DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8408547
title: Changes in core-mantle boundary heat flux patterns throughout the supercontinent cycle: Data

description: This repository accompanies the paper


 


```


Dannberg, J., Gassmoeller, R., Thallner, D., LaCombe, F., Sprain, C.: Changes in core-mantle boundary heat flux patterns throughout the supercontinent cycle.


```


 


This repository contains instructions for how to obtain the boundary conditions from GPlates, ASPECT code, data and model setups, and scripts for converting the ASPECT model output to spherical harmonics so it can be used in geodynamic simulations. To reproduce the workflow follow the steps:


 


- To create the velocity boundary conditions for the ASPECT models, download the plate reconstruction from 'Merdith, A.S., Williams, S.E., Collins, A.S., Tetley, M.G., Mulder, J.A., Blades, M.L., Young, A., Armistead, S.E., Cannon, J., Zahirovic, S. and Müller, R.D., 2021. Extending full-plate tectonic models into deep time: Linking the Neoproterozoic and the Phanerozoic. Earth-Science Reviews, 214, p.103477', which can be found here:


 


https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4485738


 


To create the 'lat_lon_velocity' files, take the following steps in GPlates:


 


1. Load all of the files from the Merdith et al, 2021 plate reconstruction into a Feature Collection which can be saved as a project (the project for our visualization is 'project.gproj').


2. Establish the output grid (ours is lat_lon_velocity_domain_91_181): Features -> Generate Velocity Domain Points -> Latitude Longitude -> Number of latitudinal grid intervals=91, Number of longitudinal grid intervals=181, number of nodes=16652.


3. To output the point velocities we used for the models: Reconstruction -> Export -> Add Export -> Velocities, GPML(*.gpml), velocity_%nMa


- The data files we created following this workflow are part of this data publication and can be found in the `lat_lon_velocity` folder.


 


- The global spherical convection models of the publication were created using two different ASPECT configurations:


 


Models `thermal`, `thermochemical`, and `p-T-dependent` were run using:


 


```


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


-- This is ASPECT, the Advanced Solver for Problems in Earth's ConvecTion.


-- . version 2.4.0-pre (limit_shear_heating, 4f45a72fe)


-- . using deal.II 9.4.0-pre (3d869ba6cd1fd462624e09dc232e34ed17880701)


-- . with 64 bit indices and vectorization level 2 (256 bits)


-- . using Trilinos 12.18.1


-- . using p4est 2.3.2


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


```


 


Models `strong basalt` and `weak ppv` were run using:


 


```


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


-- This is ASPECT, the Advanced Solver for Problems in Earth's ConvecTion.


-- . version 2.5.0-pre (limit_shear_heating_and_ppv, a4812c95a)


-- . using deal.II 9.4.2


-- . with 64 bit indices and vectorization level 3 (512 bits)


-- . using Trilinos 13.2.0


-- . using p4est 2.3.2


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


```


 


- The two modified ASPECT versions are included in this data package. The repository including full


version history is until further notice available as branch `limit_shear_heating` and branch `limit_shear_heating_and_ppv`


in the repository `https://github.com/jdannberg/aspect.git`.


 


- Running these models also requires plugins that are located in the `shared_libs` folder in this repository and that need to be compiled. Navigate into this directory and follow the steps:


 


1. `cmake -D Aspect_DIR=PATH_TO_ASPECT` (replace `PATH_TO_ASPECT` with the directory where you compiled ASPECT).


2. `make`


- Now the models in this repository can be started. You should start them from the `input_files` directory so that all paths are set correctly and you can start them with the ASPECT executable in your build folder.


 


- The files in `aspect_input_files` correspond to the models presented in the paper following the same naming scheme.


 


- To convert the ASPECT heat flux output to spherical harmonics we used the script `analyze_heatflux_mpi_gmt.py` in `SPH_scripts`,


which requires modification to point to the correct ASPECT statistics file and the correct output directory.


 


- The final heat flux output is included in this data package in the `heat_flux` folder, which includes archives of the processed heat flux output in 1 Myr time intervals with 0 being the start of the model run and the highest timestep number representing the present day state.