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Fluid mechanics of free subduction on a sphere. Part 1. The axisymmetric case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2021

Alexander Chamolly Open the ORCID record for Alexander Chamolly [Opens in a new window]  and
Neil M. Ribe Open the ORCID record for Neil M. Ribe [Opens in a new window]
Alexander Chamolly
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole normale supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, CNRS UMR3738, Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Department, F-75015 Paris, France
Neil M. Ribe*
Affiliation:
Lab FAST, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS UMR7608, F-91405 Orsay, France
*
†Email address for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

To understand how a spherical geometry influences the dynamics of gravity-driven subduction of the oceanic lithosphere on Earth, we study a simple model of a thin and dense axisymmetric shell of thickness $h$ and viscosity $\eta _1$ sinking in a spherical body of fluid with radius $R_0$ and a lower viscosity $\eta _0$. Using scaling analysis based on thin viscous shell theory, we identify a fundamental length scale, the ‘bending length’ $l_b$, and two key dimensionless parameters that control the dynamics: the ‘flexural stiffness’ $St = (\eta _1/\eta _0)(h/l_b)^3$ and the ‘sphericity number’ $\varSigma = (l_b/R_0)\cot \theta _t$, where $\theta _t$ is the angular radius of the subduction trench. To validate the scaling analysis, we obtain a suite of instantaneous numerical solutions using a boundary-element method based on new analytical point-force Green functions that satisfy free-slip boundary conditions on the sphere's surface. To isolate the effect of sphericity, we calculate the radial sinking speed $V$ and the hoop stress resultant $T_2$ at the leading end of the subducted part of the shell, both normalised by their ‘flat-Earth’ values (i.e. for $\varSigma = 0$). For reasonable terrestrial values of $\eta _1/\eta _0$ ($\approx$ several hundred), sphericity has a modest effect on $V$, which is reduced by $< 7\,\%$ for large plates such as the Pacific plate and by up to 34 % for smaller plates such as the Cocos and Philippine Sea plates. However, sphericity has a much greater effect on $T_2$, increasing it by up to 64 % for large plates and 240 % for small plates. This result has important implications for the growth of longitudinal buckling instabilities in subducting spherical shells.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Mantle convection Low-Reynolds-number flows: Boundary integral methods
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 929 , 25 December 2021 , A22
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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