Title: Global dimming and brightening: A review
Authors: Martin Wild: Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres (JGR-D) paper 10.1029/2008JD011470, 2009; http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011470
8. Can seismic variation in the mantle be explained by temperature alone?
The structure and dynamics of Earth's mantle are of great importance because they determine the forces acting upon tectonic plates. Imaging the deep Earth is accomplished through seismic tomography, where variations in seismic wave travel times help to map out elastic heterogeneity at depth. However, interpreting the tomographic images in terms of composition and flow remains a challenging task. On the basis of comparisons of geodynamic Earth models, which include detailed mineralogical information on mantle elasticity, with tomography studies, Schuberth et al. show that stark lateral temperature variations occur deep in the mantle and that these are consistent with a variety of seismic observations. Through providing a new way to compare geodynamic and seismic Earth models quantitatively, the authors suggest that the mantle could be chemically homogeneous but thermally differentiated because of a large heat flux from the core. This implies that thermal history models of the Earth may have to be reevaluated. Most important, the good agreement between their geodynamic models and tomographic images argues for mantle flow that is driven not by c
'/>"/>
| Contact: Maria-Jose Vinas mjvinas@agu.org 202-777-7530 American Geophysical Union Source:Eurekalert |