Small-scale mantle convection system and stress field under the Pacific plate

The existence of nonhydrostatic high-degree harmonics in the gravitational field of the earth has recently been determined using satellite and gravity observations. In this paper, we have applied the Goddard Space Flight Center GEM-8 gravity field model to calculate the small-scale mantle flow system under the Pacific plate. The resulting tectonic forces or stresses exerted by the flow currents show tensional forces under the Hawaiian Island chain and a system of latitudinal convection rolls under the East Pacific plate and are in agreement with geophysical theories.