Fluid dynamics of active heterogeneities in a mantle plume conduit

Abstract:

Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations indicate that the flow of a purely thermal plume preserves the azimuthal zonation of the source region, thus providing a framework to attribute a deep origin to the isotopic zonation of Hawaiian lavas. However, previous studies were limited to passive heterogeneities not affecting the flow. We go beyond this simplification by considering active heterogeneities which are compositionally denser, or more viscous, and we address the following questions: (1) How do active heterogeneities modify the axially symmetric velocity field of the plume conduit? (2) Under which conditions is the azimuthal zonation of the source region no longer preserved in the plume stem? (3) How do active heterogeneities deform during upwelling and what is their shape once at sublithospheric depths? We conducted both laboratory experiments, using a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to calculate the velocity field, and high resolution three-dimensional simulations where millions of tracers keep track of the heterogeneous fluid. For compositionally denser heterogeneities we cover a range of buoyancy ratios 0<B<2, where B=Δρ_chemical/Δρ_thermal and ρ is density; for more viscous heterogeneities, the range of viscosity ratios is 0<λ<20, where λ=η_{heterogeneity}/η_fluid and η is viscosity. The initial heterogeneity has the arbitrary shape of a sphere and we vary its volume and its distance from the plume axis. We find that by increasing λ, the shape of the heterogeneity changes from filament-like to blob-like characterized by internal rotation and little stretching. By increasing B the heterogeneity tends to spread at the base of the plume stem and to rise as a tendril close to the axis, so that the initial zonation may be poorly preserved. We also find that the plume velocity field can be profoundly modified by active heterogeneities, and we explore the relation between strain rates and the evolving shape of the upwelling heterogeneity.