Distinct slab interfaces imaged within the mantle transition zone

Abstract

Oceanic lithosphere descends into Earth’s mantle at subduction zones and drives material exchange between Earth’s surface and its deep interior. The subduction process creates chemical and thermal heterogeneities in the mantle, with the strongest gradients located at the interfaces between subducted slabs and the surrounding mantle. Seismic imaging of slab interfaces is key to understanding slab compositional layering, deep-water cycling and melting, yet the existence of slab interfaces below 200 km remains unconfirmed. Here, we observe two sharp and slightly dipping seismic discontinuities within the mantle transition zone beneath the western Pacific subduction zone that coincide spatially with the upper and lower bounds of the high-velocity slab. Based on a multi-frequency receiver function waveform modelling, we found the upper discontinuity to be consistent with the Mohorovicic discontinuity of the subducted oceanic lithosphere in the mantle transition zone. The lower discontinuity could be caused by partial melting of sub-slab asthenosphere under hydrous conditions in the seaward portion of the slab. Our observations show distinct slab–mantle boundaries at depths between 410 and 660 km, deeper than previously observed, suggesting a compositionally layered slab and high water contents beneath the slab. Two seismic discontinuities in the mantle transition zone beneath the western Pacific represent subducted slab interfaces that could be the slab Moho and partially molten sub-slab asthenosphere, according to an analysis of seismic data.