Experimental study of spinel-garnet phase transition in upper mantle and its significance

Experimental study of spinel-garnet phase transition was carried out using natural mineral and rock specimens from xenolith of mantle rocks in Cenozoic basalt as starting materials. From the result it was found that the condition of spinel Iherzolite-garnet Ihenolite phase transition (T = 1 100°C andP = 1.8–2.0 GPa) is consistent with theP-T equilibrium condition of the five-phase assemblage spinel/garnet Iherzolite in eastern China, suggesting that there may exist a spinel-garnet Iherzolite phase transition zone with the thickness of a few km to several ten km at the depth of 55–70 km in the continental upper mantle of eastern China. The depth of phase transition from spinel pyroxenite to garnet pyroxenite is found to be less than 55 km. Experiment results also show that water promotes metasomatism on one hand but suppresses phase transition on the other. Zoning of mineral composition was also discussed. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Lower mantle dynamics with the post-perovskite phase change, radiative thermal conductivity, temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity

The new post-perovskite phase near the core-mantle boundary has important ramifications on lower mantle dynamics. We have investigated the dynamical impact arising from the interaction of temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity with radiative thermal conductivity, up to a lateral viscosity contrast of 10⁴, on both the ascending and descending flows in the presence of both the endothermic phase change at 670 km depth and an exothermic post-perovskite transition at 2650 km depth. The phase boundaries are approximated as localized zones. We have employed a two-dimensional Cartesian model, using a box with an aspect-ratio of 10, within the framework of the extended Boussinesq approximation. Our results for temperature- and depth-dependent viscosity corroborate the previous results for depth-dependent viscosity in that a sufficiently strong radiative thermal conductivity plays an important role for sustaining superplumes in the lower mantle, once the post-perovskite phase change is brought into play. This aspect is especially emphasized, when the radiative thermal conductivity is restricted only to the post-perovskite phase. These results revealed a greater degree of asymmetry is produced in the vertical flow structures of the mantle by the phase transitions. Mass and heat transfer between the upper and lower mantle will deviate substantially from the traditional whole-mantle convection model. Streamlines revealed that an overall complete communication between the top and lower mantle is difficult to be achieved.     

由包体推导的河北汉诺坝下地壳-上地幔地温线及其地质意义

通过对采自河北汉诺坝玄武岩中的下地壳和上地幔包体的详细研究 ,建立了本区下地壳—上地幔地温线。该地温线高于大洋地温线和古老地盾地温线 ,接近克拉通边缘的地温线 ,符合该区的大地构造环境。由该地温线建立的下地壳—上地幔地质结构剖面表明 ,该区下地壳主要由不同类型的麻粒岩相岩石组成 ,其化学成分以镁铁质为主 ,深度范围为 2 5～ 4 2km。上地幔由超镁铁质的二辉橄榄岩组成 ,在尖晶石二辉橄榄岩和石榴石二辉橄榄岩之间有一过渡层。由地温线确定的壳幔边界位于 4 2km附近 ,与地震资料确定的莫霍面一致 ,但在壳幔边界之上的下地壳底部有下地壳麻粒岩和超镁铁质岩的互层。这一现象可以解释在下地壳底部常见的层状反射层。该区岩石圈底界大约在 95km ,其下的软流层仍由石榴石二辉橄榄岩组成     

Convection in the mantle with an endothermic phase transition

An endothermic phase transition at a depth of 660 km in the mantle partially slows down mantle flows. Many models considering the possibility of temporary layering of flows with separation of convection in the upper and lower mantle have been constructed over the past two decades. The slowing-down effect of the endothermic phase transition is very sensitive to the slope of the phase-equilibrium curve. However, laboratory measurements contain considerable uncertainties admitting both a partial convection layering and only an insignificant slowing down of a part of downgoing mantle flows. In this work, we present results of calculations of mantle flows within a wide range of phase-transition parameter values, determine ranges of one-and two-layer convection, and derive dependences of the amplitude and period of oscillations on phase-transition parameters.     

The Myasnikov global theory of the evolution of planets and the modern thermochemical model of the Earth’ls evolution

The thermochemical model of the authors is shown to be naturally related to the general theory of V.P. Myasnikov. A heterogeneous modification of this homogeneous theory is described in light of the present ideas on the differentiation of the mantle substance at the boundary with the core and its eclogitization during submersion from the outer boundary and at the endothermic phase transition at a depth of 670 km. The Earth’ls evolution from an initial hot state is numerically modeled. The evolution is shown to start with an abrupt mantle overturn followed by a long period of steady evolution. Global mantle overturns recur a few times, gradually weaken, and are transformed into regional avalanches. The spatial configuration of overturns is represented by a predominant funnel-shaped sink and a few (three to five) ascending superplumes, which convincingly explains the causes of the formation of supercontinents, the opening of oceans, and the observed asymmetry of the planet. The times of overturns remarkably correlate with geological data on the existence of supercontinents. The processes of core growth, mantle cooling, and crust formation exhibit a clearly expressed stepwise behavior. The supplementation of the endothermic phase transition by chemical transformations favors the overcoming of the phase barrier between the upper and lower mantle, enhances the nonlinearity of mantle convection, and imparts a heterocyclic pattern to the process of evolution. It is shown that the lower mantle plume of chemical origin is fragmented by the phase transition into parts that, interacting with the thermal convection, generate a system of upper mantle plumes. This modeling provides an explanation of the coeval systems of oceanic plateaus and continental traps observed on the surface.     

Phase transition zone width implications for convection structure

A temperature and pressure increase in the mantle causes phase transitions and related density changes in its material. The transition boundary in the pressure-temperature phase diagram is determined by the curve of phase equilibrium with the slope γ = dp/dT. If the slope is nonzero, a phase transition in hot ascending and cold descending mantle flows occurs at different depths and, therefore, either enhances (γ > 0) or slows down convection (γ < 0). The mantle material has a multicomponent composition. Therefore, phase transitions in the mantle are distributed over an interval of pressures and depths. In this interval, the concentration of one phase smoothly decreases and the concentration of the other increases. The widths of phase transition zones in the Earth’s mantle vary from 3 km for the endothermic transition in olivine at a depth of 660 km to 500 km for the exothermic transition in perovskite, and the high-to-low spin change in the atomic state of iron takes place at a depth of about 1500 km. This work presents results of calculations demonstrating the convection effect of phase transitions as a function of the transition zone width. Transitions of both types with different slopes of the phase curve and different intensities of mantle convection are examined. For the first time, the convection enhancement and an increase in the mass transfer across the phase boundary are quantitatively investigated in the presence of an exothermic phase transition as a function of the slope of the phase curve. The mixing of material under conditions of partially layered convection is examined with the help of markers.     

How flat is the lower-mantle temperature gradient?

The temperature gradient in the lower mantle is fundamental in prescribing many transport properties, such as the viscosity, thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. The adiabatic temperature gradient is commonly employed for estimating these transport properties in the lower mantle. We have carried out a series of high-resolution 3-D anelastic compressible convections in a spherical shell with the PREM seismic model as the background density and bulk modulus and the thermal expansivity decreasing with depth. Our purpose was to assess how close under realistic conditions the horizontally averaged thermal gradient would lie to the adiabatic gradient derived from the convection model. These models all have an endothermic phase change at 660 km depth with a Clapeyron slope of around −3 MPa K⁻¹, uniform internal heating and a viscosity increase of 30 across the phase transition. The global Rayleigh number for basal heating is around 2×10⁶, while an internal heating Rayleigh number as high as 10⁸ has been employed. The pattern of convection is generally partially layered with a jump of the geotherm across the phase change of at most 300 K. In all thermally equilibrated situations the geothermal gradients in the lower mantle are small, around 0.1 K km⁻¹, and are subadiabatic. Such a low gradient would produce a high peak in the lower-mantle viscosity, if the temperature is substituted into a recently proposed rheological law in the lower mantle. Although the endothermic phase transition may only cause partial layering in the present-day mantle, its presence can exert a profound influence on the state of adiabaticity over the entire mantle.     

The nature of the boundary between the upper and the lower mantle and its influence on convection

In the PREM seismic model, the boundary between the upper and the lower mantle is accepted at a depth of 670 km, where seismic velocities and density increase. However, until recently there was an obvious inconsistency in this model. The density increases abruptly, and the velocities, in addition to the jumps, have also the subsequent zones of increased gradient. The discontinuity between the upper and the lower mantle is related to the transition of olivine from the ringwoodite phase into the mixture of perovskite and magnesiowustite. However, in the pyrolyte model, the transition zone of the upper mantle consists not wholly of olivine, but partly of olivine (60%) and partly of garnet (40%). The latest data of the garnet measurement at high pressures show that it also experiences phase transition, being converted into magnesium perovskite with the impurity of calcium perovskite. In contrast to the sharp transition in olivine (within a depth interval of only 5 km), the transition in garnet is spread over the interval of depths of 660–710 km. In the widely used PREM and AK135 models, this additional transition corresponds to the zone of the increased gradient in seismic velocities, while in the density distribution it is included in the sharp transition of ringwoodite. Thus, the mineralogy data indicate the need for correction of the PREM and AK135 seismic models: the density jump at a depth of 660 km should be reduced by approximately a factor of two, and a subjacent layer with the increased density gradient should be added at the depth interval of 660–710 km. The phase transition in olivine hampers the mantle flows, although in garnet it accelerates them. Therefore, with an allowance for the smaller jump in density, the decelerating effect of the subducting plates, caused by the phase transition in olivine, decreases, and, furthermore, the effect of their acceleration, caused by the phase transition in garnet, is added. The decrease in the density jump by almost a factor of two will lead to essential changes in the results of the majority of recent works addressing the assessment of the deceleration of convection at the upper/lower mantle discontinuity on the basis of the PREM model.     

Numerical studies of the effects of phase transitions on Venusian mantle convection

This paper presents a study on the effects of phase transitions on the mantle convection of Venus in a three-dimensional(3D)spherical shell domain.Our model includes strong depth-and temperature-dependent viscosity and exothermic phase change from olivine to spinel as well as endothermic phase change from spinel to perovskite.From extensive numerical simulations of the effects of Rayleigh number(Ra),and the Clapeyron slopes and depths of phase changes,we found the following:(1)The endothermic phase change prevents mass flow through the interface.Increasing the absolute value of the Clapeyron slopes decreases radial mass flux and normalized radial mass flux at the endothermic phase boundary,and decreases the number of mantle plumes.In other words,mass flow through the phase boundary decreases.The inhibition influence of phase changes increases,as do convective wavelengths.(2)Increasing Ra also increases the convective wavelength and decreases the number of mantle plumes,but it has less influence on the mass exchange.As Ra increases,the convective vigor increases along with the radial mass flux and the mass flow through the phase boundary;however,the normalized mass flux through the phase boundary varies little with Ra,which is different from the conclusion that increasing Ra will greatly increase the inhibition of mass flow through the phase boundary based on two-dimensional(2D)modeling.(3)Increasing the depth of endothermic phase change will slightly decrease the number of mantle plumes,but has little effect on the mass flow through the phase boundary.Consistent with previous studies,our results show that the phase change from spinel to perovskite could inhibit the mass flow through the phase boundary,but they also show that the buildup of hot materials under the endothermic phase boundary in the 3D model could not be so large as to cause strong episodic overturns of mantle materials,which is quite different from previous 2D studies.Our results suggest that it is difficult for phase changes to cause significant magmatism on Venus;in other words,phase changes may not be the primary cause of catastrophic resurfacing on Venus.     

The mantle convection model with non-Newtonian rheology and phase transitions: The flow structure and stress fields

The mantle convection model with phase transitions, non-Newtonian viscosity, and internal heat sources is calculated for two-dimensional (2D) Cartesian geometry. The temperature dependence of viscosity is described by the Arrhenius law with a viscosity step of 50 at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. The viscosity in the model ranges within 4.5 orders of magnitude. The use of the non-Newtonian rheology enabled us to model the processes of softening in the zone of bending and subduction of the oceanic plates. The yield stress in the model is assumed to be 50 MPa. Based on the obtained model, the structure of the mantle flows and the spatial fields of the stresses σ_xz and σ_xx in the Earth’s mantle are studied. The model demonstrates a stepwise migration of the subduction zones and reveals the sharp changes in the stress fields depending on the stage of the slab detachment. In contrast to the previous model (Bobrov and Baranov, 2014), the self-consistent appearance of the rigid moving lithospheric plates on the surface is observed. Here, the intense flows in the upper mantle cause the drift and bending of the top segments of the slabs and the displacement of the plumes. It is established that when the upwelling plume intersects the boundary between the lower and upper mantle, it assumes a characteristic two-level structure: in the upper mantle, the ascending jet of the mantle material gets thinner, whereas its velocity increases. This effect is caused by the jump in the viscosity at the boundary and is enhanced by the effect of the endothermic phase boundary which impedes the penetration of the plume material from the lower mantle to the upper mantle. The values and distribution of the shear stresses σ_xz and superlithostatic horizontal stresses σ_xx are calculated. In the model area of the subducting slabs the stresses are 60–80 MPa, which is by about an order of magnitude higher than in the other mantle regions. The character of the stress fields in the transition region of the phase boundaries and viscosity step by the plumes and slabs is analyzed. It is established that the viscosity step and endothermic phase boundary at a depth of 660 km induce heterogeneities in the stress fields at the upper/lower mantle boundary. With the assumed model parameters, the exothermic phase transition at 410 km barely affects the stress fields. The slab regions manifest themselves in the stress fields much stronger than the plume regions. This numerically demonstrates that it is the slabs, not the plumes that are the main drivers of the convection. The plumes partly drive the convection and are partly passively involved into the convection stirred by the sinking slabs.     

The influence of trench migration on slab penetration into the lower mantle

A two-dimensional numerical convection model in cartesian geometry is used to study the influence of trench migration on the ability of subducted slabs to penetrate an endothermic phase boundary at 660 km depth. The transient subduction history of an oceanic plate is modelled by imposing plate and trench motion at the surface. The viscosity depends on temperature and depth. A variety of styles of slab behaviour is found, depending predominantly on the trench velocity. When trench retreat is faster than 2–4 cm/a, the descending slab flattens above the phase boundary. At slower rates it penetrates straight into the lower mantle, although flattening in the transition zone may occur later, leading to a complex slab morphology. The slab can buckle, independent of whether it penetrates or not, especially when there is a localised increase in viscosity at the phase boundary. Flattened slabs are only temporarily arrested in the transition zone and sink ultimately into the lower mantle. The results offer a framework for understanding the variety in slab geometry revealed by seismic tomography.     

A petrologic model for the constitution of the upper mantle and crust of the Koolau shield,Oahu, Hawaii,and Hawaiian magmatism

A petrological model for the uppermost upper mantle and crust under the Koolau shield to a depth of about 60 km has been derived on the basis of petrology of the upper mantle and crustal xenoliths in nephelinites of the Honolulu Volcanic Series. Three main xenolith suites exist in the Koolau shield: dunites, spinel lherzolites, and garnet-bearing pyroxenites. On the basis of mineralogy, it is inferred that the dunites represent cumulates in shallow crustal tholeiitic magma chambers, the spinel lherzolites form a thick (～ 40 km) layer in the upper mantle, and the garnet pyroxenite suite occurs as veins and stringers in the spinel lherzolites at about 60 km depth.The eruption sequence in a Hawaiian volcano, i.e., tholeiite → transitional basalt → alkali basalt, is generated by partial melting of a volatile-bearing garnet-lherzolite part of a lithospheric plate as it rides over a hot spot. If the tholeiite, transitional, and alkali basalts of Hawaiian volcanoes are generated at the same depth, then the observed sequence of lavas requires replenishment of the source area with volatiles and gradual decrease of the degree of partial melting with time. Post-erosional olivine nephelinites are produced from isotopically distinct, deeper source area, which may be the asthenosphere.     

Upper mantle heterogeneity in the northern part of Eurasia

A two dimensional velocity model of the upper mantle has been compiled from a long-range seismic profile crossing the West Siberian young plate and the old Siberian platform. It revealed considerable horizontal and vertical heterogeneity of the mantle. A sharp seismic boundary at a depth of 400 km outlines the high-velocity gradient transition zone, its base lying at a depth of 650 km. Several layers with different velocities, velocity gradients and wave attenuation are distinguished in the upper mantle. They likewise differ in their inner structure. For instance, the uppermost 50–70 km of the mantle are divided into blocks with velocities from 7.9–8.1 to 8.4–8.6 km s^?1.Comparison of the travel-time curves for the Siberian long-range profile with those compiled from seismological data for Europe distinguished large-scale upper mantle inhomogeneities of the Eurasian continent and allowed for the correlation of tectonic features and geophysical fields. The velocity heterogeneity of the uppermost 50–100 km of the mantle correlates with the platform age and heat flow, i.e., the young plates of Western Europe and Western Siberia have slightly lower velocities and higher heat flows than the ancient East European and Siberian platforms. At greater depths (150–250 km) the upper mantle velocities increase from the ocean to the inner parts of the continent. The structure of the transition zone differs significantly beneath Western Europe and the other parts of Eurasia. The sharp boundary at a depth of 400 km, traced throughout the whole continent as the boundary reflecting intensive waves, transforms beneath Western Europe into a gradient zone. This transition zone feature correlates with positions of the North Atlantic-west Europe geoid and heat-flow anomalies.     

Influence of an endothermic phase transition on mass transfer between the upper and the lower mantle

Geochemical data indicate that two major reservoirs 1–2 Ga in age are present in the mantle. The upper mantle, feeding mid-ocean ridges, is depleted in chemical elements carried away into the continental crust. The lower mantle, feeding hotspot plumes, is close in composition to primordial matter. The 660-km depth of an endothermic phase transition in olivine has been considered over the last two decades as a possible boundary between the reservoirs. In this period, many models of mantle convection were constructed that used values of the phase transition parameters, which led to temporal (up to 1 Gyr long) convection layerings and periodic avalanche-induced mantle intermixing events. However, laboratory measurements with new improved instrumentation give other values of the phase transition parameters that require a revision of the majority of the existence of large-scale avalanches in the Earth’s history becomes disputable. The paper is devoted to comprehensive study of the phase transition effect on the structure of mantle flows with different values of phase transition parameters and Rayleigh numbers; in particular, the mass transfer through the phase boundary is calculated for different regimes of steady-state convection.     

Heterogeneities in the mantle transition zone from observations of P-to-SV converted waves

The method of detection of P-to-SV converted waves from distant earthquakes (Vinnik, 1977) was applied to sets of long-period records from a few seismograph stations in Europe and the west of North America. The results obtained suggest that the converted phases related to the major boundaries in the mantle can be reliably detected and the depths of conversion evaluated with an accuracy of a few kilometres. The depth of the olivine-spinel transition is close to 400 km and no difference between the estimates for the north of Europe and the west of North America is found. The depth of the boundary separating the upper and lower mantle is close to 640 km, which is 30 km less than in the recent Earth-reference models. Fine S velocity stratification of this transition changes laterally from a high-gradient layer 50 km thick, terminated at the bottom by a sharp discontinuity, to a gradient layer 100 km or more thick without the discontinuity. A striking anomaly of the mantle transition zone is found in the Rio Grande rift area where a well pronounced boundary is found at 510 km depth.     

Study on the rheology of subducting slabs

We calculate thermal and phase structures of subducting slabs for different subducting velocities by a modified coupling code of the kinetic phase-transformation equations and the heat-diffusion equation with latent-heat release. Whereafter, we estimate their rheology structures based on the thermal and phase structures from the mineral physical point of view. At shallow depth, the upper layer has a high effective viscosity greater than 10³⁴Pa · s; while the lower layer has a relatively low effective viscosity, which is greater than 10²⁶Pa · s nevertheless. The effective viscosities below the kinetic phase boundary of olivine to wadsleyite decrease obviously, and reach a minimum of 10²²Pa · s. Small areas with higher effective viscosities exist above the depth of about 700 km in subducting slabs, which are produced by lower temperatures that are related with endothermic phase transformation of spinel to perovskite and magnesiowustite. The 1% and 99% isograds of spinel proportion delineate tortuous belts with low effective viscosities, which would affect the geodynamic behavior of subducting slabs.     

Phase transformations in the earth's mantle and subducting slabs: Implications for their compositions, seismic velocity and density structures and dynamics

Abstract Phase transformations in model mantle compositions and those in subducting slabs have been reviewed to a depth of 800 km on the basis of recent high-pressure experimental data. Seismic velocity and density profiles in these compositions have also been calculated using these and other mineral physics data. The nature of the seismic velocity and density profiles calculated for a pyrolite composition was found to generally agree with those determined by seismic observations (e.g. PREM). The locations of the seismic discontinuities at 400 and 670 km correspond almost exactly to the depths where the transformations of the olivine component to denser phases take place. Moreover, the steep gradients in the seismic velocity/density profiles observed between these depths are qualitatively consistent with those expected from the successive transformations in the complementary pyroxene-garnet component in the pyrolite composition. Further, the calculated seismic velocity and density values agree well with those observed in the upper mantle and mantle transition region within the uncertainties attached to these calculations and observations. Pyrolite or peridotite compositions are thus most likely to represent the composition of the mantle above 670 km depth, although some degrees of chemical heterogeneity may exist in the transition region. The observed sharp discontinuous increases of seismic velocities and density at this depth may be attributed either to the phase transformation to a perovskite-bearing assemblage in pyrolite or to chemical composition changes. Density profiles in subducted slabs have been calculated along adequate geotherms assuming that the slabs are composed of the former oceanic crust underlain by a thicker harzburgitic layer. It is shown that the former oceanic crust is substantially less dense than the surrounding pyrolite mantle at depths below 670 km, while it is denser than pyrolite in the upper mantle and the transition region. The subducted former oceanic crust may be trapped in this region, forming a geochemically enriched layer at the upper mantle-lower mantle boundary. Thick and cool slabs may penetrate into the lower mantle, but the chemically derived buoyancy may result in strong deformation and formation of megalith structures around the 670 km seismic discontinuity. These structures are consistent with those detected by recent seismic tomography studies for subduction zones.     

Deep structure of the East European platform according to seismic data

The paper presents a review and analysis of new seismic data related to the structure of the mantle beneath the East European platform. Analysis of observations of long-range profiles revealed pronounced differences in the structure of the lower lithosphere beneath the Russian plate and the North Caspian coastal depression. The highest P-velocities found at depths around 100 km are in the range 8.4–8.5 km s^?1. Deep structure of the Baltic shield is different from the structures of both these regions. No evidence of azimuthal anisotropy in the upper mantle was found. A distribution of P-velocity in the upper mantle and in the transition zone consistent with accurate travel-time data was determined. The model involves several zones of small and large positive velocity gradients in the upper mantle, rapid increases of velocity near 400 and 640 km depths and an almost constant positive velocity gradient between the 400 and 640 km discontinuities. The depth of the 640 km discontinuity was determined from observations of waves converted from P to SV in the mantle.     

On the Vp/Vs–Mg# correlation in mantle peridotites: Implications for the identification of thermal and compositional anomalies in the upper mantle

We use thermodynamically self-consistent and hybrid methods to analyze the correlation of important physical parameters (e.g. bulk density, elastic moduli) with bulk Mg# and modal composition in mantle peridotites at upper mantle conditions. Temperature (anharmonic and anelastic), pressure and compositional derivatives for all these parameters are evaluated. The results show that the widely used correlations between Vp/Vs and Mg# in peridotites are strictly valid only for garnet-bearing assemblages at temperatures < 900 °C. The correlation breaks down when: i) spinel is the stable Al-rich phase in the assemblage and ii) when anelastic attenuation of seismic velocities becomes important (T ? 900 °C). This implies that the range of applicability of published Vp/Vs–Mg# correlations for the upper mantle is limited to a depth interval between the spinel–garnet phase transition and the 900 °C isotherm. We use numerical simulations to show that this depth interval is virtually nonexistent in lithospheres thinner than ～ 140 km and can comprise up to ～ 50% of the lithospheric mantle in thick (> 220 km) lithospheric domains. In addition, we show that for most of the upper mantle the expected Δ(Vp/Vs) values associated with compositional variations are smaller than the resolution limit of current seismological methods. All these considerations suggest that the Vp/Vs ratio is not a reliable measure of compositional variations and that for large parts of the upper mantle compositional anomalies cannot be separated from thermal anomalies on the basis of seismological studies only. We further confirm that the only reliable indicator of compositional anomalies in a peridotitic mantle is the ratio of density to shear wave velocities (ρ/Vs). Our results demonstrate that geophysical–petrological models (forward or inverse) that model these two fields (i.e. density and Vs) self-consistently within a robust thermodynamic framework are necessary for characterizing the small-scale thermal and compositional structure of the lithosphere and sublithospheric upper mantle.