ASPECT models of a mantle plume under West Antarctica

In order to test the feasibility of density and viscosity models suitable to explain geoid and dynamic topography in West Antarctica, we perform computations of a thermal plume that enters at the base of a cartesian box corresponding to a region in the upper mantle, as well as some whole-mantle thermal plume models, as well as some instantaneous disk models, with ASPECT. The plume models have typically a narrow conduit and the plume tends to only become wider as it spreads beneath the lithosphere, typically shallower than ~300 km. These results are most consistent with a shallow disk model with reduced uppermost mantle viscosity, hence providing further support for such low viscosities beneath West Antarctica. The data are a supplement to the following article: Steinberger, B., Grasnick, M.-L. & Ludwig, R., Exploring the Origin of Geoid Low and Topography High in West Antarctica: Insights from Density Anomalies and Mantle Convection Models, Tektonika, https://doi.org/10.55575/tektonika2023.1.2.35