Geodynamic and seismic constraints on the thermochemical structure and dynamics of convection in the deep mantle |
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Authors: | Forte Alessandro M Mitrovica Jerry X Espesset Aude |
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Affiliation: | Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. |
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Abstract: | We revisit a recent study by Forte & Mitrovica in which global geophysical observables associated with mantle convection were inverted and the existence of a strong increase in viscosity near a depth of 2000 km was inferred. Employing mineral-physics data and theory we also showed that, although there are chemical anomalies in the lowermost mantle, they are unable to inhibit the dominant thermal buoyancy of the deep-mantle mega-plumes below Africa and the Pacific Ocean. New Monte Carlo simulations are employed to explore the impact of uncertainties in current mineral-physics constraints on inferences of deep-mantle thermochemical structure. To explore the impact of the high-viscosity peak at a depth of 2000 km on the evolution of lower-mantle structure, we carried out time-dependent convection simulations. The latter show that the stability and longevity of the dominant long-wavelength heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle are controlled by this viscosity peak. |
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