Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Science. 2010 Aug 27;329(5995):1033-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1191223.
Plate tectonics is regulated by driving and resisting forces concentrated at plate boundaries, but observationally constrained high-resolution models of global mantle flow remain a computational challenge. We capitalized on advances in adaptive mesh refinement algorithms on parallel computers to simulate global mantle flow by incorporating plate motions, with individual plate margins resolved down to a scale of 1 kilometer. Back-arc extension and slab rollback are emergent consequences of slab descent in the upper mantle. Cold thermal anomalies within the lower mantle couple into oceanic plates through narrow high-viscosity slabs, altering the velocity of oceanic plates. Viscous dissipation within the bending lithosphere at trenches amounts to approximately 5 to 20% of the total dissipation through the entire lithosphere and mantle.
板块构造受集中在板块边界的驱动力和阻力调节，但观测约束的全球地幔流高分辨率模型仍然是一个计算挑战。我们利用并行计算机上自适应网格细化算法的进展，通过整合板块运动来模拟全球地幔流，将各个板块边缘的分辨率提高到 1 公里的尺度。在上地幔中，板块俯冲导致了弧后扩张和板块后撤。在狭窄的高粘度板块中，下地幔中的冷热源与海洋板块耦合，改变了海洋板块的速度。俯冲带弯曲岩石圈内部的粘性耗散约占整个岩石圈和地幔总耗散的 5%至 20%。
