A NUMERICAL RESEARCH ON THE SMALL-SCALE CONVECTION WITH VARIABLE VISCOSITY IN THE UPPER MANTLE
上地幔变黏度小尺度对流的数值研究

Based on a two-dimensional model, small-scale convection in the upper mantle-lithosphere system with variable viscosity is researched by using finite element method. Variation of viscosity in exponential form with temperature is considered in this paper. The results show that if viscosity is strongly temperature-dependent, the upper part of the system does not take a share in the convection and forms into a stagnant lid similar to lithosphere because of low temperature and high viscosity. The calculated surface heat flow, the topography and the gravity anomalies are associated well with the convection pattern, namely, the regions with high heat flow and uplift correspond to the upwelling flow, and vice versa.