Geoid and topography of Venus in various thermal convection models

Important though indirect information about the internal structure of Venus is provided by its topography and geoid. In the last decades this information has been used to constrain the Venus mantle viscosity structure and its dynamic regime. Recently, the geodynamic inversion of the Venus?? geoid and topography resulted in a group of best fitting viscosity profiles. We use these viscosity models here as an input to our mantle convection code. We carry out simulations of the Venus?? mantle evolution in a 3D spherical shell with depth dependent viscosity and check whether the character of the dynamic topography and the geoid represented by their power spectra fits the observed quantities. We compare the results with several other models obtained for different viscosity stratifications (constant, constant with highly viscous lithosphere, linear increase of viscosity). Further, we estimate the effect of other factors such as internal heating and varying Rayleigh number. We use a 2D spherical axisymmetric convection code to study the effect of lateral viscosity variations. In these 2D models we monitor the topography and the geoid developing above the axisymmetric plume and compare them with the observed elevations of Venus?? geoid and topography in several Regia. Though none of the models fits observed data perfectly, we can generally conclude, that the best fit between the observed and predicted quantities is reached for viscosity profiles with 200 km thick lithosphere followed by a gradual increase of viscosity with depth and with the upper mantle viscosity of 2 × 10 ²¹ Pa s. For all viscosity profiles the predicted geoid and topography spectra match the observed ones only up to the degree 40, thus indicating other than dynamic origin of these quantities for higher degrees.     

Effects of plate and slab viscosities on the geoid

The effects of plate rheology (strong plate interiors and weak plate margins) and stiff subducted lithosphere (slabs) on the geoid and plate motions, considered jointly, are examined with three-dimensional spherical models of mantle flow. Buoyancy forces are based on the internal distribution of subducted lithosphere estimated from the last 160 Ma of subduction history. While the ratio of the lower mantle/upper mantle viscosity has a strong effect on the long-wavelength geoid, as has been shown before, we find that plate rheology is also significant and that its inclusion yields a better geoid model while simultaneously reproducing basic features of observed plate motion. Slab viscosity can strongly affect the geoid, depending on whether a slab is coupled to the surface. In particular, deep, high-viscosity slabs beneath the northern Pacific that are disconnected from the surface as a result of subduction history produce significant long-wavelength geoid highs that differ from the observation. This suggests that slabs in the lower mantle may be not as stiff as predicted from a simple thermally activated rheology, if the slab model is accurate.     

Lower mantle dynamics with the post-perovskite phase change, radiative thermal conductivity, temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity

The new post-perovskite phase near the core-mantle boundary has important ramifications on lower mantle dynamics. We have investigated the dynamical impact arising from the interaction of temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity with radiative thermal conductivity, up to a lateral viscosity contrast of 10⁴, on both the ascending and descending flows in the presence of both the endothermic phase change at 670 km depth and an exothermic post-perovskite transition at 2650 km depth. The phase boundaries are approximated as localized zones. We have employed a two-dimensional Cartesian model, using a box with an aspect-ratio of 10, within the framework of the extended Boussinesq approximation. Our results for temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity corroborate the previous results for depth-dependent viscosity in that a sufficiently strong radiative thermal conductivity plays an important role for sustaining superplumes in the lower mantle, once the post-perovskite phase change is brought into play. This aspect is especially emphasized, when the radiative thermal conductivity is restricted only to the post-perovskite phase. These results revealed a greater degree of asymmetry is produced in the vertical flow structures of the mantle by the phase transitions. Mass and heat transfer between the upper and lower mantle will deviate substantially from the traditional whole-mantle convection model. Streamlines revealed that an overall complete communication between the top and lower mantle is difficult to be achieved.     

Stability of the oceanic lithosphere with variable viscosity: an initial-value approach

We have studied the problem concerning the onset of convective instabilities below the oceanic lithosphere. A system of linear partial differential equations, in which the background temperature field is time-dependent, is integrated in time to monitor the evolution of incipient disturbances. Two types of rheologies have been examined. One depends strongly on temperature. The other involves a viscosity which is both temperature- and pressure-dependent. The results from this initial-value approach, in which the viscosity profiles migrate downward with time, reveal the importance of considering temperature- and pressure-dependent rheology in issues regarding the development of local instabilities in upper mantle convection. For temperature-dependent viscosity, viscosities of 0(10²⁰P) are required to produce instabilities with growth-rates of 0(.1/Ma). In contrast, these same growth rates can be attained for a temperature- and pressure-dependent viscosity profile with a mean value close to 0(10²⁰P) in the upper mantle, owing to the presence of a low viscosity zone, 0(10²⁰P), existing right below the lithosphere. Unlike the results of temperature-dependent viscosity, whose growth-rates increase with time, the amplification of disturbances in a fluid medium with temperature- and pressure-dependent rheology reaches a maximum at an early age, < 50 Ma, and decreases thereafter with time. This suggests the potential importance played by initial disturbances in the evolution of the oceanic lithosphere.     

罗斯海海域大地水准面异常的成因研究

本文利用数值法求解瞬时地幔对流问题以模拟大地水准面异常.利用两个较新的S波速度异常层析模型SEMUCB_WM1和TX2019slab,将其转换为密度异常作为控制方程的浮力驱动项;采取的黏度结构模型中,上下地幔的黏度比为1∶50.为了研究地幔不同结构对罗斯海海域大地水准面异常的影响,分别提取上、下地幔的密度异常正/负值,作为对流控制方程的输入项,计算相应的模拟大地水准面异常.将模拟大地水准面异常与观测值进行对比,发现罗斯海海域的大地水准面异常主要来自下地幔及上地幔的负密度(波速)异常,下地幔正密度异常对该区域大地水准面负异常也有一定的贡献.本文认为,地幔密度负异常在罗斯海海域大地水准面异常的形成中占据主导作用,地幔对流的动力学效应对该区域大地水准面异常的形成影响较弱.     

Possible effects of lateral viscosity variations induced by plate-tectonic mechanism on geoid inferred from numerical models of mantle convection

In a traditional analytical method, the convective features of Earth’s mantle have been inferred from surface signatures obtained by the geodynamic model only with depth-dependent viscosity structure. The moving and subducting plates, however, bring lateral viscosity variations in the mantle. To clarify the effects of lateral viscosity variations caused by the plate-tectonic mechanism, I have first studied systematically instantaneous dynamic flow calculations using new density-viscosity models only with vertical viscosity variations in a three-dimensional spherical shell. I find that the geoid high arises over subduction zones only when the vertical viscosity contrast between the upper mantle and the lower mantle is O(10³) to O(10⁴), which seems to be much larger than the viscosity contrast suggested by other studies. I next show that this discrepancy may be removed when I consider the lateral viscosity variation caused by the plate-tectonic mechanism using two-dimensional numerical models of mantle convection with self-consistently moving and subducting plates, and suggest that the observed geoid anomaly on the Earth’s surface is significantly affected by plate-tectonic mechanism as a first-order effect.     

Influence of variable uncertainties in seismic tomography models on constraining mantle viscosity from geoid observations

The radial viscosity structure of the Earth is explored on the basis of the geoid observations. The variations of uncertainty in seismic tomography models are accounted for when finding the radial viscosity structure. The new methodology we propose attempts to fit more closely those features of the geoid that are better constrained by tomography models and avoids to fit those features that are poorly constrained. This approach is particularly important because the error of geoid predictions caused by uncertainties in seismic tomography models is overwhelmingly larger than the noise in the geoid measurements. The synthetic tests indicate that the viscosity structures obtained by disregarding the uncertainty variations in seismic tomography models can be biased depending on the geoid spectral band and on the ‘input’ seismic tomography model. When the uncertainty variations in seismic models are considered in the inversion process, results do not indicate a viscosity in the transition zone lower than in the upper mantle. A robust feature found with the new method is a viscosity in the upper mantle two orders of magnitude smaller than in the lower mantle. The error covariance of seismic tomography models is critical for the method we suggest. A covariance matrix rigorously derived by seismologists should help to even more reliably infer the viscosity structure and relation between anomalies in density and seismic velocities from surface observations such as the geoid, and thus lead to a better knowledge of the Earth interior.     

Constraints on the dynamics of mantle plumes from uplift of the Hawaiian Islands

The ∼0.2 mm/yr uplift of Hawaiian islands Lanai and Molokai and Hawaiian swell topography pose important constraints on the structure and dynamics of mantle plumes. We have formulated 3-D models of mantle convection to investigate the effects of plume-plate interactions on surface vertical motions and swell topography. In our models, the controlling parameters are plume radius, excess plume temperature, and upper mantle viscosity. We have found that swell height and swell width constraints limit the radius of the Hawaiian plume to be smaller than 70 km. The additional constraint from the uplift at Lanai requires excess plume temperature to be greater than 400 K. If excess plume temperature is 400 K, models with plume radius between 50 and 70 km and upper mantle viscosity between 10²⁰ and 3×10²⁰ Pa s satisfy all the constraints. Our results indicate that mantle plume in the upper mantle may be significantly hotter than previously suggested. This has important implications for mantle convection and mantle melting. In addition to constraining plume dynamics, our models also provide a mechanism to produce the observed uplift at Lanai and Molokai that has never been satisfactorily explained before.     

Effect of lateral viscosity variations in the core-mantle boundary region on predictions of the long-wavelength geoid

Seismic studies of the lowermost mantle suggest that the core-mantle boundary (CMB) region is strongly laterally heterogeneous over both local and global scales. These heterogeneities are likely to be associated with significant lateral viscosity variations that may influence the shape of the long-wavelength non-hydrostatic geoid. In the present paper we investigate the effect of these lateral viscosity variations on the solution of the inverse problem known as the inferences of viscosity from the geoid. We find that the presence of lateral viscosity variations in the CMB region can significantly improve the percentage fit of the predicted data with observations (from 42 to 70% in case of free-air gravity) while the basic characterisics of the mantle viscosity model, namely the viscosity increase with depth and the rate of layering, remain more or less the same as in the case of the best-fitting radially symmetric viscosity models. Assuming that viscosity is laterally dependent in the CMB region, and radially dependent elsewhere, we determine the largescale features of the viscosity structure in the lowermost mantle. The viscosity pattern found for the CMB region shows a high density of hotspots above the regions of higher-than-average viscosity. This result suggests an important role for petrological heterogeneities in the lowermost mantle, potentially associated with a post-perovskite phase transition. Another potential interpretation is that the lateral viscosity variations derived for the CMB region correspond in reality to lateral variations in the mechanical conditions at the CMB boundary or to large-scale undulations of a chemically distinct layer at the lowermost mantle.     

The effect of a shallow low viscosity zone on the apparent compensation of mid-plate swells

A simple model for mid-plate swells is that of convection in a fluid which has a low viscosity layer lying between a rigid bed and a constant viscosity region. Finite element calculations have been used to determine the effects of the viscosity contrast, the layer thickness and the Rayleigh number on the flow and on the perceived compensation mechanism for the resulting topographic swell. As the viscosity decreases in the low viscosity zone, the effective local Rayleigh number for the top boundary layer of the convecting cell increases. Also, because the lower viscosity facilitates greater velocities in the low viscosity zone, the low viscosity layer produces proportionally greater horizontal flow near the conducting lid, causing the base of the conducting lid to appear like a free boundary. The change in the local Rayleigh number and in the effective boundary condition both cause the top boundary layer to thin. Through a Green's function analysis, we have found that the low viscosity zone damps the response of the surface topography to the temperature anomalies at depth, whereas it causes the gravity and geoid response functions to change sign at depth counteracting the positive contributions from the shallower temperature variations. By increasing the viscosity contrast, the conbined effects of the thinning of the boundary layer and the behaviour of the response functions allow the apparent depth of compensation to become arbitrarily small. Therefore, shallow depths of compensation cannot be used to argue against dynamic support of mid-plate swells. Furthermore, we compared the distribution of the effective compensating densities, which is used to obtain the geoid, to that of Pratt compensation, which is often used to calculate the depth of compensation from geoid and topography data for mid-plate swells. For all of our calculations including those with no low viscosity layer, the effective gravitational mass distribution is more complex than assumed in simple Pratt models, so that the Pratt models are not an appropriate gauge of the compensation mechanism.     

Investigation of topographic reductions and aliasing effects on gravity and the geoid over Greece based on various digital terrain models

The reduction of gravity-field related quantities (e.g., gravity anomalies, geoid heights) due to the topography plays a crucial role in both geodetic and geophysical applications, since in the former it is an intermediate step towards geoid prediction and in the latter it reveals lateral as well as radial density contrasts and infers the geology of the area under study. The computations are usually carried out by employing a DTM and/or a DBM, which describe the topography and bathymetry, respectively. Errors in these DTMs/DBMs will introduce errors in the computed topographic effects, while poor spatial resolution of the topography and bathymetry models will result in aliasing effects to both gravity anomalies and geoid heights, both influencing the accuracy of the estimated solutions. The scope of this work is twofold. First, a validation and accuracy assessment of the SRTM 3″ (90 m) DTM over Greece is performed through comparisons with existing global models as well as with the Greek 450 m national DTMs. Whenever a misrepresentation of the topography is identified in the SRTM data, it is “corrected” using the local 450 m DTM. This process resulted in an improved SRTM DTM called SRTMGr, which was then used to determine terrain effects to gravity field quantities. From the fine-resolution SRTMGr DTMs, coarser models of 15″, 30″, 1′, 2′ and 5′ have been determined in order to investigate aliasing effects on both gravity anomalies and geoid heights by computing terrain effects at variable spatial resolutions. From the results acquired in two test areas, it was concluded that SRTMGr provides similar results to the local DTM making the use of other older global DTMs obsolete. The study for terrain aliasing effects proved that when high-resolution and accuracy gravity and geoid models are needed, then the highest possible resolution DTM should be employed to compute the respective terrain effects. Based on the results acquired from two the test areas a corrected SRTMGr DTM has been compiled for the entire Greek territory towards the development of a new gravimetric geoid model. Results from that analysis are presented based on the well-known remove-compute-restore method, employing land and marine gravity data, EGM08 as a reference geopotential model and the SRTMGr DTM for the computation of the RTM effects.     

Time-dependent density anomalies in a stratified,viscoelastic mantle: Implications for the geoid,Earth's rotation and sea-level fluctuations

The effects on the = 2 geoid component and Earth's rotation due to internal mass anomalies are analyzed for a stratified viscoelastic mantle described by a Maxwell rheology. Our approach is appropriate for a simplified modeling of subduction. Sea-level fluctuations induced by long-term rotational instabilities are also considered. The displacement of the Earth's axis of rotation, called true polar wander (TPW) and the induced eustatic sea-level fluctuations, are extremely sensitive to viscosity and density stratification at the 670 km seismic discontinuity. Phase-change models for the transition zone generally allow for huge amount of TPW, except for large viscosity increases; the dominant contribution in Liouville equations comes from a secular term that reflects the viscous behaviour of the mantle. In chemically stratified models, TPW is drastically reduced due to dynamic compensation of the mass anomalies at the upper-lower mantle interface. When the source is embedded in the upper mantle close to the chemical density jump, transient rotational modes are the leading terms in the linear Liouville equations. Long-term rotation instabilities are valuable contributors to the third order cycles in the eustatic sea-level curves. Rates of sea-level fluctuations of the order of 0.05–0.1 mm/yr are induced by displacements of the Earth's axis of rotation compatible with paleomagnetic data.     

Core–mantle boundary topography as a possible constraint on lower mantle chemistry and dynamics

The origin of large low shear-wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) in the lowermost mantle beneath the central Pacific and Africa is not well constrained. We explore numerical convection calculations for two proposed hypotheses for these anomalies, namely, thermal upwellings (e.g., plume clusters) and large intrinsically dense piles of mantle material (e.g., thermochemical piles), each of which uniquely affects the topography on Earth's core–mantle boundary (CMB). The thermochemical pile models predict a relatively flat but elevated CMB beneath piles (presumed LLSVPs), with strong upwarping along LLSVP margins. The plume cluster models predict CMB upwarping beneath upwellings that are less geographically organized. Both models display CMB depressions beneath subduction related downwelling. While each of the two models produces a unique, characteristic style of CMB topography, we find that seismic models will require shorter length scales than are currently being employed in order to distinguish between the end-member dynamic models presented here.     

Surface deformation, gravity and the geoid from a three-dimensional convection model at low Rayleigh numbers

The two-dimensional surface deformation, gravity field and geoid are calculated from the temperature fields of a number of numerical models of constant viscosity three-dimensional convective flows, heated from within and from below, using the appropriate Green's functions. The admittance is positive, with positive gravity anomalies above hot rising regions, except for large aspect ratio circulations with undeformable lower boundaries. The surface deformation and the geoid are insensitive to the short wavelength features of the temperature variation. The gravity field is less smooth, though still does not clearly indicate the narrowness of the upwelling and downwelling regions at large Rayleigh numbers. When the lower boundary of the convecting region is deformable, the gravity field is dominated by lateral temperature variations within the upper thermal boundary layer, even when their contribution to the overall circulation is small. The variation of surface deformation with Rayleigh number agrees well with that expected from simple boundary layer arguments when the circulation is driven by heating from below, but less well when the heating is internal. These results suggest that the convective upwelling beneath regions showing positive geoid and residual depth anomalies is more localized than the horizontal extent of these features would suggest.     

动力地球表面形变

地幔对流使得地球表面及核幔边界发生形变，这种由地球深部的动力学过程所引起的形变对大地水准面异常的贡献与地球内部密度异常的贡献具有相当的量级，但符号相反，而由于地表的短周期地质作用所引起的地球表面形变的屏蔽作用，这种长波长、长周期的动力地球表面形变在目前还无法直接观测出来。本文首先从观测大地水准面异常中将地球内部密度异常的贡献去掉，并根据地震层析所得出的核幔边界形变，求得了动力地球表面形变。其结果将对地球内部的动力学过程尤其是粘滞度分布提供十分有用的信息。     

SEASAT geoid anomalies and the Macquarie Ridge complex

The seismically active Macquarie Ridge complex forms the Pacific-India plate boundary between New Zealand and the Pacific-Antarctic spreading center. The Late Cenozoic deformation of New Zealand and focal mechanisms of recent large earthquakes in the Macquarie Ridge complex appear consistent with the current plate tectonic models. These models predict a combination of strike-slip and convergent motion in the northern Macquarie Ridge, and strike-slip motion in the southern part. The Hjort trench is the southernmost expression of the Macquarie Ridge complex. Regional considerations of the magnetic lineations imply that some oceanic crust may have been consumed at the Hjort trench. Although this arcuate trench seems inconsistent with the predicted strike-slip setting, a deep trough also occurs in the Romanche fracture zone.Geoid anomalies observed over spreading ridges, subduction zones, and fracture zones are different. Therefore, geoid anomalies may be diagnostic of plate boundary type. We use SEASAT data to examine the Macquarie Ridge complex and find that the geoid anomalies for the northern Hjort trench region are different from the geoid anomalies for the Romanche trough. The Hjort trench region is characterized by an oblique subduction zone geoid anomaly, e.g., the Aleutian-Komandorski region. Also, limited first-motion data for the large 1924 earthquake that occurred in the northern Hjort trench suggest a thrust focal mechanism. We conclude that subduction is occurring at the Hjort trench. The existence of active subduction in this area implies that young oceanic lithosphere can subduct beneath older oceanic lithosphere.     

Effect of Decoupling of Lithospheric Plates on the Observed Geoid

A joint effect of weak zones, dividing lithospheric plates, and lateral viscosity variations (LVV) in the whole mantle on the observed geoid is investigated by a new numerical approach. This technique is based on the substantially revised method introduced by Zhang and Christensen (Geophys J Int 114:531–547, 1993) for solving the Navier–Stokes–Poisson equations in the spectral domain with strong LVV. Weak plate boundaries (WPB) are introduced based on an integrated global model of plate boundary deformations GSRM (Kreemer et al. in Geophys J Int 154:8–34, 2003). The effect of WPB on the geoid is significant and reaches ?40 to 70 m with RMS ~20 m. The peaks are observed over large subduction zones in South America and the southwestern Pacific in agreement with previous studies. The positive geoid anomaly in South America could be explained largely by a dynamic effect of decoupling of the Nazca and South American plates. The negative changes of the geoid mostly relate to mid-oceanic ridges. The amplitude of the effect depends on the viscosity contrasts at WPB compared with the plate viscosity until its value reaches the limit of 2.5–3 orders of magnitude. This value might be considered as a level at which the plates are effectively decoupled. The effect of WPB exceeds the effect of LVV in the whole mantle and generally does not correlate with it. However, inclusion of LVV reduces the geoid perturbations due to WPB by about 10 m. Therefore, it is important to consider all factors together. The geoid changes mainly result from changes of the dynamic topography, which are about ?300 to +500 m. The obtained results show that including WPB may significantly improve the reliability of instantaneous global dynamic models.     

Mantle rheology: radial and lateral viscosity variations inferred from microphysical creep laws

Inferences on the rheology of the mantle based on theoretical and experimental rate equations for steady state creep are discussed and compared with results from geophysical models. The radial increase of viscosity by one to three orders of magnitude across the mantle, required by inversion of postglacial rebound and geodynamic data, is confirmed by microphysical models based on the estimation of continuous and discontinuous changes of creep parameters with depth. The upper mantle (viscosity 10²⁰–10²¹ Pa s) is likely to show non-Newtonian rheology (power-law creep) for average grain sizes larger than 0.1 mm as an order of magnitude. Given the variability of both grain size and stress conditions, local regions of linear rheology can be present. The rheology of transition zone and lower mantle (viscosity 10²²–10²⁴ Pa s) cannot be definitely resolved at present. Estimation of creep parameters leads to possible nonlinear or mixed rheology, if grain sizes are not lower than 0.1 mm and flow conditions can be approximated by a constant strain rate of about 10⁻¹⁵ s⁻¹. This conclusion can be modified by different flow conditions (e.g. a decrease in strain rate or constant viscous dissipation). Furthermore, experiments on fine-grained garnetites and perovskite analogues have shown that diffusion creep is predominant at laboratory conditions. However, the pressure dependence of creep in these phases is unknown, and therefore direct extrapolation to lower mantle conditions is necessarily speculative. Lateral variations of viscosity, largest in the upper and lowermost mantle (up to 2–4 orders of magnitude) are predicted by models based on lateral temperature anomalies derived from seismic tomographic models.     

Geoid anomalies over Gorringe Ridge,North Atlantic Ocean

Gorringe Ridge is a strong uplifted block of oceanic crust and upper mantle lying at the eastern end of the Azores-Gibraltar plate boundary. The geoid over this structure derived from Seasat altimeter data exhibits a 9-m height anomaly with a north-south lateral extension smaller than 200 km. An attempt is made to interpret this geoid together with the gravity anomalies and with the seismicity, which has been compiled as a function of depth.It is first shown that the flexure of the oceanic lithosphere due to the ridge loading does not provide a good fit of the geoid anomalies and probably should be discarded, as it assumes a continuous unfractured elastic plate.Models involving local heterogeneities are then tested. The comparison of the observed geoid anomalies with the anomalies due to the uncompensated relief indicates that the topographic high has no shallow compensation.Uncompensated models, previously proposed to explain the gravity anomalies, are tested using the geoid. One model (Purdy and Bonnin, in Bonnin [11]), which involves an uplift of upper mantle material at depth, generates too strong geoid anomalies and must be discarded. Another model, which represents a nascent subduction zone (Le Pichon et al. [25]), fits both the gravity and geoid anomalies, but leads to difficulties in explaining the deep seismicity north of Gorringe Ridge.A model in isostatic equilibrium is also able to fit both gravity and geoid anomalies. This model involves a deep root of density 3.0 g cm^?3, as has been previously proposed for many oceanic ridges and plateaus. This model is compatible with the deep seismicity, but the origin of this low-density material at great depth is up to now an unresolved question.More likely, dynamical models taking into account the forces induced by the convection related to the slow plate convergence in this area will have to be considered.     

On the effect of a low viscosity asthenosphere on the temporal change of the geoid—A challenge for future gravity missions

New satellite technology to measure changes in the Earth’s gravity field gives new possibilities to detect layers of low viscosity inside the Earth. We used density models for the Earth mantle based on slab history as well as on tomography and fitted the viscosity by comparison of predicted gravity to the new CHAMP gravity model. We first confirm that the fit to the observed geoid is insensitive to the presence of a low viscosity anomaly in the upper mantle as long as the layer is thin ( 200 km) and the viscosity reduction is less than two orders of magnitude. Then we investigated the temporal change in geoid by comparing two stages of slablet sinking based on subduction history or by advection of tomography derived densities and compared the spectra of the geoid change for cases with and without a low viscosity layer, but about equal fit to the observed geoid. The presence of a low viscosity layer causes relaxation at smaller wavelength and thus leads to a spectrum with relatively stronger power in higher modes and a peak around degrees 5 and 6. Comparing the spectra to the expected degree resolution for GRACE data for a 5 years mission duration shows a weak possibility to detect changes in the Earth’s gravity field due to large scale mantle circulation, provided that other causes of geoid changes can be taken into account with sufficient accuracy. A discrimination between the two viscosity cases, however, demands a new generation of gravity field observing satellites.