T23E:
Exploring the Theory of Plate Tectonics: The Nature and Role of the Mantle Lithosphere II

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Session ID#: 16596

Session Description:
Fifty years after Tuzo Wilson inquired whether the Atlantic closed and then reopened, evidence has accumulated for aspects of the Earth system's behavior that do not fit neatly into the conventional theory of plate tectonics. In particular, the role of the mantle lithosphere appears to be far more complex than envisaged by the framework of rigid plates and well-defined plate boundaries. Compared to the overlying crust, the structure of the mantle lithosphere (including the location of the lower boundary) and its evolution (especially for the oldest cratons) remain poorly constrained, while geophysical imaging techniques have increasingly found heterogeneities to be ubiquitous. We invite contributions to discuss the role of the mantle lithosphere in past, present and future plate tectonics, including commentary on composition, strength, and evolution.  Studies from disciplines that include, but are not limited to, seismology, geodynamics, gravity and geochemistry are welcome.
Primary Convener:  Philip Heron, University of Toronto, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Conveners:  Fiona Ann Darbyshire, University of Quebec at Montreal UQAM, Centre de recherche GEOTOP, Montreal, QC, Canada, Vadim L Levin, Rutgers University, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Piscataway, United States and Russell Pysklywec, University of Toronto, Department of Earth Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
Chairs:  Fiona Ann Darbyshire, University of Quebec at Montreal UQAM, Centre de recherche GEOTOP, Montreal, QC, Canada and Philip Heron, University of Toronto, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada
OSPA Liaison:  Philip Heron, University of Toronto, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada

Cross-Listed:
  • DI - Study of the Earth's Deep Interior
  • S - Seismology
  • V - Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology
Index Terms:

1025 Composition of the mantle [GEOCHEMISTRY]
7218 Lithosphere [SEISMOLOGY]
8110 Continental tectonics: general [TECTONOPHYSICS]
8120 Dynamics of lithosphere and mantle: general [TECTONOPHYSICS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

The history and fate of three families of lithosphere on Earth (Invited) (121751)
Cin-Ty Lee, Rice University, Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Houston, TX, United States
Architecture of the North American lithospheric mantle and its relationship to ultramafic magmatism (144580)
Andrew J Schaeffer, University of Ottawa, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ottawa, ON, Canada, Pascal Audet, University of Ottawa, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ottawa, ON, Canada and Sergei Lebedev, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, Ireland
Moho Temperature and Compositional Controls on Lithospheric Bending Strength in the Western United States (132061)
Derek Schutt, Colorado State University, Geosciences, Fort Collins, United States, Anthony R Lowry, Utah State University, Geosciences, Logan, UT, United States and Janine S Buehler, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
Formation of Lithospheric Shear Zones: Effect of Temperature on Two-Phase Grain Damage (131720)
Elvira Mulyukova, Northwestern University, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Evanston, IL, United States and David Bercovici, Yale University, Earth & Planetary Sciences, New Haven, CT, United States
Lithospheric layering in major continents: results using full waveform tomography (Invited) (121478)
Dr. Huaiyu Yuan, Geological Survey of Western Australia, East Perth, WA, Australia, Pierre Clouzet, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris, France, Barbara A Romanowicz, University of California Berkeley, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Berkeley, United States and Liang Zhao, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Beijing, China
Super-weak asthenosphere models in light of plate motions and azimuthal anisotropy (153023)
Thorsten W Becker, University of Texas at Austin, Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, TX, United States
Lu-Hf isotope constraints on plume-lithosphere interaction during emplacement of the Bushveld Large Igneous Province at ~2.06 Ga: Implications for the structure and evolution of the Kaapvaal Craton's lithospheric mantle (162217)
Nasser Alexander Zirakparvar1, Edmond A Mathez1, Hariharan Rajesh2, Jeffrey D. Vervoort3 and Saebyul Choe1, (1)American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States, (2)Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Gaborone, Botswana, (3)Washington State University, School of the Environment, Pullman, WA, United States
Recent craton growth by under-accreting an ocean plateau beneath Wyoming (184163)
Eugene Humphreys, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States, Brandon Schmandt, University of New Mexico, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Albuquerque, United States and Maximiliano Bezada, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Earth Sciences, Minneapolis, MN, United States

See more of: Tectonophysics