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Geodynamic thermal runaway with melting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

J. R. Ockendon ,
A. B. Tayler ,
S. H. Emerman  and
D. L. Turcotte
J. R. Ockendon
Affiliation:
Mathematical Institute, 24-29 St Giles, Oxford, England
A. B. Tayler
Affiliation:
Mathematical Institute, 24-29 St Giles, Oxford, England
S. H. Emerman
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
D. L. Turcotte
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We consider the penetration of a solid medium by a foreign body which is large enough for frictional heating to melt the medium and maintain a thin liquid layer ahead of the body. This study is motivated by the possibility of the Earth's core having been formed by liquid iron diapirs melting their way through the solid, deformable mantle. Our principal results are the existence of a critical size for the body for the motion to be maintained under gravity and the ease with which an immiscible liquid body can penetrate at constant velocity compared to a solid one.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 152 , March 1985 , pp. 301 - 314
Copyright
© 1985 Cambridge University Press

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