Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Historical background; 2. Plate tectonics; 3. Structure and composition of the mantle; 4. Mantle temperatures and thermodynamic properties; 5. Viscosity of the mantle; 6. Basic equations; 7. Linear stability; 8. Approximate solutions; 9. Calculations of convection in two dimensions; 10. Numerical models of three-dimensional convection; 11. Hotspots and mantle plumes; 12. Chemical geodynamics; 13. Thermal history of the Earth; 14. Convection in the interiors of solid planets and moons; 15. Nature of convection in the mantle; References; Index.

Promotional Information

Comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of all aspects of mantle convection, for advanced students and researchers.

About the Author

Peter Olson is the recipient of the 2015 Inge Lehmann Medal from the American Geophysical Union.

Reviews

'... a splendid effort, set to become the standard reference for years to come.' Nick Petford, Geology '... fills an important gap in the literature. the book will be indispensable to most Earth and planetary scientists and graduate students.' Science '... a broad, readable, and reasonably comprehensive discussion of our current understanding of the internal dynamics of planets undergoing solid-state convection ... The authors note in their preface that the book is primarily intended as a research monograph ... The structure and style of the book make for an excellent text or primary reference for a seminar class.' Michael Manga, EOS ' ... the best-compiled text that I have seen and may be used as a reference work for researchers in the many fields of Earth and planetary sciences. ... this book can be thoroughly recommended to Earth and planetary scientists at any level.' The Open University Geological Society Journal ' ... publication of this book makes it much easier to get into the subject and build an overview of it than it has been in the past. All who are working in this field will welcome its appearance.' Journal of Petrology