JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017

The Earth's asthenosphere represents a critical region that can control the influence tectonic plates and other surficial processes have on the Earth's deeper mantle, and vice versa. The composition of the Earth's tectonic plates is largely a result of magmatism at mid-ocean ridges and arc systems, and accumulation from below (underplating), which is in turn modulated by the physics and chemistry present in the asthenosphere. Uncertainties in the forces that drive tectonic plates largely arise from incomplete descriptions of the asthenosphere's mechanical properties. Visco-elastic processes ranging from post-seismic deformation to glacial isostatic adjustment are also influenced by the asthenosphere. Recent modeling techniques and new datasets, particularly from the seafloor and subduction zones, have allowed for a better characterization of the asthenosphere. We seek contributions from any discipline from observation to theory, including seismology, geodesy, chemistry, geology, magnetotellurics, and geodynamics, that shed light on the chemistry and physics of continental or oceanic asthenosphere.