T-LAB: Global Maps of the Thermal Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary Derived from Shear-Wave Tomography Models and Mineral Physics Constraints

DOI

The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) marks the base of the Earth’s outer layer where heat is transferred primarily by conduction as compared to prevailing convective heat transport below. Spatial variations in LAB depth reveal the differential evolution of tectonic systems (e.g., rifts and orogens), thus enabling a better understanding of geodynamic processes. Further, the topography of the LAB exerts control on the coupling of the lithosphere to asthenospheric flow, modulating the distribution of present-day stresses and active deformation of the tectonic plates. We have derived global depth variations of the LAB from temperature-converted shear-wave tomography models assuming that the threshold temperature between conduction and mantle convection is 1300 °C. Shear-wave velocity in the mantle is controlled by both in situ pressure-temperature conditions and mineralogical rock composition. Therefore, our velocity-to-temperature conversion builds on a framework of rock physical properties generated through a Gibbs free energy minimization to determine thermodynamically stable phase and mineral assemblages throughout upper mantle pressure and temperature conditions. In this data publication, we provide thermal LAB depths corresponding to one European-scale and three global-scale tomography models. The data release includes (i) a data description file with information on the input tomographic models, the conversion method and spatial variations in LAB depth (illustrated); and (ii) four data files with LAB depth values spatially sampled according to the input tomography models.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.CUEG.2026.001
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Metadata Access http://doidb.wdc-terra.org/oaip/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_datacite&identifier=oai:doidb.wdc-terra.org:8716
Provenance
Creator Bott, Judith ORCID logo; May, Tilman ORCID logo; Kumar, Ajay (ORCID: 0000-0002-2669-355X); Schiller, Carl Josef (ORCID: 0009-0006-3807-500X); Scheck-Wenderoth, Magdalena ORCID logo
Publisher GFZ Data Services
Contributor Bott, Judith
Publication Year 2026
Rights Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
OpenAccess true
Contact Bott, Judith (GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany)
Representation
Resource Type Dataset
Discipline Natural Sciences; Physics
Spatial Coverage (-180.000W, -89.000S, 180.000E, 89.000N); Coverage: CSEMv2 Globe; Coverage: CSEMv2 Europe; Coverage: REVEAL and SL2013sv