Heating in the D″-layer and the style of mantle convection

Summary We have investigated the influence of heating in the D-layer on the convection dynamics for the Rayleight number Ra=10⁶. Strong heating, which may represent a local small-scale heat transfer in the D-layer, results in an increase of lateral heterogeneities near the upper and lower boundaries, the blob-like structure of upwellings and the stabilization of the convection pattern. The influence of the electromagnetic heating was found to be too weak to produce any substantial effect which is in contrast with the idea of Braginskii and Meitlis [1].Dedicated to the Memory of K. P     

Is there a first-order discontinuity in the lowermost mantle?

In 1983, Lay and Helmberger [Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 75 (1983) 799–837] reported the detection of a precursor to the seismic phase ScS. They attributed this precursor to a sharp seismic discontinuity located several hundred kilometers above the core–mantle boundary. Such a lowermost mantle discontinuity implies the existence of a sharp phase change or a chemical boundary. Precursors to ScS and, less frequently, PcP have since been observed in numerous locations, but are not a global phenomenon. Frequently, PcP precursors are weak or absent when ScS precursors are observed in the same location, and vice versa. There can be significant variations in the amplitude and arrival time of the precursor relative to the main phase. The presence or absence of these precursors has led to speculations about the nature of the lowermost mantle. Here we demonstrate that ScS or PcP precursors may be produced by gradients in seismic wave speed associated with large-scale lowermost mantle heterogeneity. Rather than a phase or chemical boundary with substantial topography, such gradients require lateral variations in temperature and, close to the core–mantle boundary, composition.     

Three distinct types of hotspots in the Earth’s mantle

The origin of mantle hotspots is a controversial topic. Only seven (‘primary’) out of 49 hotspots meet criteria aimed at detecting a very deep origin (three in the Pacific, four in the Indo-Atlantic hemisphere). In each hemisphere these move slowly, whereas there has been up to 50 mm/a motion between the two hemispheres prior to 50 Ma ago. This correlates with latitudinal shifts in the Hawaiian and Reunion hotspots, and with a change in true polar wander. We propose that hotspots may come from distinct mantle boundary layers, and that the primary ones trace shifts in quadrupolar convection in the lower mantle.     

Anisotropy of the upper mantle in Chinese mainland and its vicinity

IntroductionAnisotropy is a universal phenomenon in the upper mantle. The mechanisms, which cause elastic anisotropy of in-situ rocks, include lattice preferred orientation of the minerals composing the rocks and preferred orientation of magma chambers. Lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of olivine is widely believed to be the dominant cause of the upper mantle anisotropy. The observational results of the upper mantle anisotropy can be explained by tectonic process relating to plate motion.…     

Nb/Ta,Zr/Hf and REE in the depleted mantle: implications for the differentiation history of the crust–mantle system

High-precision Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Sm, Nd and Lu concentration data of depleted mantle rocks from the Balmuccia peridotite complex (Ivrea Zone, Italian Alps) were determined by isotope dilution using multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). The Zr/Hf ratios of all investigated samples from the Balmuccia peridotite complex are significantly lower than the chondritic value of 34.2, and the most depleted samples have Zr/Hf ratios as low as 10. Correlated Zr/Hf ratios and Zr abundances of the lherzolites preserve the trend of a mantle residue that has been depleted by fractional melting. This trend confirms experimental studies that predict Hf to behave more compatibly than Zr during mantle melting. Experimentally determined partition coefficients imply that the major Zr and Hf depletion most likely occurred in the spinel stability field, with (D_Zr/D_Hf)^cpx≈0.5, and not in the garnet stability field, where (D_Zr/D_Hf)^grt is probably close to one. However, minor amounts of melting must have also occurred in a garnet facies mantle, as indicated by low Sm/Lu ratios in the Balmuccia peridotites. The Nb/Ta ratios of most lherzolites are subchondritic and vary only from 7 to 10, with the exception of three samples that have higher Nb/Ta ratios (18–24). The overall low Nb/Ta ratios of most depleted mantle rocks confirm a higher compatibility of Ta in the mantle. The uniform Nb/Ta ratios in most samples imply that even in ‘depleted’ mantle domains the budget of the highly incompatible Nb and Ta is controlled by enrichment processes. Such a model is supported by the positive correlation of Zr/Nb with the Zr concentration. However, the overall enrichment was weak and did barely affect the moderately incompatible elements Zr and Hf. The new constraints from the partitioning behaviour of Zr–Hf and Nb–Ta provide important insights into processes that formed the Earth’s major silicate reservoirs. The correlation of Zr/Hf and Sm/Nd in depleted MORB can be assigned to previous melting events in the MORB source. However, such trends were unlikely produced during continental crust formation processes, where Sm/Nd and Zr/Hf are decoupled. The different fractionation behaviour of Zr/Hf and Sm/Nd in the depleted mantle (correlated) and the crust (decoupled) indicates that crustal growth by a simple partial melting process in the mantle has little effect on the mass budget of LREE and HFSE between crust and mantle. A more complex source composition, similar to that of modern subduction rocks, is needed to fractionate the LREE, but not Zr/Hf and the HREE.     

Q_β tomography under the crust and upper mantle in eastern China

IntroductionTheenergyattenuationofseismicwavesduringthepropagationcanbequantificationallydescribed.GeophysicistshavefoundoutthattheregionalvariationofoPisobviousandthevalueofoPatthestableregionisdistinctlyhigherthanthatatactiveregion(Canas,Mitchell,...     

On the high conductive layer near the Moho and the transitional zone between the crust and mantle in Tianshui region

ＯｎｔｈｅｈｉｇｈｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｉｖｅｌａｙｅｒｎｅａｒｔｈｅＭｏｈｏａｎｄｔｈｅｔｒａｎｓｉｔｉｏｎａｌｚｏｎｅｂｅｔｗｅｅｎｔｈｅｃｒｕｓｔａｎｄｍａｎｔｌｅｉｎＴｉａｎｓｈｕｉｒｅｇｉｏｎ林长佑，武玉霞，杨长福Ｃｈａｎｇ－ＹｏｕＬＩＮ；Ｙｕ－Ｘ...     

On the Ekman instability at the core–mantle boundary

It is shown that the instability of turbulent flows with Ekman velocity profiles in the vicinity of the core–mantle boundary leads to the formation of horizontally oriented circulating roll structures. The geophysical implications of the presence of such structures in the liquid core are explored, namely, the formation of the hot zones with enhanced conductivity and their influence on geomagnetic reversals.     

Seismic tomography of the crust and upper mantle in the Bohai Bay Basin and its adjacent regions

In the Bohai Bay Basin and its adjacent regions(112°―124°E,34°―42°N),there exists abundant gas-petroleum while modern inter-plate seismic activity is robust.Although the tectonic structure of this region is very complicated,plenty of geological,geophysical and geochemical data and results are obtained through previous researches.On the basis of absorbing previous results,especially various kinds of geological and geophysical results,we collect and process the arrival time of P-wave phases of local events and tele-seismic events recorded by the station within this region from 1978 to 2004,build the responding initial model,and image the velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle of this region via tomography.The perturbation images of various depths and velocity profiles imply that the velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in the Bohai Bay Basin and its adjacent regions is mainly influenced by the surface tectonic units,and is characterized by "Stripped along east-west,and zoned along south-north";some large-scaled faults penetrate Moho and lithosphere,and provide the channels for the basic lava or hot mass upwelling from the mantle.     

Study on the characteristics of crust－mantle transition zone in Western Yunnan Province

Ｓｔｕｄｙｏｎｔｈｅｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｓｔｉｃｓｏｆｃｒｕｓｔ┐ｍａｎｔｌｅｔｒａｎｓｉｔｉｏｎｚｏｎｅｉｎＷｅｓｔｅｒｎＹｕｎｎａｎＰｒｏｖｉｎｃｅＨＯＮＧ－ＸＩＡＮＧＨＵ（胡鸿翔）ＺＨＯＮＧ－ＹＡＮＧＬＩＮ（林中洋）ＹＩＮ－ＪＵＢＩＡＮ（边银...     

The ONAD method for solving the SH-wave equation and simulation of the SH-wave propagation in the Earth’s mantle

The optimal nearly-analytic discrete(ONAD) method is a new numerical method developed in recent years for solving the wave equation.Compared with other methods,such as popularly-used finite-difference methods,the ONAD method can effectively suppress the numerical dispersion when coarse grids are used.In this paper,the ONAD method is extended to solve the 2-dimensional SH-wave equation in the spherical coordinates.To investigate the accuracy and the efficiency of the ONAD method,we compare the numerical results calculated by the ONAD method and other methods for both the homogeneous model and the inhomogeneous IASP91 model.The comparisons indicate that the ONAD method for solving the SH-wave equation in the spherical coordinates has the advantages of less numerical dispersion,small memory requirement for computer codes,and fast calculation.As an application,we use the ONAD method to simulate the SH-wave propagating between the Earth’s surface and the core-mantle boundary(CMB).Meanwhile,we investigate the SH-wave propagating in the mantle through analyzing the wave-field snapshots in different times and synthetic seismograms.     

Qβ tomography under the crust and upper mantle in eastern China

On the basis of data of long period Rayleigh surface wave, we select 43 two-station paths which cover the eastern China thoroughly. By using the improved method of multi-filtration, we obtain the group velocity and amplitude spectrum, and then get attenuation factor for each paths. We employ Talentola inversion method to get local attenuation factor, and further invert the three-dimension Q _β image under the crust and upper mantle in the eastern Chinese continent. The Q _β image shows the following basic characters. There is correlation between the seismic activity and Q _β structure under the crust and upper mantle in North China region. The Yangtze block begins to collide with and subduct to the North China block from the southern border of the Qinling in the southern Shaanxi. In the large part of Yangtze quasi-platform appear an obvious high Q _β area at 88 km deep. In the east of Sichuan depression platform, the juncture of Sichun and Guizhou, and the Jiangnan block near the juncture of Guizhou and Hunan, the lateral variation of Q _β in the crust is little, and there is a high-Q _β layer no thinner than 40 km in the top mantle. In the Dian-Qian fold and fracture region between Yunnan and Guizhou, the vertical variation of Q _β at the region of the crust and upper mantle is little, there is a low-Q _β layer in the top mantle, about 40 km thick, low-Q _β layer of the upper mantle begins to appear at about 95 km deep. In the east of Yangtze quasi-platform and the central and eastern part of the South China fold system, the Moho is smooth, the lateral variation of Q _β in the crust is also little, low-Q _β layer of the upper mantle begins to appear at about 85 km deep.     

The abnormal mantle and deep tectonic process in the southern region of North China Plain

ＴｈｅａｂｎｏｒｍａｌｍａｎｔｌｅａｎｄｄｅｅｐｔｅｃｔｏｎｉｃｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｉｎｔｈｅｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎｒｅｇｉｏｎｏｆＮｏｒｔｈＣｈｉｎａＰｌａｉｎＳｈｉ－ＹｕＧＡＯ（高世玉），Ｈｏｎｇ－ＸｉａｎｇＨＵ（胡鸿翔）ａｎｄＳｈａｎＤＩＮＧ（丁山）（Ｉｎ...     

The upper mantle anisotropy in Yunnan area, China

Introduction The study of the upper mantle anisotropy in Yunnan area benefits the research of deep structure of Sichuan-Yunnan active block and the characteristics of deformation field, the analysis of the coupling relations among different layers of the earth and the promotion of understanding the relation between anisotropy and stress-strain field and geological construction processes. The research results would be of important significance for the interpretation of movement of plates, the …     

Velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle in Xingtai earthquake region and its adjacent area

ＶｅｌｏｃｉｔｙｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｏｆｔｈｅｃｒｕｓｔａｎｄｕｐｐｅｒｍａｎｔｌｅｉｎＸｉｎｇｔａｉｅａｒｔｈｑｕａｋｅｒｅｇｉｏｎ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔｓａｄｊａｃｅｎｔａｒｅａＺｈｉ－ＰｉｎｇＺＨＵ；（祝治平）Ｘｉａｎ－ＫａｎｇＺＨＡＮＧ；（张称康）Ｙｕ...     

Impedances for induction soundings of the Earth’s mantle

Determination of impedances is necessary in order to eliminate some shortcoming of our knowledge about structures of the exciting source fields and their fickleness. The experimental impedances for induction soundings result from the impedance boundary conditions or heuristic models. The simplified models give just a rough idea of their domain of applicability. Impedances can depend on many factors, including the exciting field structures of several source types which are present in the period range of the mantle soundings (10⁴−4×10⁸ s). The problem in the mantle investigations arises if impedances measured by different methods have to be jointly inverted in order to essentially prolongate the analyzed period range and hence to increase the reliability and depth of induction soundings on land. The subject of our work is an analysis of the known magnetotelluric and magnetovariation impedances to suggest a physically substantiated approach for their joint inversions.     

(ϖμ/ϖT) P of the lower mantle

We estimate (/T) _P of the lower mantle at seismic frequencies using two distinct approaches by combining ambient laboratory measurements on lower mantle minerals with seismic data. In the first approach, an upper bound is estimated for |(/T) _P | by comparing the shear modulus () profile of PREM with laboratory room-temperature data of extrapolated to high pressures. The second approach employs a seismic tomography constraint ( lnV _S / lnV _P ) _P =1.8–2, which directly relates (/T) _P with (K _S /T) _P . An average (K _S /T) _P can be obtained by comparing the well-established room-temperature compression data for lower mantle minerals with theK _S profile of PREM along several possible adiabats. Both (K _S /T) and (/T) depend on silicon content [or (Mg+Fe)/Sil of the model. For various compositions, the two approaches predict rather distinct (/T) _P vs. (K _S /T) _P curves, which intersect at a composition similar to pyrolite with (/T) _P =–0.02 to –0.035 and (K _S /T) _P =–0.015 to –0.020 GPa/K. The pure perovskite model, on the other hand, yields grossly inconsistent results using the two approaches. We conclude that both vertical and lateral variations in seismic velocities are consistent with variation due to pressure, temperature, and phase transformations of a uniform composition. Additional physical properties of a pyrolite lower mantle are further predicted. Lateral temperature variations are predicted to be about 100–250 K, and the ratio of ( lnp/ lnV _S ) _P around 0.13 and 0.26. All of these parameters increase slightly with depth if the ratio of ( lnV _S / lnV _P ) _P remains constant throughout the lower mantle. These predicted values are in excellent agreement with geodynamic analyses, in which the ratios ( ln / lnV _S ) _P and ( / lnV _S ) _P are free parameters arbitrarily adjusted to fit the tomography and geoid data.     

3-D velocity images of the crust and upper mantle of the Tianshan area

（胥颐，朱介寿，刘志坚，张华卿，朱燕）３－ＤｖｅｌｏｃｉｔｙｉｍａｇｅｓｏｆｔｈｅｃｒｕｓｔａｎｄｕｐｐｅｒｍａｎｔｌｅｏｆｔｈｅＴｉａｎｓｈａｎａｒｅａ￥ＹｉＸＵ；Ｊｉｅ－ＳｈｏｕＺＨＵ；Ｚｈｉ－ＪｉａｎＬＩＵ；Ｈｕａ－ＱｉｎｇＺＨＡＮＧａｎｄＹａ...