Volatiles, rheology, and mantle convection: Comparing Earth, Venus, and Mars

Silicate rheology is controlled in part by volatile content. The variation of viscosity with position in the mantle will influence the nature of mantle convection; hence, modeling mantle convection and its effect on surface observables such as the geoid places constraints on the viscosity structure of a planet's mantle and may indirectly constrain the volatile distribution. Models of viscous mantle flow and the Earth's geoid indicate that there is roughly a two order of magnitude variation in viscosity between the upper and lower mantles, although there is some disagreement over the depth of the viscosity minimum in the upper mantle. Some studies of post-glacial rebound also support such a viscosity contrast between the upper and lower mantles. On Venus, several highland regions appear to be supported by mantle plumes. Modeling of the geoid and topography of these regions indicates that if these features are plume-related, then the mantle of Venus can not have an Earth-like low viscosity zone in its upper mantle. On Mars, the Tharsis volcanic province has alternatively been explained as supported either by mantle convection or by flexure of a thick lithosphere. If the convective model is correct, then the large geoid anomaly requires that Mars can not have a low viscosity zone in its upper mantle.