Abstract
Temperature gradients in a low-shear-velocity province in the lowermost mantle (D″ region) beneath the central Pacific Ocean were inferred from the observation of a rapid S-wave velocity increase overlying a rapid decrease. These paired seismic discontinuities are attributed to a phase change from perovskite to post-perovskite and then back to perovskite as the temperature increases with depth. Iron enrichment could explain the occurrence of post-perovskite several hundred kilometers above the core-mantle boundary in this warm, chemically distinct province. The double phase-boundary crossing directly constrains the lowermost mantle temperature gradients. Assuming a standard but unconstrained choice of thermal conductivity, the regional core-mantle boundary heat flux (∼85 ± 25 milliwatts per square meter), comparable to the average at Earth's surface, was estimated, along with a lower bound on global core-mantle boundary heat flow in the range of 13 ± 4 terawatts. Mapped velocity-contrast variations indicate that the lens of post-perovskite minerals thins and vanishes over 1000 kilometers laterally toward the margin of the chemical distinct region as a result of a ∼500-kelvin temperature increase.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1272-1276 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 314 |
Issue number | 5803 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 24 2006 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General