Fluid mechanics of free subduction on a sphere, 1: The axisymmetric case

Abstract

To understand how spherical geometry influences the dynamics of gravity-driven subduction of oceanic lithosphere on Earth, we study a simple model of a thin and dense axisymmetric shell of thickness $h$ and viscosity $\eta_1$ sinking in a spherical body of fluid with radius $R_0$ and a lower viscosity $\eta_0$. Using scaling analysis based on thin viscous shell theory, we identify a fundamental length scale, the `bending length' $l_b$, and two key dimensionless parameters that control the dynamics: the `flexural stiffness' $St = (\eta_1/\eta_0)(h/l_b)^3$ and the `sphericity number' $\Sigma= (l_b/R_0)\cot\theta_t$, where $\theta_t$ is the angular radius of the subduction trench. To validate the scaling analysis, we obtain a suite of instantaneous numerical solutions using a boundary-element method based on new analytical point-force Green functions that satisfy free-slip boundary conditions on the sphere's surface. To isolate the effect of sphericity, we calculate the radial sinking speed $V$ and the hoop stress resultant $T_2$ at the leading end of the subducted part of the shell, both normalised by their `flat-Earth' values (i.e., for $\Sigma = 0$). For reasonable terrestrial values of $\eta_1/\eta_0$ ($\approx$ several hundred), sphericity has a modest effect on $V$, which is reduced by $< 7\%$ for large plates such as the Pacific plate and by up to 34% for smaller plates such as the Cocos and Philippine Sea plates. However, sphericity has a much greater effect on $T_2$, increasing it by up to 64% for large plates and 240% for small plates. This result has important implications for the growth of longitudinal buckling instabilities in subducting spherical shells.