| Continental motions are fundamental in shaping the Earth's surface. Features attributable to continental drift, such as orogenies and rifts, dominate subaerial geography. On an even grander scale, paleomagnetism suggests global continental reorganizations over time scales of hundreds of millions of years (Myr). In fact, supercontinental aggregations such as Pangea, Rodinia, and Columbia appear in the geologic record with a period of a few hundred Myr, suggestive of a cycle. These surface motions are likely coupled to mantle convection. Continents cluster over cold downwellings, as in the closing of the Tethys Ocean. Supercontinents apparently warm the mantle, as suggested by the African superplume, which lingers beneath the former site of Pangea. A number of geodynamic modelers have investigated the nature of this coupling, often generating results reminiscent of observations. Still, many such studies were limited by the use of Cartesian geometries that do not accurately represent the Earth. In this thesis I address the feedback between continents and the mantle using a high resolution, spherical, finite element (FEM) mantle convection code. I integrate a lithospheric model into the code, prescribing rigid, buoyant, mobile continents that serve as boundary conditions for the mantle. In a series of simulations with individual continents, I investigate the system's sensitivity to variations in fundamental mantle parameters and continent size. Continents covering 30%, 10%, and 3% of Earth's surface (representative of Pangea, Asia, and Antarctica, respectively) are introduced into mantle models characterized by pure core or radiogenic heating, and uniform or layered viscosity. Supercontinents are found effective in promoting the development of global thermal heterogeneities in an internally heated, layered viscosity mantle. Smaller continents behave passively and exhibit more time dependent behavior. Next, I introduce models incorporating three to six continents in layered viscosity models heated predominantly from within. These models reinforce the plausibility of a supercontinent cycle with a period of a few hundred Myr. Underlying mantle temperatures vary by up to 100 K over ∼100 Myr. Continental velocities fluctuate in concert, ranging from ∼0-7 cm/yr. These results agree well with geological and geophysical findings, and help constrain geodynamic models. |
