Recycling of the continental crust

In order to understand the evolution of the crust-mantle system, it is important to recognize the role played by the recycling of continental crust. Crustal recycling can be considered as two fundamentally distinct processes: 1) intracrustal recycling and 2) crust-mantle recycling. Intracrustal recycling is the turnover of crustal material by processes taking place wholly within the crust and includes most sedimentary recycling, isotopic resetting (metamorphism), intracrustal melting and assimilation. Crust-mantle recycling is the transfer of crustal material to the mantle with possible subsequent return to the crust. Intracrustal recycling is important in interpreting secular changes in sediment composition through time. It also explains differences found in crustal area-age patterns measured by different isotopic systems and may also play a role in modeling crustal growth curves based on Nd-model ages. Crustal-mantle recycling, for the most part, is a subduction process and may be considered on three levels. The first is recycling with only short periods of time in the mantle (<10 m.y.). This may be important in explaining the origin of island-arc and related igneous rocks; there is growing agreement that 1–3% recycled sediment is involved in their origin. Components of recycled crustal material, with long-term storage (up to 2.5 b.y.) in the mantle as distinct entities, has been suggested for the origin of ocean island and ultrapotassic volcanics but there is considerably less agreement on this interpretation. A third proposal calls for the return of crustal material to the mantle with efficient remixing in order to swamp the geochemical and isotopic signature of the recycled component by the mantle. This type of recycling is required for steady-state models of crustal evolution where the mass of the continents remains constant over geological time. It is unlikely if crust-mantle recycling has exceeded 0.75 km³/yr over the past 1–2 Ga.Good evidence exists that selective recycling is an important process. Sedimentary rocks preserved in different tectonic settings are apparently recycled at different rates, resulting in a bias in the sediment types preserved in the geologic record. Selective recycling has important implications for the interpretation of Nd model ages of old sedimentary rocks and in the analysis of accreted terranes. Although there is evidence that continental crust was formed prior to 3.8 Ga, the oldest preserved rocks do not exceed this age. It is likely that the intense meteorite bombardment, which affected the earth during the period 4.56–3.8 Ga, coupled with rapid mantle convection, which resulted from greater heat production, caused the destruction and probable recycling into the mantle of any early formed crust.Although crust-mantle recycling is seen as a viable process, it is concluded that crustal growth has exceeded crust-mantle recycling since at least 3.8 Ga. Intracrustal recycling has not been given adequate consideration in models of crustal growth based on isotopic data (particularly Nd model ages). It is concluded that crustal growth curves based on Nd model ages, while vastly superior to those based on K/Ar or Rb/Sr, tend to underestimate the volume of old crust, due to crust-mantle and/or intracrustal recycling.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of crustal deformation and subcontinental mantle convection

3-D simulations of mantle convection allowing for continental crust are explored to study the effects of crustal thickening on lithosphere stability and of continents on large-scale mantle flow. Simulations begin with a crustal layer within the upper thermal boundary layer of a mantle convection roll in a 1 × 1 × 1 Cartesian domain. Convective stresses cause crust to thicken above a sheet-like mantle downwelling. For mild convective vigor an initial crustal thickness variation is required to induce 3-D lithospheric instability below the zone of crustal convergence. The amplitude of the required variation decreases with increasing convective vigor. Morphologically, instability is manifest in formation of drip-like thermals that exist within the large-scale roll associated with initial crustal thickening. A strong surface signature of the drips is their ability to cause deviations from local Airy compensation of topography. After the initial thickening phase, the crustal accumulation that forms serves as a model analog to a continent. Its presence leads to mantle flow patterns distinctly different from the steady-state roll that results in its absence. Large lateral thermal gradients are generated at its edge allowing this region to be the initiation site for continued small-scale thermal instabilities. Eventually these instabilities induce a restructuring of large-scale mantle flow, with the roll pattern being replaced by a square cell. Although preliminary and idealized, the simulations do show the fluid dynamical plausibility behind the idea that significant mantle variations can be generated along the strike of a largely 2-D mountain chain by the formation of the chain itself. The ability of a model continent to cause a change in fundamental convective planform also suggests that the effects of continental crust on mantle convection may be low-order despite the seemingly trivial volume of crust relative to mantle.     

The gravity field and crustal thickness of Venus

The gravity and topography of Venus obtained from observations of the Magellan mission, as well as the gravity and topography from our numerical mantle convection model, are discussed in this paper. We used the hypothesis that the geoid of degrees 2–40 is produced by sublithospheric mantle density anomalies that are associated with dynamical process within the mantle. We obtained the model dynamical admittance(the geoid topography ratio based on a convection model) by a numerical simulation of the Venusian mantle convection, and used it to correct the dynamical effect in the calculation of crustal thickness. After deducting the dynamical effect, the thickness of the Venusian crust is presented. The results show that the gravity and topography are strongly correlated with the Venusian mantle convection and the Venusian crust has a significant influence on the topography. The Venusian crustal thickness varies from 28 to 70 km. Ishtar Terra, and Ovda Regio and Thetis Regio in western Aphrodite Terra have the highest crustal thickness(larger than 50 km). The high topography of these areas is thought to be supported by crustal compensation and our results are consistent with the hypothesis that these areas are remnants of ancient continents. The crustal thickness in the Beta, Themis, Dione, Eistla, Bell, and Lada regiones is thin and shows less correlation with the topography, especially in the Atla and Imdr regiones in the eastern part of Aphrodite Terra. This is consistent with the hypothesis that these highlands are mainly supported by mantle plumes. Compared with the crustal thickness calculated with the dynamical effect, our results are more consistent with the crust evolution and internal dynamical process of Venus.     

Stored mafic/ultramafic crust and early Archean mantle depletion

Both early and late Archean rocks from greenstone belts and felsic gneiss complexes exhibit positive ε_Nd values of +1 to +5 by 3.5 Ga, demonstrating that a depleted mantle reservoir existed very early. The amount of preserved pre-3.0 Ga continental crust cannot explain such high ε values in the depleted residue unless the volume of residual mantle was very small: a layer less than 70 km thick by 3.0 Ga. Repeated and exclusive sampling of such a thin layer, especially in forming the felsic gneiss complexes, is implausible. Extraction of enough continental crust to deplete the early mantle and its destructive recycling before 3.0 Ga ago requires another implausibility, that the sites of crustal generation and of recycling were substantially distinct. In contrast, formation of mafic or ultramafic crust analogous to present-day oceanic crust was continuous from very early times. Recycled subducted oceanic lithosphere is a likely contributor to present-day hotspot magmas, and forms a reservoir at least comparable in volume to continental crust. Subduction of an early mafic/ultramafic “oceanic” crust and temporary storage rather than immediate mixing back into undifferentiated mantle may be responsible for the depletion and high ε_Nd values of the Archean upper mantle. Using oceanic crustal production proportional to heat productivity, we show that temporary storage in the mantle of that crust, whether basaltic as formed by 5–20% partial melting, or partly komatiitic and formed by higher extents of melting is sufficient to balance an early depleted mantle of significant volume with ε_Nd at least +3.0.     

金星非单调冷却热演化历史分析

金星表层年龄和构造活动特点表明其岩石层在最近的地质历史时期经历过广泛的更新.这种全球性的表层改造与其内部热演化历史进程密切相关.如果金星存在相变形成的上、下地幔,依据现今所了解的金星物理性质和参量化的热对流理论,并且考虑金星地幔相变边界层状态对对流的控制作用,我们计算了金星热演化历史.结果表明,金星的热演化历史是一种非单调的冷却过程,在这种非单调的热演化历史进程中,金星地幔会出现大体等周期的翻转.由于参数选取的不同,翻转时金星上、下地幔的温差随时间可能出现稳定变化、逐渐加强、逐渐减弱三种不同演化模式,目前尚不能确定实际金星热演化历史究竟是哪一种模式.金星地幔相变边界层的穿透对流可能是推动其表层岩石层全球性更新的关键,导致其表层火山活动和地表构造以大致500 Ma时间间隔更新和重造.     

青藏高原东缘地壳运动与深部过程的研究

由于青藏高原东部地区记录了高原约50 Ma演化历史中物质东流的构造史,因此受到地学界的广泛重视. 现代大地测量与地质研究结果给出了该区现代地壳运动的图像,为地球动力学数值模拟提供了重要的边界约束条件. 利用重力异常计算的高原及邻区地幔对流应力场与地表地壳运动格局的明显差异表征了高原东部地壳与地幔物质的运动解耦. 基于随深度变化地壳蠕变率的动力学模拟结果显示,高原东部地壳增厚与高原内部存在很大差异,高原东部地壳增厚主要表现为下地壳的增厚,并且地幔形变过程与地表变化也不一致,同样显示出地壳、地幔运动的解耦. 研究表明,下地壳低强度分布可能是导致这种解耦的重要原因,而了解高原东部地壳及上地幔物理力学性质对我们认识高原物质东流至关重要.     

华南陆缘高热流区的壳幔温度结构与动力学背景

华南陆缘是我国重要的矿产、地热资源区.晚中生代以来,在太平洋板块西向俯冲,地幔热对流活动共同作用下,该区出现多期岩浆-热事件和大规模爆发式成矿作用.在前人研究基础上,本文利用地表热流观测资料、地震剪切波资料、重力位球谐系数,计算了壳-幔温度结构,分析了动力学背景.计算结果表明：华南陆缘东南沿海地带,地壳10 km以浅温度达200℃以上,居里点温度475℃,莫霍面平均温度550℃.地壳浅层较热,花岗岩中放射性元素衰变放热是地壳浅层地下水热活动的重要热源,但地壳总体温度不高,为"冷壳热幔"型热结构.地幔中,90 km深度,温度950~1250℃;120 km深度,温度1050~1400℃;150 km深度,温度1200~1450℃;220 km深度,温度1500~1700℃."热"岩石圈底界深度在110~150 km之间,西深东浅.岩石圈内,地幔应力场为挤压-伸展相间格局;岩石圈之下,地幔应力场为一个以南昌为中心、长轴NE-SW向的椭圆.分析认为,晚中生代以来,太平洋板块的西向俯冲,导致华南陆缘在区域性SE向地幔对流背景上叠加局域性不稳定热扰动,在175~85Ma期间,上地幔物质向上流动,形成不同的岩浆活动高峰期.同时,岩石圈地幔受俯冲洋壳流体的影响,含水量高,黏度小,在地幔流切向应力场作用下,岩石圈底界由西向东"波浪"状减薄.现今岩石圈之下仍具备地幔小尺度热对流温度条件,但除地表浅层外,地壳整体温度不高,岩石圈构造稳定.     

金星:认识早期地球的窗口

无论在行星大小、质量还是轨道速度等方面,金星都是太阳系中与地球最相似的行星.自1960年代初期开始,金星一直是人类深空探测的重要目标.本文简要地回顾了人类探索金星的历史,总结了对金星已有的认识,梳理了金星的主要科学问题,最后介绍了未来的国际探测计划,并建议了我国的金星探测目标.早期对金星的探测以苏联的金星计划(Венера)和美国的水手系列(Mariner)为代表,后期的探测器以欧盟、日本等国家的“金星快车(Venus Express)”、“拂晓号(Akatsuki)”为代表.这些探测结果为我们认识金星大气成分、地表地形和内部结构提供了重要的数据.金星的大气组成以CO₂为主,含少量N2,与现在地球的大气组成显著不同,类似早期地球的大气组成.虽然金星地表目前没有液态水,但部分理论模拟工作表明金星地表可能曾经有液态水.一系列探测器对金星地表成分的分析表明,金星地表主要由玄武岩组成.在地形地貌方面,由于金星特殊的地表环境,金星表面风化作用对地表地貌影响很小.金星的地表主要受控于比较年轻的火山作用,发育了许多不同于地球的地貌特征,主要包括区域平原、盾状火山平原、冕状地形以及瓦片状地形等,其动力学机制可能是地幔柱—岩石圈相互作用或地幔对流,至今未发现与板块构造相关的地貌.现阶段金星没有太多大型的、活跃的火山热点,虽然无法估测准确的火山活动速率,但相比地球来说火山活动速率小很多.在内部结构方面,金星具有与地球类似的核幔壳结构.金星的内部组成也与地球类似,例如金星地幔很可能是与地球相似的橄榄岩成分.不存在内部磁场和缺乏板块构造是金星区别于地球的两个重要特征.关于金星为什么没有自身磁场,主流观点是金星地核缺乏对流,无法演化出磁场.而针对金星为什么没有演化出板块构造,目前认为主要有三个可能的原因:地表温度过高,没有软流圈,金星缺乏液态水,其中液态水的缺乏接受度最广.从大气组成、地表岩石组合、构造作用等角度来看,金星都与早期地球非常相似,是我们理解类地行星演化的天然实验室.研究金星和地球为什么会朝不同方向演化,是深入理解包括系外行星在内的行星的宜居性形成与演变的重要途径。因此,金星一直是优先级别最高的深空探测目标之一.近几年,美国、俄罗斯以及欧洲等国家和地区分别针对金星目前主要的科学问题,例如金星是否存在早期海洋、金星的宜居性以及结构和重力场等,先后提出各自的金星探测计划.我国在新的国际竞争中应该、也必然有所作为.     

The early thermal and magnetic state of the cratered highlands of Mars

Surface heat flows are calculated from elastic lithosphere thicknesses for the heavy cratered highlands of Mars, in terms of the fraction of the surface heat flow derived from crustal heat sources. Previous heat flow estimations for Mars used linear thermal gradients, which is equivalent to ignoring the existence of heat sources within the crust. We compute surface heat flows following a methodology that relates effective thickness and curvature of an elastic plate with the strength envelope of the lithosphere, and assuming crustal heat sources homogeneously distributed in a radioactive element-rich layer 20 or 60 km thick. The obtained results show that the surface heat flow increases with the proportion of heat sources within the crust, and with the decrease of both radioactive element-rich layer thickness and surface temperature. Also, the results permit us to calculate representative temperatures for the crust base, rock strength for the upper mantle, and lower and upper limits to the crustal magnetization depth and intensity, respectively. For Terra Cimmeria, an effective elastic thickness of 12 km implies between 30% and 80% of heat sources located within the crust. In this case the uppermost mantle would be weak at the time of loading, and temperatures in the lower crust cold enough to favor unrelaxed crustal thickness variations and to permit deep Curie depths in the highlands, as suggested by the observational evidence.     

南海西南海盆壳幔结构重力反演与热模拟分析

壳幔结构及扩张期后的岩浆活动是研究南海西南海盆形成演化的关键.本文针对NH973-1剖面开展壳幔密度结构重力反演,并依据重力反演的壳幔模型,定量模拟海底扩张期后的壳幔热结构与热演化过程.重力反演表明:西南海盆中央残余扩张脊之下存在一个较深的凹陷带,其下Moho面比两侧略深,呈现扩张期后的热沉降特点.热模拟发现:海盆扩张...     

Numerical models of subduction of the oceanic crust with basaltic plateaus

Light continents and islands characterized by a crustal thickness of more than 30 km float over a convective mantle, while the thin basaltic oceanic crust sinks completely in subduction zones. The normal oceanic crust is 7 km thick. However, anomalously thick basaltic plateaus forming as a result of emplacement of mantle plumes into moving oceanic lithospheric plates are also pulled into the mantle. One of the largest basaltic plateaus is the Ontong Java plateau on the Pacific plate, which arose during the intrusion of a giant superplume into the plate ～100 Myr ago. Notwithstanding its large thickness (averaging ～30 km), the Ontong Java plateau is still experiencing slow subduction. On the basis of numerical modeling, the paper analyzes the oceanic crust subduction process as a function of the mantle convection vigorousness and the density, thickness, viscosity, and shape of the crust. Even a simplified model of thermocompositional convection in the upper mantle is capable of explaining the observed facts indicating that the oceanic crust and sediments are pulled into the mantle and the continental crust is floating on the mantle.     

A theoretical study of hydrothermal convection and the origin of the ophiolitic sulphide ore deposits of Cyprus

Hydrothermal circulation of seawater has been suggested as a mass transport mechanism for the formation of sulphide ore deposits in the ophiolitic rocks of Cyprus. Since ophiolitic sequences are generally regarded as fragments of oceanic crust and upper mantle, hydrothermal circulation of a form inferred from geological observations on Cyprus may be analogous to that thought to occur in oceanic crust at spreading ridges. The hypothesis that ore deposits were formed in ascending plumes of hot, buoyant fluid is examined by considering thermal convection in a permeable medium. To match the inferred pattern of circulation, finite amplitude convection in a cylindrical geometry is studied using finite difference approximations. These results combined with available geological and geochemical data are applied to understand better the physical controls on mineralisation.A simple model for the formation of the hydrothermal ore deposits of Cyprus is discussed. The model is semi-quantitatively reasonable in terms of vertical fluid flow rate, thermal structure, permeability and basal heat flow, and predicts volumes of maximum mineralisation similar to those observed. Three factors are identified which were important in confining mineralisation to a small volume immediately beneath the sea water/rock boundary: (1) hot fluid was confined to a narrow core zone of a rising plume, (2) the upward fluid flux was greatest in this same core zone, and (3) significant temperature decrease occurred within a thin surface boundary layer.     

Effects of planetary thermal structure on the ascent and cooling of magma on Venus

Magellan radar images of the surface of Venus show a spatially broad distribution of volcanic features. Models of magmatic ascent processes to planetary surfaces indicate that the thermal structure of the interior significantly influences the rate of magmatic cooling and thus the amount of magma that can be transported to the surface before solidification. In order to understand which aspects of planetary thermal structure have the greatest influence on the cooling of buoyantly ascending magma, we have constructed magma cooling profiles for a plutonic ascent mechanism, and evaluated the profiles for variations in the surface and mantle temperature, surface temperature gradient, and thermal gradient curvature. Results show that, for a wide variety of thermal conditions, smaller and slower magma bodies are capable of reaching the surface on Venus compared to Earth, primarily due to the higher surface temperature of Venus. Little to no effect on the cooling and transport of magma are found to result from elevated mantle temperatures, elevation-dependent surface temperature variations, or details of the thermal gradient curvature. The enhanced tendency of magma to reach the surface on Venus may provide at least a partial explanation for the extensive spatial distribution of observed volcanism on the surface.     

中国大陆及邻区岩石圈三维流变结构

依据地震波速得到的上地幔温度和气象台站记录的地表温度为约束,结合地表热流和热导率观测数据,利用有限元方法计算了中国大陆及邻区岩石圈三维热结构.基于此温度结果和GPS观测得到的应变率数据,以滑动摩擦、脆性破裂和蠕变三种强度机制为约束,计算得到了中国大陆及邻区岩石圈三维流变结构.结果显示:弱强度和低等效黏滞性系数的下地壳在中国大陆及邻区普遍存在,并且下地壳的流变强度和等效黏滞性系数比上地壳和岩石圈地幔一般要低1~2个数量级;中国大陆范围内青藏高原存在着厚度最大、强度最低的下地壳;青藏高原的岩石圈强度和等效黏滞性系数比华北、华南和印度板块的都要低;岩石圈流变结构的横向分布特征与重力梯度带和地形过渡带比较一致.     

Evolution of continental crust in southern Africa

Nd isotopic data from the Zimbabwe and Kaapvaal cratons and the Limpopo, Kalahari, Namaqualand and Damara mobile belts imply that over 50% of present-day continental crust in this region had separated from the mantle by the end of the Archaean and that< 10% of continental crust of southern Africa has formed in the last 1.0 Ga. Such a growth rate implies that average erosion rates through geological time were high and that evolution of continental crust has been dominated by crustal growth prior to 1.4 Ga, and crustal reworking since that time. The evolution of average crust is not represented directly by clastic sediment samples but may be determined from sediment analyses if both the time of orogeneses and the average erosion rate are known. Both trace element data from southern Africa granitoids and the high erosion rates implied by the isotopic study suggest that growth of continental crust in the Archaean was by underplating rather than lateral accretion, but arc accretion was the dominant mechanism after 2.0 Ga.     

A nonstationary model of the thermal regime of axial zones of mid-ocean ridges: Formation of crustal and mantle magma chambers

A nonstationary model of spreading with periodic intrusions of a molten material into an axial zone of a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is applied to numerical analysis of the thermal state in MOR axial zones and the formation of crustal and mantle magma chambers in them. The model satisfactorily explains the positions, dimensions, and shapes of magma chambers, as well as variations in these parameters depending on the spreading rate, temperature, and composition of crustal and mantle rocks. The release and absorption of the latent heat of rock melting, hydrothermal heating of the crust, and variations in the solidus and liquidus temperatures of crustal and mantle rocks as a function of their composition are factors controlling the shape and position of crustal magma chambers.     

The Myasnikov global theory of the evolution of planets and the modern thermochemical model of the Earth’ls evolution

The thermochemical model of the authors is shown to be naturally related to the general theory of V.P. Myasnikov. A heterogeneous modification of this homogeneous theory is described in light of the present ideas on the differentiation of the mantle substance at the boundary with the core and its eclogitization during submersion from the outer boundary and at the endothermic phase transition at a depth of 670 km. The Earth’ls evolution from an initial hot state is numerically modeled. The evolution is shown to start with an abrupt mantle overturn followed by a long period of steady evolution. Global mantle overturns recur a few times, gradually weaken, and are transformed into regional avalanches. The spatial configuration of overturns is represented by a predominant funnel-shaped sink and a few (three to five) ascending superplumes, which convincingly explains the causes of the formation of supercontinents, the opening of oceans, and the observed asymmetry of the planet. The times of overturns remarkably correlate with geological data on the existence of supercontinents. The processes of core growth, mantle cooling, and crust formation exhibit a clearly expressed stepwise behavior. The supplementation of the endothermic phase transition by chemical transformations favors the overcoming of the phase barrier between the upper and lower mantle, enhances the nonlinearity of mantle convection, and imparts a heterocyclic pattern to the process of evolution. It is shown that the lower mantle plume of chemical origin is fragmented by the phase transition into parts that, interacting with the thermal convection, generate a system of upper mantle plumes. This modeling provides an explanation of the coeval systems of oceanic plateaus and continental traps observed on the surface.     

Insights into the Crustal Structure and Geodynamic Evolution of the Southern Granulite Terrain,India, from Isostatic Considerations

The Southern Granulite Terrain of India, formed through an ancient continental collision and uplift of the earth’s surface, was accompanied by thickening of the crust. Once the active tectonism ceased, the buoyancy of these deep crustal roots must have supported the Nilgiri and Palani-Cardamom hills. Here, the gravity field has been utilized to provide new constraints on how the force of buoyancy maintains the state of isostasy in the Southern Granulite Terrain. Isostatic calculations show that the seismically derived crustal thickness of 43–44 km in the Southern Granulite Terrain is on average 7–8 km more than that required to isostatically balance the present-day topography. This difference cannot be solely explained applying a constant shift in the mean sea level crustal thickness of 32 km. The isostatic analysis thus indicates that the current topography of the Southern Granulite Terrain is overcompensated, and about 1.0 km of the topographic load must have been eroded from this region without any isostatic readjustment. The observed gravity anomaly, an order of magnitude lower than that expected (−125 mGal), however, shows that there is no such overcompensation. Thermal perturbations up to Pan-African, present-day high mantle heat flow and low Te together negate the possible resistance of the lithosphere to rebound in response to erosional unloading. To isostatically compensate the crustal root, compatible to seismic Moho, a band of high density (2,930 kg m⁻³) in the lower crust and low density (3,210 kg m⁻³) in the lithospheric mantle below the Southern Granulite Terrain is needed. A relatively denser crust due to two distinct episodes of metamorphic phase transitions at 2.5 Ga and 550 Ma and highly mobilized upper mantle during Pan-African thermal perturbation reduced significantly the root buoyancy that kept the crust pulled downward in response to the eroded topography.     

Geophysical observations pertaining to solid-state convection in the terrestrial planets

We present a broad-based review of the observational evidence that pertains to or otherwise implies solid-state convection to be occurring (or have occurred) in the interiors of the terrestrial planets.For the Earth, the motion of the plates is prima facie evidence of large-scale mantle convection. Provided we understand upper-mantle thermal conductivity correctly, heat flow beneath the old ocean basins may be too high to be transported conductively from the upper mantle through the base of the lithosphere and therefore convection on a second smaller scale might be operative. The horizontal scale of plate dimensions implies, due to typical cell aspect ratios observed in convection, that the motion extends to the core-mantle boundary. Improved global data coverage and viscoelastic modeling of isostatic rebound due to Pleistocene deglaciation imply a uniform mantle viscosity, and thus indicate that whole-mantle convection could exist. Additionally, there is some seismic evidence of lithospheric penetration to depths deeper than 700 km. We discuss some salient features and assumption boundedness of arguments for convection confined to the upper mantle and for convection which acts throughout the mantle since the vertical length scale has a profound effect upon the relevance of geophysical observations. The horizontal form of mantle convection may be fully three-dimensional with complex planform and, therefore, searching for correlative gravity patterns in the ocean basins may not be useful without additional geophysical constraints. Many long-wavelength gravity anomalies may arise from beneath the lithosphere and must be supported dynamically, although thermal convection is not a unique explanation. Topography is an additional geophysical constraint, but for wavelengths greater than a few hundred kilometers, a general lack of correlation exists between oceanic residual gravity and topography, except at specific locations such as Hawaii. Theoretical calculations predict a complex relationship between these two observational types. Oceanic gravity data alone shows no regular planform and there is no correlation with any small-scale convective pattern predicted by laboratory experiments.All of the observational evidence argues against Martian plate tectonics occurring now or over much of the history of this planet, but lack of plate tectonics is not an argument against interior convection. The Tharsis uplift on Mars may have resulted from convective processes in the mantle, and the present-day gravity anomaly associated with Tharsis must be supported by the finite strength of the lithosphere or by mantle convection. Stresses imparted by the present topographic load would be greater than a kilobar, in excess of long-term finite strength. Observed fracture patterns are probably a direct result of this load, and the key question concerns the level of resultant strain relief. The global topographic and geomorphic dichotomy between the northern and southern hemisphere required a solid-state flow process to create the accompanying center-of-figure to center-of-mass offset.Lunar heat flow values, in analogy with oceanic heat flow on the Earth, strongly imply a convective mechanism of heat transport in the interior which, based on seismic Q values, is limited to the lower mantle. The presence of moonquakes in this region does not preclude solid-state convective processes. Lunar conductivity profiles provide no information on convection because of the difficulty in conductivity modeling, uniqueness of models, and the uncertainty in the conductivity-temperature relationship. The excess oblateness of the lunar figure over the hydrostatic value does not require convective support; in fact, such a mechanism is unlikely.The presence of a dipole magnetic field on Mercury does not provide a constraint on mantle convection unless its existence can be inextricably linked to a molten core. The non-hydrostatic shape of the equatorial figure, required for the observed $\text{3}\text{2}$ resonance between Mercury's rotational and orbital periods, is most likely related to surface processes, as opposed to convection. The $\text{3n}\text{2}$ resonance implies escape from a 2n resonance and, therefore, is related to the question of a molten core. Further dynamical data is needed to constrain interior models.Interpretation of limited radar imagery for the surface of Venus is enigmatic in terms of plate tectonics and therefore interior convection. Linear tensional and possibly compressional features are observed, but there are also crustal regions which appear to show large impact structures and are thus geologically old and may not have been recycled.     

利用地下流体氦同位素比值估算大陆壳幔热流比例

地下流体中的氦同位素 3He来自地幔的排气作用 ,4He则是铀、钍衰变的产物 .由于铀、钍元素在大陆地壳中富集 ,4He通量与地壳热流呈正相关关系 ;同时 3He通量与地幔热流之间呈正相关 .所以地下流体的氦同位素比值 （3He / 4 He）与大陆壳幔热流比值 （qc/qm）呈反相关关系 .根据欧亚大陆和加拿大地盾的地下流体氦同位素比值数据和相应的壳幔热流比值数据 ,统计出 qc/ qm 与 3He / 4 He之间的回归关系 :qc/ qm =0 81 5- 0 30 0ln（3He / 4 He） ;此处 3He/ 4 He的单位是RA（大气的 3He/ 4 He比值 ） .有了地表热流值和壳幔热流比值即可得到地壳热流和地幔热流 .利用该公式以及热流值估算了中国主要盆地的壳幔热流值 ;根据这些数值得出的热岩石圈厚度和地壳平均生热率结果与地震学研究成果一致 .氦同位素比值是区分大陆热流中地壳热流值和地幔热流值的有用参数 .