The evolution of the mantle''s chemical structure

The geochemistry of flood basalts and their associated picrites, and of komatiites and their associated basalts, combined with a theoretical model for the structure of mantle starting plumes, can be used to decipher key elements of the geochemical structure of the deep mantle and show how it has varied through time. We argue that the thermal boundary layer above the core consisted mainly of depleted mantle similar to the present MORB source during the Archaean and this was largely replaced between 2.7 and 2.0 billion years ago by enriched mantle to form the OIB source. We suggest that this change in the nature of the hotspot source reflects a fundamental change in the dominant component of downward convection: from cold plumes breaking away from beneath a stable lithosphere during the pre-Archaean to subduction of lithosphere in the Archaean and post-Archaean mantles.