Articles | Volume 8, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-339-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-8-339-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The subduction dichotomy of strong plates and weak slabs
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
University of California, San Diego,
9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093-0225, USA
Dave R. Stegman
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
University of California, San Diego,
9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92093-0225, USA
Paul J. Tackley
Institute für Geophysik,
ETH Zürich,
Sonneggstrasse 5,
8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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Timothy Stephen Gray, Paul James Tackley, and Taras Gerya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6547, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6547, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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This study introduces a new way to track Earth’s surface and other boundaries in computer models of the planet’s interior. It replaces noisy, tracer-based methods with a technique that cleanly follows surfaces while conserving volume. The approach produces smoother, more accurate results in both 2D and 3D, reduces dependence on large numbers of tracers, and supports future links between deep Earth processes, oceans, and surface environments.
Timothy Stephen Gray, Paul James Tackley, and Taras Gerya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6546, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6546, 2026
Short summary
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This study presents a new way to model how Earth’s surface changes over time as the deep interior moves. The method tracks the surface directly, allowing clearer and more detailed results worldwide while using less computing power. It improves accuracy compared to existing approaches and makes it easier to connect deep Earth processes with oceans, climate, landscapes, and life through time.
Timothy Stephen Gray, Paul James Tackley, and Taras Gerya
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6354, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6354, 2025
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We developed a new way to model how planetary surfaces rise and sink as the deep interior slowly flows. Existing approaches are either costly or unstable. Our method represents the surface smoothly within a fixed grid, which avoids artificial air layers and numerical problems. Tests show it matches established results while running faster and working in more realistic settings, such as loaded surfaces and global models. This makes simulations of surface evolution more reliable and accessible.
Paul James Tackley
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 8651–8662, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8651-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-8651-2025, 2025
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Tracers are commonly used in geodynamical models to track various quantities as material moves around. However, methods used to advect them typically do not respect the mass conservation equation, resulting in gaps and bunches in the tracer distribution. Here a method to correct this, based on nudging tracer positions in order to respect mass conservation, is presented. Tests show that it is effective and has a low computational cost.
Paul James Tackley
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 7389–7397, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-7389-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-7389-2025, 2025
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Large density jumps in numerical simulations of solid Earth dynamics can cause numerical oscillations. An effective method to prevent these at a free surface already exists. Here this is tested for compositional layers deeper in the mantle. The stabilisation method works effectively if density gradients due purely to compositional gradients are used but produces severe artefacts if total density is used.
Joshua Martin Guerrero, Frédéric Deschamps, Yang Li, Wen-Pin Hsieh, and Paul James Tackley
Solid Earth, 14, 119–135, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-119-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-14-119-2023, 2023
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The mantle thermal conductivity's dependencies on temperature, pressure, and composition are often suppressed in numerical models. We examine the effect of these dependencies on the long-term evolution of lower-mantle thermochemical structure. We propose that depth-dependent conductivities derived from mantle minerals, along with moderate temperature and compositional correction, emulate the Earth's mean lowermost-mantle conductivity values and produce a stable two-pile configuration.
Anna Johanna Pia Gülcher, Maxim Dionys Ballmer, and Paul James Tackley
Solid Earth, 12, 2087–2107, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2087-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2087-2021, 2021
Short summary
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The lower mantle extends from 660–2890 km depth, making up > 50 % of the Earth’s volume. Its composition and structure, however, remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate several hypotheses with computer simulations of mantle convection that include different materials: recycled, dense rocks and ancient, strong rocks. We propose a new integrated style of mantle convection including
piles,
blobs, and
streaksthat agrees with various observations of the deep Earth.
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Short summary
In this study we propose a dichotomy in the strength profile of tectonic plates. This apparent dichotomy suggests that plates at the Earth's surface are significantly stronger, by orders of magnitude, than the subducted slabs in the Earth's interior. Strong plates promote single-sided, Earth-like subduction. Once subducted, strong slabs transmit dynamic stresses and disrupt subduction. Slabs which are weakened do not disrupt subduction and furthermore exhibit a variety of observed morphologies.
In this study we propose a dichotomy in the strength profile of tectonic plates. This apparent...