Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 43, Issue 8, Pages 3693-3699Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068560
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NSF Frontiers of Earth Systems Dynamics grant [EAR-1135452]
- European Research Council [291432]
- Swiss National Science Foundation [PMPDP2_151256]
- Carnegie (Geophysical Laboratory) postdoctoral fellowship
- NSF [EAR-1135382, EAR-1215745, EAR-1426772]
- Directorate For Geosciences [1215745, 1135452] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Division Of Earth Sciences [1426772] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Earth Sciences [1135452, 1215745] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [PMPDP2_151256] Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Seismic tomography models reveal two large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) that identify large-scale variations in temperature and composition in the deep mantle. Other characteristics include elevated density, elevated bulk sound speed, and sharp boundaries. We show that properties of LLSVPs can be explained by the presence of small quantities (0.3-3%) of suspended, dense Fe-Ni-S liquid. Trapping of metallic liquid is demonstrated to be likely during the crystallization of a dense basal magma ocean, and retention of such melts is consistent with currently available experimental constraints. Calculated seismic velocities and densities of lower mantle material containing low-abundance metallic liquids match the observed LLSVP properties. Small quantities of metallic liquids trapped at depth provide a natural explanation for primitive noble gas signatures in plume-related magmas. Our model hence provides a mechanism for generating large-scale chemical heterogeneities in Earth's early history and makes clear predictions for future tests of our hypothesis.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available