| The dynamic interaction of mantle plumes with subducted slabs and plate-scale flow is studied in Part I. We found that plumes preferentially develop on the edge of slabs and that a substantial amount of hot mantle can be trapped beneath slabs over long periods of time, leading to "mega-plume" formation. We used the solver-coupling technique to study the deflection of plume conduits and compare our result with the parameterized approach. The stability of mantle superplumes in compressible thermo-chemical convection is studied in Part II. The depth-dependent chemical density profile, caused by composition-dependent compressibility, is the preferred mechanism to stabilize the superplumes. |
