Visualization of lithosphere subduction: application to the mantle evolution beneath the Japanese Islands

In this article we illustrate how visualization of scientific data helps in interpreting results of three-dimensional numerical modeling. We visualize the evolution of the descending lithosphere (lithosphere subduction) beneath the Japanese Islands assimilating geophysical, geodetic, and geological data. Using three-dimensional visualization tools we illustrate here that the hot mantle upwelling beneath the descending Pacific plate penetrated through the plate into the mantle wedge.