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Earth and Space Sciences · Glossary

What is Plume buoyancy flux?

Definition 6.8 University Earth and Space Sciences — Year 3 · Chapter 6 — Mantle Convection and Plate Driving Forces

The plume buoyancy flux BB is the mass deficit, relative to the surrounding mantle, that a plume carries up per unit time; for a plume of volume flux QvQ_v and temperature excess ΔT\Delta T, B=ρα ΔT QvB = \rho\alpha\,\Delta T\,Q_v.

A young plume (left) rises as a large head fed by a thin tail; when the head spreads beneath the lithosphere, the surface rises and flood basalts may erupt. An older plume (right) is a tail beneath a moving plate, feeding a swell and a hotspot track. Not to scale.
A young plume (left) rises as a large head fed by a thin tail; when the head spreads beneath the lithosphere, the surface rises and flood basalts may erupt. An older plume (right) is a tail beneath a moving plate, feeding a swell and a hotspot track. Not to scale.
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