Abstract
Geoid observations in the oceans suggest that lithospheric thinning is effected by small-scale convection within hot-spot material trapped in dimples a few tens of kilometers deep at the base of the lithosphere. Significant thinning can occur within 5 Ma if the viscosity of the convecting material is 10 16 Pa s. Partial melting can enhance considerably the vigour of convection and the same rate of lithospheric thinning is obtained for a viscosity about five times higher. These results are derived from convection models with a realistic temperature-dependent rheology using the mean field approximation.
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