Mantle viscosity

Abstract

This article has reviewed the main sources of information on the viscosity of the deep Earth. These sources consist of data pertaining to the phenomena of postglacial rebound and mantle convection. In spite of modest differences between the models of mantle viscosity depth dependence derived in distinct ways, the overwhelming evidence is that the depth dependence of viscosity derived on the basis of GIA observations is in close accord with that required by the mantle convection hypothesis explanation of surface plate tectonics and continental drift.