Open AccessFlow in the Mantle Inferred from the Low Degree Harmonics of the Geopotential
Author(s) -
Runcorn S. K.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1967.tb06253.x
Subject(s) - geopotential , geology , geophysics , harmonics , mantle (geology) , earth's rotation , mantle convection , flow (mathematics) , convection , crust , geodesy , mechanics , seismology , physics , subduction , voltage , tectonics , quantum mechanics
Summary Flow in the Earth's mantle is inferred from continental drift. Its distribution may be obtained from the pattern of zones of compression and tension in the Earth's crust and from the low harmonics of the geopotential. The origin of the flow is held to be convection. The depth to which the flow extends will be discussed. The relation of the flow to the earthquake mechanism will be considered.