Petrological evidence on temperature distribution in the mantle of the Earth

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Abstract
On the assumption that convection is an effective process of heat transfer in the mantle, petrological evidence suggests that the temperature at the core boundary fluctuates, in space and time, between a lower limit of about 1500°C and an upper limit of 2500°C. Generation of basaltic magma in the upper 100 km of the mantle is readily explained if the temperature gradient required to start convection does not exceed 0.6°/km, which is about twice the adiabatic value. Formation of uncommon magma types, such as anorthosites, may perhaps be explained by relatively small and momentary departures from conditions described. Implications of the convection hypothesis on the density distribution in the mantle are briefly discussed.

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