Innovation of Thermal Evolution Model of Mantle

Abstract

 It has long been believed that granite remains on the surface of solid Earth indefinitely due to its low density, hence continents increased in volumes to cover about 30% of the Earth's surface over time. However, recent studies on the accretion history of continents reveals that at least 80% of the granite that ever formed had been subducted into the deep mantle to form “second continents” at the mantle transition zone (410-660 km). These second continents would affect mantle dynamics in two ways. First, as the second continents are gravitationally stable at the depth of the mantle transition zone, they act as a barrier to descending cold slabs. The stagnation of cold slab would be partly due to the pre-existing second continents. Another effect of the second continents on mantle dynamics relates to their chemical component. Because granite is enriched with incompatible elements, including long-lived radiogenic elements K, Th, and U, the second continents act as heat sources in the mantle. In particular, the heat generation of the second continents is a key to understanding the formation-breakup cycle of supercontinents. Granite that piled up beneath a supercontinent during continent accretion would cause thermal instability to form a superplume beneath the supercontinent. A numerical study on the thermal evolution of subducted granite gives the characteristic time scale of thermal instability which is consistent with the lives of supercontinents suggested by geological studies.