Structure and dunamics of earth’s lower mantle
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Transcript Structure and dunamics of earth’s lower mantle
Structure and
dynamics of
earth’s lower
mantle
Edward J. Garnero and
Allen K. McNamara
Presented by:
David de Vlieg
Folkert van Straaten
Research on lower most
mantle:
This
part of the mantle has influence on the
convection and chemistry of the entire
mantle
It
plays an important role in the heat
release of the core
It
has influence on thermal structure and
evolution of the earth
Key scientific areas to study
the lower mantle
Seismology
Mineral
physics
Geodynamics
Geochemistry
to
get a better insight into the lower
mantle, it is important to combine these
areas
Different theories to explain
the lower mantle anomalies
Anomalies are caused by a
Temperature effect
Chemical effect
It is very difficult to determine how important
each effect is and how they influence each
other
During the remainder of the presentation we
focus on the different theories explaining the
properties of the lower mantle
Historical perspective lower
most mantle research
Discovery of a reduced seismic velocity gradient
as function of depth
This was interpreted as a lower most mantle
thermal boundary layer above a hot core
1980’s: seismologists also observed a first order
discontinous increase in velocity between 250 km
and 350 km above the core-mantle boundary
(CMB)
This was named the D” discontinuity
Anomalies in shear velocity
Lower shear velocity
Higher shear velocity
The D” discontinuity
D’’discontinuity does not have a specific structural
characteristic, but is more a general depth shell of a
few hundred kilometers
It shows a connection with subduction and Hot spot
regions above it
This can be used as an argument for total mantle
convection
Convergent plate boundaries overlie D″ regions with
higher than average velocities
hot-spot volcanoes overlie D″ regions with lower than
average velocities.
combined with evidence for high P- and S-wave velocities
mimicking subduction slab shapes
The LLSVP’s (large low-shearvelocity province’s)
Below
Africa and the Pacific regions two
broad regions of lower shear velocity and
higher than average density are observed
African region is ca. 15000 km across and
1000 km high
Pacific region is ca. 15000 km across and 500
km high
Both
show sharp edges with normal mantle
What are these LLSVP’s?
No
agreement
Geodynamical
view: Higher density material
will go to upwelling regions by convection
LLSVP’s
have stable densities
Too low density will cause buoyancy
Too high density will flat out or even let the
structures disappear
Other way to look at LLSVP’s
Thermochemical
view: LLSVP’s are in essence
superplumes in different stadia, and due to a
thermochemical balance very stable
thermochemical superplumes may heat up and rise
because of excess thermal buoyancy
then cool and sink due to decreased thermal
buoyancy
Smaller
plumes with the denser material can form at
the top of these structures
Mantle Piles
Mantle piles are piles with
specific chemical
properties
They are accumulated in
the Pacific and African
region, which are
dominant upwelling
centers
Piles are passively swept and shaped by mantle
convection
Plumes maybe originate from pile tops, in
particular at peaks and ridges
Causes of this lower-mantle
chemical heterogeneity
Lower
mantle heterogeneity could be
explained by:
remnants of primordial material
the result of chemical reaction products
from the CMB
remnants of subducted oceanic material
A way to recognise the
chemical properties of a pile
Piles
composed of a long-lived primordial
layer will likely have sharp contacts at their
top surface
Piles
composed of accumulated subducted
material may have a rough or diffusive top
Chemistry of llsvp’s
Volcanic hot spots tend to overlie LLSVP edges
rather than their interiors
consistent with edges and ridges of
thermochemical piles forming in regions of return
flow and initiating plumes
This is still controversial
Because numerical models of mantle convection
show that plume morphologies are often more
complicated than simple vertically continuous
whole-mantle conduits
Further geochemical research on ocean island
basalts (OIB’s) is necessary
Cause of D” discontinuity
Lateral variations in deep-mantle temperature are
expected but should be smooth
hence they do not explain a step velocity increase
D″ has interpreted as chemical dregs from
subduction,
as a region of chemical reaction between the core
and mantle,
Today most preferred: as a boundary between
isotropic and anisotropic fabrics, or as a solid-state
phase change
D” discontinuity and chemical
properties of LLSVP”s (1)
D’’-discountinuity could be the result of the
transition from perovskite into post-perovskite
This transitions has a positive Clapeyron curve
So when temperature increases the pressure
needed for the transition must be higher
Double crossing
Perovskite, PostPerovskite
From: Ferroir
D” discontinuity and chemical
properties of LLSVP”s (2)
Due to this positive Clapeyron relation the
discontinuity should deepen or even vanish in hot
area’s
Near the core double crossing
This is not the case: Clear evidence is present for
an S-wave discontinuity within the Pacific LLSVP
Proof for a different chemical composition!
(maybe higher iron content)
D” discontinuity and chemical
properties of LLSVP”s (3)
Perovskite
to Post perovskite: exothermic
reaction
Resulting in Plume formation
Higher convection leads to lower
temperatures
Lower temperatures reaction
D” discontinuity and chemical
properties of LLSVP”s (4)
To
determine which of the possibilities is
the most probable you need to measure
the discontinuities perfectly
Measuring
anisotropy using horizontal and
vertical components of shear waves is a
way to do this
Anisotropy and measuring the
D’’ discontinuity (1)
If the D’’ anisotropy is the result of the change
from perovskite into post perovskite an offset
of depth between the onset of the anomaly
and the discontinuity is expected
This is because the preferred lattice
orientation is only visible after a sufficient
amount of deformation
Anisotropy and measuring the
D’’ discontinuity (2)
may
explain seismic observations under
the central Atlantic which thought to be
away from current downwellings
which
there is evidence for a D″
discontinuity
but
a weak seismic anisotropy
Ultra-low velocity zones (1)
Directly
above the CMB
5
to 40 km thick thin patches in which Pand S-wave velocities are reduced by up
to 10% and 30%, respectively
Partial
10%
melt and a density increase up to
Ultra-low velocity zones (2)
These ULVZ’s can be used to say something
about LLSVP’s:
If the most lower mantle has an isochemical
composition ULVZ’s should be the thickest in
the middle of a LLSVP (hottest region)
If a LLSVP has a thermochemical structure the
hottest regions should be at their edges and
ULVZ’s should be the thickest here
Ultra-low velocity zones (3)
Most
proof that llsvp’s have a
thermochemical structure instead of a
isochemical structure
Thank you for listening
Are
there still questions?