Plume-induced geoid anomalies from 2D axi-symmetric temperature- and pressure-dependent mantle convection models

Abstract

A collection of numerical simulations of 2D axi-symmetric thermal convection is presented here. The aim is to investigate the shape of geoid anomalies and dynamic topography above a plume. The simulation is based on the Boussinesq approximation and infinite Prandtl number and is carried out in the spherical shell with strongly temperature- and depth-dependent Arrhenius-type viscosity. According to the Arrhenius law, plume models with purely depth-dependent rheology are unphysical and should be taken with care. The strongly coupled temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity enables us to better understand the plume's behavior inside the Earth.The topography and geoid anomalies produced from plumes are sensitive to rheology of the mantle and rheology of the plume; both have effects on shape and amplitude of the geoid anomalies. We determined different categories of the geoid which are related to various rheology. Depth-dependent viscosity models show a geoid with a negative sign above the plume, and temperature-dependent viscosity models depict a bell-shaped geoid. We identified different behaviors in the combined model with temperature- and pressure-dependent viscosity.