Differential rotation between lithosphere and mantle: a consequence of lateral mantle viscosity variations - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Geophysical Research Année : 1991

Differential rotation between lithosphere and mantle: a consequence of lateral mantle viscosity variations

Résumé

The description of plate motions in the so-called hotspot reference frame introduces a global rotation of the lithosphere with respect to the mantle. This rotation, called toroidal field of degree 1, is roughly westward. It reaches an amplitude of about 2 cm/yr and has been consistently found in the different generation of plate tectonic models. In this paper, we compare the values of this rotation vector using different relative plate motion models expressed in the hotspot reference frame. In a model Earth with lateral viscosity variations, a differential rotation is predicted. The observed net lithospheric rotation is consistent with the dynamics of a model Earth where the asthenospheric viscosity below the oceans is at least one order of magnitude lower than underneath the continents. This relative westward drift of the lithosphere may account for the significant structural differences between east or west dipping subduction zones. -from Authors
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Dates et versions

hal-02046601 , version 1 (02-02-2021)

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Y. Ricard, C. Doglioni, R. Sabadini. Differential rotation between lithosphere and mantle: a consequence of lateral mantle viscosity variations. Journal of Geophysical Research, 1991, 96 (B5), pp.8407-8415. ⟨10.1029/91JB00204⟩. ⟨hal-02046601⟩
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