Moon-forming impactor as a source of Earth's basal mantle anomalies.

Seismic images of Earth's interior have revealed two continent-sized anomalies with low seismic velocities, known as the large low-velocity provinces (LLVPs), in the lowermost mantle1. The LLVPs are often interpreted as intrinsically dense heterogeneities that are compositionally distinct from the surrounding mantle2. Here we show that LLVPs may represent buried relics of Theia mantle material (TMM) that was preserved in proto-Earth's mantle after the Moon-forming giant impact3. Our canonical giant-impact simulations show that a fraction of Theia's mantle could have been delivered to proto-Earth's solid lower mantle. We find that TMM is intrinsically 2.0-3.5% denser than proto-Earth's mantle based on models of Theia's mantle and the observed higher FeO content of the Moon. Our mantle convection models show that dense TMM blobs with a size of tens of kilometres after the impact can later sink and accumulate into LLVP-like thermochemical piles atop Earth's core and survive to the present day. The LLVPs may, thus, be a natural consequence of the Moon-forming giant impact. Because giant impacts are common at the end stages of planet accretion, similar mantle heterogeneities caused by impacts may also exist in the interiors of other planetary bodies.

Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth's core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones.

Ultralow velocity zones (ULVZs) are the most anomalous structures within the Earth's interior; however, given the wide range of associated characteristics (thickness and composition) reported by previous studies, the origins of ULVZs have been debated for decades. Using a recently developed seismic analysis approach, we find widespread, variable ULVZs along the core-mantle boundary (CMB) beneath a largely unsampled portion of the Southern Hemisphere. Our study region is not beneath current or recent subduction zones, but our mantle convection simulations demonstrate how heterogeneous accumulations of previously subducted materials could form on the CMB and explain our seismic observations. We further show that subducted materials can be globally distributed throughout the lowermost mantle with variable concentrations. These subducted materials, advected along the CMB, can provide an explanation for the distribution and range of reported ULVZ properties.

Compositionally-distinct ultra-low velocity zones on Earth's core-mantle boundary.

The Earth's lowermost mantle large low velocity provinces are accompanied by small-scale ultralow velocity zones in localized regions on the core-mantle boundary. Large low velocity provinces are hypothesized to be caused by large-scale compositional heterogeneity (i.e., thermochemical piles). The origin of ultralow velocity zones, however, remains elusive. Here we perform three-dimensional geodynamical calculations to show that the current locations and shapes of ultralow velocity zones are related to their cause. We find that the hottest lowermost mantle regions are commonly located well within the interiors of thermochemical piles. In contrast, accumulations of ultradense compositionally distinct material occur as discontinuous patches along the margins of thermochemical piles and have asymmetrical cross-sectional shape. Furthermore, the lateral morphology of these patches provides insight into mantle flow directions and long-term stability. The global distribution and large variations of morphology of ultralow velocity zones validate a compositionally distinct origin for most ultralow velocity zones.Ultralow velocity zones are detected on the core-mantle boundary, but their origin is enigmatic. Here, the authors find that the global distribution and large variations of morphology of ultralow velocity zones are consistent with most having a compositionally-distinct origin.

Episodic entrainment of deep primordial mantle material into ocean island basalts.

Chemical differences between mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs) and ocean island basalts (OIBs) provide critical evidence that the Earth's mantle is compositionally heterogeneous. MORBs generally exhibit a relatively low and narrow range of (3)He/(4)He ratios on a global scale, whereas OIBs display larger variability in both time and space. The primordial origin of (3)He in OIBs has motivated hypotheses that high (3)He/(4)He ratios are the product of mantle plumes sampling chemically distinct material, but do not account for lower MORB-like (3)He/(4)He ratios in OIBs, nor their observed spatial and temporal variability. Here we perform thermochemical convection calculations which show the variable (3)He/(4)He signature of OIBs can be reproduced by deep isolated mantle reservoirs of primordial material that are viscously entrained by thermal plumes. Entrainment is highly time-dependent, producing a wide range of (3)He/(4)He ratios similar to that observed in OIBs worldwide and indicate MORB-like (3)He/(4)He ratios in OIBs cannot be used to preclude deep mantle-sourced hotspots.

Experimental constraints on the electrical anisotropy of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system.

The relative motion of lithospheric plates and underlying mantle produces localized deformation near the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. The transition from rheologically stronger lithosphere to weaker asthenosphere may result from a small amount of melt or water in the asthenosphere, reducing viscosity. Either possibility may explain the seismic and electrical anomalies that extend to a depth of about 200 kilometres. However, the effect of melt on the physical properties of deformed materials at upper-mantle conditions remains poorly constrained. Here we present electrical anisotropy measurements at high temperatures and quasi-hydrostatic pressures of about three gigapascals on previously deformed olivine aggregates and sheared partially molten rocks. For all samples, electrical conductivity is highest when parallel to the direction of prior deformation. The conductivity of highly sheared olivine samples is ten times greater in the shear direction than for undeformed samples. At temperatures above 900 degrees Celsius, a deformed solid matrix with nearly isotropic melt distribution has an electrical anisotropy factor less than five. To obtain higher electrical anisotropy (up to a factor of 100), we propose an experimentally based model in which layers of sheared olivine are alternated with layers of sheared olivine plus MORB or of pure melt. Conductivities are up to 100 times greater in the shear direction than when perpendicular to the shear direction and reproduce stress-driven alignment of the melt. Our experimental results and the model reproduce mantle conductivity-depth profiles for melt-bearing geological contexts. The field data are best fitted by an electrically anisotropic asthenosphere overlain by an isotropic, high-conductivity lowermost lithosphere. The high conductivity could arise from partial melting associated with localized deformation resulting from differential plate velocities relative to the mantle, with subsequent upward melt percolation from the asthenosphere.

Seismic detection of the lunar core.

Despite recent insight regarding the history and current state of the Moon from satellite sensing and analyses of limited Apollo-era seismic data, deficiencies remain in our understanding of the deep lunar interior. We reanalyzed Apollo lunar seismograms using array-processing methods to search for the presence of reflected and converted seismic energy from the core. Our results suggest the presence of a solid inner and fluid outer core, overlain by a partially molten boundary layer. The relative sizes of the inner and outer core suggest that the core is ~60% liquid by volume. Based on phase diagrams of iron alloys and the presence of partial melt, the core probably contains less than 6 weight % of lighter alloying components, which is consistent with a volatile-depleted interior.

Elastic shear anisotropy of ferropericlase in Earth's lower mantle.

Seismic shear anisotropy in the lowermost mantle most likely results from elastic shear anisotropy and lattice preferred orientation of its constituent minerals, including perovskite, post-perovskite, and ferropericlase. Measurements of the elastic shear anisotropy of single-crystal (Mg0.9Fe0.1)O up to 69 gigapascals (GPa) show that it increased considerably across the pressure-induced spin transition of iron between 40 and 60 GPa. Increasing iron content further enhances the anisotropy. This leads to at least 50% stronger elastic shear anisotropy of (Mg,Fe)O in the lowermost mantle compared to MgO, which is typically used in geodynamic modeling. Our results imply that ferropericlase is the dominant cause of seismic shear anisotropy in the lower mantle.

Anticorrelated seismic velocity anomalies from post-perovskite in the lowermost mantle.

Earth's lowermost mantle has thermal, chemical, and mineralogical complexities that require precise seismological characterization. Stacking, migration, and modeling of over 10,000 P and S waves that traverse the deep mantle under the Cocos plate resolve structures above the core-mantle boundary. A small -0.07 +/- 0.15% decrease of P wave velocity (Vp) is accompanied by a 1.5 +/- 0.5% increase in S wave velocity (V(s)) near a depth of 2570 km. Bulk-sound velocity [Vb = (Vp2 - 4/3Vs2)1/2] decreases by -1.0 +/- 0.5% at this depth. Transition of the primary lower-mantle mineral, (Mg(1-x-y) Fe(x)Al(y))(Si,Al)O3 perovskite, to denser post-perovskite is expected to have a negligible effect on the bulk modulus while increasing the shear modulus by approximately 6%, resulting in local anticorrelation of Vb and Vs anomalies; this behavior explains the data well.

Structure and dynamics of Earth's lower mantle.

Processes within the lowest several hundred kilometers of Earth's rocky mantle play a critical role in the evolution of the planet. Understanding Earth's lower mantle requires putting recent seismic and mineral physics discoveries into a self-consistent, geodynamically feasible context. Two nearly antipodal large low-shear-velocity provinces in the deep mantle likely represent chemically distinct and denser material. High-resolution seismological studies have revealed laterally varying seismic velocity discontinuities in the deepest few hundred kilometers, consistent with a phase transition from perovskite to post-perovskite. In the deepest tens of kilometers of the mantle, isolated pockets of ultralow seismic velocities may denote Earth's deepest magma chamber.

Upper mantle discontinuity topography from thermal and chemical heterogeneity.

Using high-resolution stacks of precursors to the seismic phase SS, we investigated seismic discontinuities associated with mineralogical phase changes approximately 410 and 660 kilometers (km) deep within Earth beneath South America and the surrounding oceans. Detailed maps of phase boundary topography revealed deep 410- and 660-km discontinuities in the down-dip direction of subduction, inconsistent with purely isochemical olivine phase transformation in response to lowered temperatures. Mechanisms invoking chemical heterogeneity within the mantle transition zone were explored to explain this feature. In some regions, multiple reflections from the discontinuities were detected, consistent with partial melt near 410-km depth and/or additional phase changes near 660-km depth. Thus, the origin of upper mantle heterogeneity has both chemical and thermal contributions and is associated with deeply rooted tectonic processes.

A post-perovskite lens and D'' heat flux beneath the central Pacific.

Temperature gradients in a low-shear-velocity province in the lowermost mantle (D'' region) beneath the central Pacific Ocean were inferred from the observation of a rapid S-wave velocity increase overlying a rapid decrease. These paired seismic discontinuities are attributed to a phase change from perovskite to post-perovskite and then back to perovskite as the temperature increases with depth. Iron enrichment could explain the occurrence of post-perovskite several hundred kilometers above the core-mantle boundary in this warm, chemically distinct province. The double phase-boundary crossing directly constrains the lowermost mantle temperature gradients. Assuming a standard but unconstrained choice of thermal conductivity, the regional core-mantle boundary heat flux (approximately 85 +/- 25 milliwatts per square meter), comparable to the average at Earth's surface, was estimated, along with a lower bound on global core-mantle boundary heat flow in the range of 13 +/- 4 terawatts. Mapped velocity-contrast variations indicate that the lens of post-perovskite minerals thins and vanishes over 1000 kilometers laterally toward the margin of the chemical distinct region as a result of a approximately 500-kelvin temperature increase.

Seismic detection of folded, subducted lithosphere at the core-mantle boundary.

Seismic tomography has been used to infer that some descending slabs of oceanic lithosphere plunge deep into the Earth's lower mantle. The fate of these slabs has remained unresolved, but it has been postulated that their ultimate destination is the lowermost few hundred kilometres of the mantle, known as the D'' region. Relatively cold slab material may account for high seismic velocities imaged in D'' beneath areas of long-lived plate subduction, and for reflections from a seismic velocity discontinuity just above the anomalously high wave speed regions. The D'' discontinuity itself is probably the result of a phase change in relatively low-temperature magnesium silicate perovskite. Here, we present images of the D'' region beneath the Cocos plate using Kirchhoff migration of horizontally polarized shear waves, and find a 100-km vertical step occurring over less than 100 km laterally in an otherwise flat D'' shear velocity discontinuity. Folding and piling of a cold slab that has reached the core-mantle boundary, as observed in numerical and experimental models, can account for the step by a 100-km elevation of the post-perovskite phase boundary due to a 700 degrees C lateral temperature reduction in the folded slab. We detect localized low velocities at the edge of the slab material, which may result from upwellings caused by the slab laterally displacing a thin hot thermal boundary layer.

Seismological constraints on a possible plume root at the core-mantle boundary.

Recent seismological discoveries have indicated that the Earth's core-mantle boundary is far more complex than a simple boundary between the molten outer core and the silicate mantle. Instead, its structural complexities probably rival those of the Earth's crust. Some regions of the lowermost mantle have been observed to have seismic wave speed reductions of at least 10 per cent, which appear not to be global in extent. Here we present robust evidence for an 8.5-km-thick and approximately 50-km-wide pocket of dense, partially molten material at the core-mantle boundary east of Australia. Array analyses of an anomalous precursor to the reflected seismic wave ScP reveal compressional and shear-wave velocity reductions of 8 and 25 per cent, respectively, and a 10 per cent increase in density of the partially molten aggregate. Seismological data are incompatible with a basal layer composed of pure melt, and thus require a mechanism to prevent downward percolation of dense melt within the layer. This may be possible by trapping of melt by cumulus crystal growth following melt drainage from an anomalously hot overlying region of the lowermost mantle. This magmatic evolution and the resulting cumulate structure seem to be associated with overlying thermal instabilities, and thus may mark a root zone of an upwelling plume.

Variable azimuthal anisotropy in Earth's lowermost mantle.

A persistent reversal in the expected polarity of the initiation of vertically polarized shear waves that graze the D'' layer (the layer at the boundary between the outer core and the lower mantle of Earth) in some regions starts at the arrival time of horizontally polarized shear waves. Full waveform modeling of the split shear waves for paths beneath the Caribbean requires azimuthal anisotropy at the base of the mantle. Models with laterally coherent patterns of transverse isotropy with the hexagonal symmetry axis of the mineral phases tilted from the vertical by as much as 20 degrees are consistent with the data. Small-scale convection cells within the mantle above the D'' layer may cause the observed variations by inducing laterally variable crystallographic or shape-preferred orientation in minerals in the D'' layer.