The following demo fragment is extracted from the paper
Numerical analysis of geodynamic evolution of the Earth based on a thermochemical model of mantle convection: 3-D model
by V. D. Kotelkin and L. I. Lobkovsky,
Russian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol 6, No. 6, December 2004
(http://rjes.wdcb.ru/v06/tje04165/tje04165.htm or
http://www.agu.org/WPS/rjes/v06/tje04165/tje04165.htm)

Animation 2

To inspect the spatial configurations of overturns in more detail, states of the mantle layer were treated in a special way and shown in Animation 2. Removing all background heterogeneities and some weak ones, an image adapted to 3-D perception could be obtained by varying the transparency of the object studied. The treating process retained only light heterogeneities (warm colors) in the upper mantle and heavy heterogeneities (cool colors) in the lower mantle. Green admixed to heterogeneities that are closer to the observer enhance the 3-D impression of the visualized state. The resulting color composition imparts orange tints to near light heterogeneities and light blue tints to near heavy ones. The thus-truncated representation of the 3-D structure of the layer at the overturn time moment is presented in three fragments titled Overturn 1, 3, and 5 (see Animation 2). A better perception of the 3-D structure is also facilitated by the rotation of the object about the polar axis (with the observer being in the equatorial plane). At a qualitative level, all overturns (except the first one) have the same mantle structure: the intrusion of heavy material into the lower mantle has the form of a singly connected cuplike region, and light material penetrates into the upper mantle in the form of several separate superplumes.

Animation 3

Animation 3 displays a similar 3-D dynamics of alternative density inhomogeneities, but the rotation of the layer takes place in this case during the process of evolution. Cyclic dynamics of the asthenosphere is clearly seen in this Animation: light material actively underplates the lithosphere during the mantle overturn, after which the resulting layer slowly cools during two-stage convection.

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This demo is a sample of presentation of results of numerical simulation using AVI animation.