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The mantle rheology describes how rocks deform or flow under mantle T and
P conditions. Two common ways to study the rheology are 1) to examine how
rocks deform in the laboratory under conditions as realistic as one can
achieve and 2) to model Earth's response to certain forcings (e.g., post-
glacial rebound).
It is generally agreed that mantle rocks are much weaker and easier to
deform under higher T. However, mantle viscosity increases with P. In
some part of the mantle, deformation is accommodated via diffusion creep,
while dislocation creep is the dominant deformation mechanism in other
part of the mantle. For dislocation creep deformation, mantle viscosity
also depends on stress and is controlled by what is often called power-law
rheology.
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