 1989).
The phase changes in the (Mg, Fe) silicates play an important role in mantle dynamics because
the pressure induced phase changes are also temperature dependent! This means that phase
changes can occur at different depth depending on the temperature of the medium in which the
transformation occurs. The temperature dependence is governed by the value of the Clapeyron

This is the original definition of the transition zone. Later, it became common to use the term transition zone in a
more restricted to indicate the mantle region between the 410 and 660 km discontinuities. In terms of mantle processes
(convection, slab behavior) the original definition is more useful.

5.6. THE UPPER MANTLE TRANSITION ZONE

191

Figure 5.22: Phase diagrams of mineral transformations in

the mantle.




 of the boundaries between the stability fields of Olivine (Ol), Spinel (Sp), and Perslope
ovskite/Magnesiowustite (Pv+Mw) in the 95 diagram. The phase diagrams by Ito & Takahashi
at 1100 C and 1600 C illustrate that the phase change occurs at smaller pressure if the temperature
increase; i.e., the Clapeyron slope for the transition from Sp  Pv+Mw is negative! Its a so called
endothermic phase change: upon phase transformation the material looses heat and cools down.
In contrast, Ol  Sp transition that marks the phase change at about 410 km depth has a positive
Clapeyron slope and is exothermic, i.e. there is a release of latent heat upon transformation and
the material will warm up.

What does this mean for dynamics and plate driving forces? In the diagram I have given schematically the stability fields of Ol, Sp, and Pv+Mw, and the boundaries between them (i.e. the Clapeyron slopes). If one would descend into the mantle along an average mantle geotherm one would
cross the Clapeyron slope where Ol and Sp coexist at a pressure that corresponds to a depth of
about 410 km and the phase line between Sp and Pv+Mw at a pressure corresponding to about
660 km depth. Consider now the situation that a slab of cold, former oceanic lithosphere subducts
into the mantle and crosses the stability fields of the silicates (assume for simplicity that the composition of the slab is the same as the mantle which is not the case). Within the slab the phase

CHAPTER 5. GEODYNAMICS

192

transformation from Ol  Sp will occur at a shallower depth than in the ambient mantle. This
means that for depths just less than 410 km the density within the slab is locally higher than in
the ambient mantle, and this, in fact, gives rise to an extra negative buoyancy force that helps the
slab to subduct (it is an important plate driving force). At 660 km the dynamical effect of the
phase change is the opposite. Inside and in the direct vicinity of the slab the phase boundary will
be depressed; consequently, the density in the slab is less than the density of the ambient mantle
which creates a buoyancy force that will resist the further penetration of the slab.

Figure 5.23: Effects of phase transformations on downgoing slabs.

From the diagram it is clear that the steeper the Clapeyron slope, the stronger the dynamic effects.
On the one hand, a lot of laboratory research is focused on estimating the slopes of these phase
boundaries in experimental conditions. On the other hand, and that brings us back to seismology,
seismologists attempt to estimate the topography of the seismic discontinuity and thus constrain
the clapeyron slope and asses the dynamical implications. Important classes of seismological data
that have the potential to constrain both the sharpness of and the depth to the discontinuities are
reflections and phase (mode) transformations. An example of a useful reflection is the underside
, or
, or just
, at the 660 km discontireflection of the
nuity.
Since the paths of the
phase and the =N=
are almost similar except for near the reflection
point, the difference in travel time gives direct information about the depth to the interface. Anunderside reflections =N= . Apart from proper phase identification
other example is the use of
(usually one applies stacking techniques to suppress signal to noise) the major problem with such
techniques is that one has to make assumptions about upper mantle structure between the Earths
surface and the discontinuity, and these corrections are not always reliable. The time difference
between the reflections at the surface and the discontinuity contains information about the depth
to the interface, whereas the frequency content of both the direct and the reflected phase gives
information about the sharpness of the interface. Also phase conversions can be used! This line
of research is still very active, and there is some consensus only about the very long wave length
variations in depth to the seismic discontinuities.
















 





5.6. THE UPPER MANTLE TRANSITION ZONE

Figure 5.24: The underside reflection off the 660 discontinuity.

193