Styles of mantle convection and their influence on planetary evolution
Open accessAbstract
Mantle convection is the method of heat elimination for silicate mantles in terrestrial bodies, provided they are not too small or too hot. Bodies that are small (∼Moon or smaller, possibly even Mercury) may rely largely on conduction or melt migration, and bodies that are very hot (Io, very early Earth) may use massive melt migration (magma oceans) and heat pipes. In the standard, simple picture, we can use scaling laws to determine the secular cooling of a planet, likelihood and form of volcanism, and the possibility of a core dynamo. Contrary to popular belief, small planets do not cool faster than larger planets (provided they convect) but they do tend to have a slightly lower internal temperature at all times and thus may cease to be volcanically active at an earlier epoch. On the other hand, a larger volume fraction of a small planet may be involved in melt generation. However, our understanding of heat transfer by mantle convection is limited by three very important, largely unsolved problems: The complexities of rheology, the effects of compositional gradients, and the effects of phase transitions, especially melting. The most striking manifestation of the role of rheology lies in the difference between a mobile lid mode (plate tectonics for Earth) and a stagnant lid mode (other large terrestrial bodies). This difference may arise because of the role of water, but perhaps also because of melting, or size (gravity), or the vagaries of history. It has profound effects for the differences in history of Earth, Venus and Mars, including their surface geology, volatile reservoirs and magnetic fields. Since thermal convection is driven by small density differences, it can also be greatly altered or limited by compositional or phase effects. Melt migration introduces additional complications to the heat transport as well as being a source for the irreversible differentiation that might promote layering. Our limited understanding and ability to model these processes continues to limit the development of a predictive framework for the differences among the terrestrial planets.
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A simplistic distinction between mobile- and stagnant-lid tectonics is that the entire lithosphere is involved in convection in the former, whereas only the warmer, weaker (basal) part of the lid is responsive to convection in the latter.
“A simplistic, but useful, distinction between mobile-and stagnant-lid tectonics is that the entire lithosphere is involved in convection in the former, whereas only the warmer, weaker (basal) part of the lid is responsive to convection in the latter (Stevenson, 2003).”
From Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth (2020) · cites this paper as Stevenson, 2003
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Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth
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“A simplistic, but useful, distinction between mobile- and stagnant-lid tectonics is that the entire lithosphere is involved in convection in the former, whereas only the warmer, weaker (basal) part of the lid is responsive to convection in the latter (Stevenson, 2003).”
BackgroundStern, R. J., Gerya, T., & Tackley, P. J. (2018) · Geoscience Frontiers · doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2017.06.004 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
- Authors
- Stevenson, D. J.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Stevenson, David J.
- ORCID
- Stevenson, David J.
- Venue
- Comptes Rendus. Géoscience
- Publisher
- MathDoc/Centre Mersenne
- Published
- 2003-01-01
- Volume
- 335
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 99-111
- ISSN
- 1631-0713 (ISSN-L)
- 1778-7025
- OpenAlex
- W1977809024
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 1.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Comptes Rendus Géoscience (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Geoscience (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › High-pressure geophysics and materials
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
- Keywords
- mantle convection, planetary evolution, planetary cooling, heat transport, melt migration, magma ocean, heat pipes, plate tectonics, stagnant lid, mantle rheology, compositional gradient, melting, core dynamo, volcanic activity, terrestrial planets, Earth, Venus, Mars, Moon, mercury, iOS, volatile reservoirs, magnetic field
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