Constraints on the upper mantle viscosity from the Hawaiian swell topography

The topography of the Hawaiian islands is related to the dynamics of a rising 
plume. Both the thermal buoyancy of the hot rising plume and the compositional 
buoyancy associated with partial melting of mantle material contributes to the 
uplift of the Hawaiian area. We have developed a numerical model to relate the
plume dynamics to the surface topography. With this model, we can constrain 
the upper mantle viscosity, using the amplitude and the lateral extension of 
the Hawaiian swell as the primary observations.