Origins of ultralow velocity zones through slab-derived metallic melt

Liu, Jiachao; Li, Jie; Hrubiak, Rostislav; Smith, Jesse S.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1519540113

Title: Origins of ultralow velocity zones through slab-derived metallic melt

Journal Article · Tue May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1519540113· OSTI ID:1257473

Liu, Jiachao ^[1]; Li, Jie ^[1];

^[2]; Smith, Jesse S. ^[2]

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Carnegie Inst. of Washington, Argonne, IL (United States). Geophysical Lab.

Understanding the ultralow velocity zones (ULVZs) places constraints on the chemical composition and thermal structure of deep Earth and provides critical information on the dynamics of large-scale mantle convection, but their origin has remained enigmatic for decades. Recent studies suggest that metallic iron and carbon are produced in subducted slabs when they sink beyond a depth of 250 km. Here we show that the eutectic melting curve of the iron-carbon system crosses the current geotherm near Earth’s core-mantle boundary, suggesting that dense metallic melt may form in the lowermost mantle. If concentrated into isolated patches, such melt could produce the seismically observed density and velocity features of ULVZs. Depending on the wetting behavior of the metallic melt, the resultant ULVZs may be short-lived domains that are replenished or regenerated through subduction, or long-lasting regions containing both metallic and silicate melts. Slab-derived metallic melt may produce another type of ULVZ that escapes core sequestration by reacting with the mantle to form iron-rich post-bridgmanite or ferropericlase. The hypotheses connect peculiar features near Earth’s core-mantle boundary to subduction of the oceanic lithosphere through the deep carbon cycle.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

OSTI ID:: 1257473

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 113, Issue 20; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 54 works

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