Convective Overturn Research Articles

Redox Hysteresis of Super-Earth Exoplanets from Magma Ocean Circulation

Abstract Internal redox reactions may irreversibly alter the mantle composition and volatile inventory of terrestrial and super-Earth exoplanets and affect the prospects for atmospheric observations. The global efficacy of these mechanisms, however, hinges on the transfer of reduced iron from the molten silicate mantle to the metal core. Scaling analysis indicates that turbulent diffusion in the internal magma oceans of sub-Neptunes can kinetically entrain liquid iron droplets and quench core formation. This suggests that the chemical equilibration between core, mantle, and atmosphere may be energetically limited by convective overturn in the magma flow. Hence, molten super-Earths possibly retain a compositional memory of their accretion path. Redox control by magma ocean circulation is positively correlated with planetary heat flow, internal gravity, and planet size. The presence and speciation of remanent atmospheres, surface mineralogy, and core mass fraction of primary envelope-stripped exoplanets may thus constrain magma ocean dynamics.

Planetary-wave induced strengthening of the AMOC forced by poleward intensified Southern Hemisphere westerly winds

AbstractThe Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) plays a key role in determining the distribution of heat and nutrients in the global ocean. Climate models suggest that Southern Ocean winds will strengthen and shift poleward in the future, which could have implications for future AMOC trends. Using a coupled global-ocean sea-ice model at 1/4°horizontal resolution, we study the response of the North Atlantic overturning to two anomalous Southern Ocean wind-forcing (τ+15%), and a poleward intensification(). In both scenarios a strengthening in the North Atlantic overturning develops within a decade, with a much stronger response in the case. In , we find that the primary link between the North Atlantic response and the Southern Ocean forcing is via the propagation of baroclinic waves. In fact, due to the rapid northward propagation of these waves, changes in the AMOC in the case appear to originate in the North Atlantic and propagate southward, whereas in the τ+15% case AMOC anomalies propagate northward from the Southern Ocean. We find the difference to be predominately caused by the sign of the baroclinic waves propagating from the forcing region into the North Atlantic; downwelling in the τ+15% case, versus upwelling in the case. In the case, upwelling waves propagating into the NADW formation regions along shelf-slope topography bringing dense water to the surface. This reduces vertical density gradients leading to deeper wintertime convective overturn of surface waters, and an intensification of the AMOC.

Oxygen isotopes trace the origins of Earth's earliest continental crust.

Much of the current volume of Earth's continental crust had formed by the end of the Archaean eon1 (2.5billion years ago), through melting of hydrated basaltic rocks at depths of approximately 25-50 kilometres, forming sodic granites of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite2-6. However, the geodynamic setting and processes involved are debated, with fundamental questions arising, such as how and from where the required water was added to deep-crustal TTG source regions7,8. In addition, there have been no reports of voluminous, homogeneous, basaltic sequences in preserved Archaean crust that are enriched enough in incompatible trace elements to be viable TTG sources5,9. Here we use variations in the oxygen isotope composition of zircon, coupled with whole-rock geochemistry, to identify two distinct groups of TTG. Strongly sodic TTGs represent the most-primitive magmas and contain zircon with oxygen isotope compositions that reflect source rocks that had been hydrated by primordial mantle-derived water. These primitive TTGs do not require a source highly enriched in incompatible trace elements, as 'average' TTGdoes. By contrast, less sodic 'evolved' TTGs require a source that is enriched in both water derived from the hydrosphere and also incompatible trace elements, which are linked to the introduction of hydrated magmas (sanukitoids) formed by melting of metasomatized mantle lithosphere. By concentrating on data from the Palaeoarchaean crust of the Pilbara Craton, we can discount a subduction setting6,10-13, and instead propose that hydrated and enriched near-surface basaltic rocks were introduced into the mantle through density-driven convective overturn of the crust. These results remove many of the paradoxical impediments to understanding early continental crust formation. Our work suggests that sufficient primordial water was already present in Earth's early mafic crust to produce the primitive nuclei of the continents, with additional hydrated sources created through dynamic processes that are unique to the early Earth.

Internal structure of the Paleoarchean Mt Edgar dome, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia

The Paleoarchean East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia is a dome-and-keel terrane that is often highlighted as recording a vertically convective tectonic regime in the early Earth. In this model, termed 'partial convective overturn', granitic domes diapirically rose through a dense, foundering mafic supracrustal sequence. The applicability of partial convective overturn to the East Pilbara Terrane and to other Archean dome-and-keel terranes is widely debated and has significant implications for early Earth geodynamics. A critical data gap in the East Pilbara Terrane is the internal structure of the granitic domes. We present field-based, microstructural, and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data collected within the Mt Edgar dome to understand its internal structure and assess its compatibility with existing dome formation models. Field and microstructural observations suggest that most fabric development occurred under submagmatic and high-temperature solid-state conditions. The AMS results reveal a coherent, dome-wide structural pattern: 1) Sub-vertical lineations plunge radially inward towards the center of the dome and foliations across much of the dome consistently strike northwest; 2) Shallowly plunging lineations define an arch that extends from the center of the dome to the southwest margin; and 3) Migmatitic gneisses, which represent the oldest granitic component of the dome, are folded and flattened against the margin of the dome in two distinct lobes. The structural relationships between rocks of different ages indicate that units of different crystallization ages deformed synchronously during the last major pulse of granitic magmatism. These data are broadly consistent with a vertical tectonics model, and we synthesize our structural results to propose a three-stage diapiric evolution of the Mt Edgar dome. The critical stage of dome development was between 3.3 and 3.2 Ga, when widespread, melt-assisted flow of the deep crust led to the formation of a steep-walled, composite dome. These data suggest that diapiric processes were important for the formation of dome-and-keel terranes in the Paleoarchean.

Gliding and overthrust nappe tectonics of the Barberton Greenstone Belt revisited: A review of deformation styles and processes

AbstractInterpretations of the structural/tectonic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB) and its surrounding granitoid rocks remain controversial, with proponents for both horizontal thrust-accretion (plate tectonic) and partial convective overturn (vertical tectonic) models. Here, an area of complex folds that was used to support the operation of plate tectonic-derived gliding and overthrust nappe tectonics is re-investigated in detail and placed within the broader structural development of the BGB and surrounding granitoid domains via a re-analysis of structures, and geochronological, stratigraphic and metamorphic data across the whole of this important geological terrain.The results of detailed field mapping show that the complex folds, which occur on the northern limb of the 20 km wavelength, vertically plunging, Onverwacht Anticline, do not represent a re-folded, originally recumbent, isoclinal fold, as previously interpreted. Instead, the folds represent a moderately shallow east-plunging fold train that formed from a single episode of deformation. Fold asymmetry is consistent with formation during originally north-side-up reverse shear on bounding faults, consistent with the offset direction required to explain the fault-repeated slices of Mendon Formation + Fig Tree Group rocks that uniquely occur across the northern limb of the Onverwacht Anticline.More broadly, a review of the BGB and surrounding granitoid rocks show that formation was likely through two discrete, ~120 Ma long, episodes of mantle upwelling, or plume, magmatism, each of which led to crustal melting and partial convective overturn (PCO), a tectonic mechanism that arises from the gravity-driven interaction between dense, upper crustal greenstones and partially melted, more buoyant, granitoid-dominated middle crust.The first mantle upwelling episode, at 3 530 to 3 410 Ma, commenced with long-lived eruption of ultramafic-mafic lavas of the Sandspruit, Theespruit, Komati, and lower Hooggenoeg formations (3 530 to 3 470 Ma). Heat from this magmatic event gave rise to partial melting of the crust that, combined with fractionation of mafic magma chambers produced widespread felsic magmatism at 3 470 to 3 410 Ma (upper Hooggenoeg Formation and Buck Reef Chert), the latter parts of which were accompanied by the formation of D1 dome-and-keel structures via PCO in deeper-levels of the crust represented by the Stolzburg Domain in the far southwest part of the belt.The second mantle upwelling, or plume, episode commenced at 3 334 to 3 215 Ma with the eruption of ultramafic-mafic lavas of the Kromberg, Mendon and Weltevreden formations. Heat from this magmatic event gave rise to renewed partial melting of the crust that, combined with fractionation of mafic magma chambers, produced widespread felsic magmatism at 3 290 to 3 215 Ma. A second, longer-lived and more complex, multi-stage episode of PCO (D2-D4) accompanied deposition of the Fig Tree and Moodies groups from 3 250 to 3 215 Ma. Late D5 deformation accompanied emplacement of the Mpulizi and Piggs Peak batholiths at ca. 3.01 Ga, as previously identified.The Inyoka and Kromberg faults, which separate domains with distinct structural styles, represent neither terrane boundaries nor suture zones, but rather axial faults that separate deformed but generally inward-facing greenstone panels that sank inwards off rising granitoid domains that surround the BGB.

On the Potential Optical Signature of Convective Turbulence over the West Florida Shelf

Atmospheric cold front propagation across the northern Gulf of Mexico is characterized by elevated surface wind velocities and a ~10–15 °C drop in surface air temperatures. These meteorological conditions result in significant heat energy losses from the surface ocean to the overlying atmosphere. These seasonally recurring cold-air outbreak events may penetrate the southern portion of the West Florida continental shelf and initiate turbulent and convective overturn of the water column. Examination of true color images derived from ocean-viewing, satellite-based radiometer data reveals coincident and substantial surface water discolorations that are optically similar to smaller-scale “whiting events,” despite the regional-scale extent of the observed phenomenon (>25,000 km2). Coupled air–sea numerical simulations suggest the surface water discoloration occurs and is sustained where the entire water column is dynamically unstable. The simulation results indicate significant density (σt) inversions between the surface and bottom waters. Thus, the combined numerical model and remote sensing analysis suggest that convective turbulence may be contributing to the sustained ventilation of bottom waters containing a high concentration of suspended particulates. High-temporal resolution true color images rendered from the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) data appear to support the surface water discoloration’s turbulent-driven nature.

The fully developed remnant of a neutrino-driven supernova

Context. The remnants of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) are probes of the physical processes associated with their parent SNe. Aims. Here we aim to explore to which extent the remnant keeps memory of the asymmetries that develop stochastically in the neutrino-heating layer due to hydrodynamic instabilities (e.g., convective overturn and the standing accretion shock instability; SASI) during the first second after core bounce. Methods. We coupled a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model of a neutrino-driven SN explosion, which has the potential to reproduce the observed morphology of the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) remnant, with 3D (magneto)-hydrodynamic simulations of the remnant formation. The simulations cover ≈2000 yr of expansion and include all physical processes relevant to describe the complexities in the SN evolution and the subsequent interaction of the stellar debris with the wind of the progenitor star. Results. The interaction of large-scale asymmetries left from the earliest phases of the explosion with the reverse shock produces, at the age of ≈350 yr, an ejecta structure and a remnant morphology which are remarkably similar to those observed in Cas A. Small-scale structures in the large-scale Fe-rich plumes that were created during the initial stages of the SN, combined with hydrodynamic instabilities that develop after the passage of the reverse shock, naturally produce a pattern of ring- and crown-like structures of shocked ejecta. The consequence is a spatial inversion of the ejecta layers with Si-rich ejecta being physically interior to Fe-rich ejecta. The full-fledged remnant shows voids and cavities in the innermost unshocked ejecta, which are physically connected with ring-like features of shocked ejecta in the main shell in most cases, resulting from the expansion of Fe-rich plumes and their inflation due to the decay of radioactive species. The asymmetric distributions of 44Ti and 56Fe, which are mostly concentrated in the northern hemisphere, and pointing opposite to the kick velocity of the neutron star, as well as their abundance ratio are both compatible with those inferred from high-energy observations of Chandra and NuSTAR. Finally, the simulations show that the fingerprints of the SN can still be visible ≈2000 yr after the explosion. Conclusions. The main asymmetries and features observed in the ejecta distribution of Cas A can be explained by the interaction of the reverse shock with the initial large-scale asymmetries that developed from stochastic processes (e.g., convective overturn and SASI activity) that originate during the first seconds of the SN blast.

The phases of the Moon: Modelling crystallisation of the lunar magma ocean through equilibrium thermodynamics

Despite some 50 years of intense research on samples returned from the Apollo missions and lunar meteorites, along with remote-sensing and Earth-based observations, many questions regarding the formation and evolution of the Moon persist. These include the detailed compositional and density structure of the lunar mantle and the source and petrogenesis of the diverse suite of extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks. There is broad agreement that the primary internal structure of the Moon reflects crystallisation of a lunar magma ocean (LMO), and that an inverted density gradient within the mantle cumulates led to some reorganisation of layers by partial convective overturn. Experimental studies have provided invaluable constraints on crystallisation of the LMO, but are limited by the relatively small number of experiments that can practically be undertaken. Here we use recently-developed thermodynamic models for minerals and melt in the K2O–Na2O–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–TiO2–Cr2O3 system to model crystallisation of a full-moon LMO based on two existing end-member bulk compositions—Taylor Whole-Moon (TWM), and Lunar Primitive Upper Mantle, LPUM—on which many experimental studies have been based. We follow several recent studies in considering equilibrium crystallisation of the first 50 vol.% and fractional crystallisation thereafter. Our results match well with experimental studies, and provide detailed constraints on the major oxide composition, mineralogy and density structure based on the two starting compositions that, while exhibiting some similarities, show important differences. The more fertile TWM composition contains significant quantities of garnet in the deep mantle, whereas the LPUM composition has none. By contrast, prior to any gravitational overturn, the uppermost mantle cumulates for TWM are strongly silica-undersaturated and contain abundant aluminous spinel, whereas those for LPUM are silica-saturated. For both starting compositions, with the exception of TiO2 and Na2O, our modelled compositions of the final dregs of fractionated melt show a reasonable match with existing estimates on the composition of urKREEP. Modelled partial melts of the upper-mantle cumulates at low to moderate melt fractions have major oxide compositions that match well with low- and intermediate-Ti lunar basalts. The correspondence is particularly good for picritic (green) glasses that likely represent melts derived from deeper levels within the upper mantle. The wide spread in TiO2 concentrations in lunar basalts and basaltic glasses is consistent with density-driven reorganisation involving ilmenite. Our simulations provide thermodynamically-robust estimates of the compositional, mineralogical and density structure of the lunar interior that are unprecedented in their detail, and which provide the foundation for several lines of future research addressing the origin and secular evolution of the Moon.

Examining relationships between entrainment-driven scalar dissimilarity and surface energy balance underclosure in a semiarid valley

A surface energy budget underclosure, equivalent to an undersampling of sensible and latent heat fluxes at the surface, is commonly observed in the daytime convective boundary layer over land. The two mechanisms currently held responsible for such underclosure are, on one hand, entrainment-induced reduction of heat fluxes due to low-frequency circulations spanning the depth of the convective boundary layer, and on the other hand, horizontal advection effects induced by surface horizontal heterogeneity. Given the involvement of both heat fluxes in the budget equation, it is expected that the turbulent perturbations of variables involved in these fluxes (potential temperature θ′ and specific humidity q′) contain the signature of both mechanisms. Here, we assess to what extent non-local entrainment effects contribute to the budget underclosure in complex terrain using a quadrant analysis and multiresolution flux decomposition approach.We use data collected in the semi-arid Owens Valley, CA, USA, during the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) campaign. The budget components are sampled near the surface of the valley floor and the adjacent slope, with turbulence flux measurements, pyranometers, pyrgeometers, as well as ground heat flux measurements. We found that the budget underclosure was within the range of underclosures reported in past studies, with a systematically poorer closure over the valley slope. Although quadrant analysis revealed a dominance of scalar-similar events, associated with convective boundary layer overturning, a high degree of disagreement was found between the scalar-dissimilar quadrants which represent the counter-gradient motions. Specifically, those turbulent motions associated with entrainment of free tropospheric air to the surface, were found to be of minor importance in degrading scalar similarity. Instead, we postulate that local horizontal advection and hectometre-scale land-use heterogeneity in the vicinity of both the valley floor and slope sites, are the major factors in controlling the relationship between the budget underclosure and scalar similarity.

Moored observations of turbulent mixing events in deep Lake Garda, Italy

Deep water circulation and mixing processes are responsible for the transport of matter, nutrients and pollutants in deep lakes. Nevertheless, detailed continuous observations are rarely available. To overcome some of these deficiencies and with the aim of improving our understanding of deep mixing processes, a dedicated yearlong mooring comprising 100 high-resolution temperature sensors and a single current meter were located in the deeper half of the 344 m deepest point of the subalpine Lake Garda, Italy. The observations show peaks and calms of turbulent exchange, besides ubiquitous internal wave activity. In late winter, northerly winds activate episodic deep convective overturning, the dense water being subsequently advected along the lake-floor. Besides deep convection, such winds also set-up seiches and inertial waves that are associated with about 100 times larger turbulence dissipation rates than that by semidiurnal internal wave breaking observed in summer. In the lower 60 m above the lake-floor, however, the average turbulence dissipation rate is approximately constant in value year-around, being about 10 times larger than open-ocean values, except during deep convection episodes.

Extensive magmatism and metamorphism at ca. 3.2 Ga in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton

The timing of the emergence of modern-style plate tectonics on Earth is of fundamental importance in understanding the thermal and compositional history of the planet. Although the magmatism and metamorphism in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton was thought by some as geological records for mid-Archean subduction at 3.2 Ga, their petrogenesis was fiercely debated. To reveal the nature of the 3.2 Ga magmatism and metamorphism in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton, here we provide a comprehensive zircon and monazite U-Pb geochronological investigation, coupled with in situ trace element and Hf-O isotopic analyses, for the magmatic and metamorphic rocks from the Barberton granitoid-greenstone terrane in South Africa and Ancient Gneiss Complex in Swaziland. In spite of deriving from potentially different sources as revealed by different lithology, nine magmatic rocks sampled from different plutons have consistent zircon/monazite SIMS 207Pb/206Pb ages of 3240–3220 Ma. Distinct zircon grains, including inherited magmatic and metamorphic, are identified in the metamorphic rocks by detailed CL images and U-Pb geochronological, trace elemental and Hf-O isotopic analyses. The metamorphic zircons give consistent 207Pb/206Pb ages of 3240–3220 Ma. One granitic gneiss and a metapelite give monazite SIMS 207Pb/206Pb dates of 3230.6 ± 2.7 Ma and 3223.1 ± 2.4 Ma, respectively, which are consistent with the results of metamorphic zircon and interpreted as the age of metamorphism. Most metamorphic samples give Ti-in-zircon temperatures of 650–740 °C and one sample yields Y-in-monazite temperatures of 918–966 °C, which imply that the rocks of AGC were universally metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies, and locally reaching high to ultrahigh temperature (HT-UHT) granulite facies (>900 °C) at 3240–3220 Ma. This study, in combination with previous results, suggests widespread distribution for the 3.2 Ga magmatism and metamorphism in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton without asymmetry in the thermal structure, which is quite different from those of the modern subduction zones. The synchronous occurrence of the metamorphism and magmatism in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton at 3.2 Ga was interpreted as the results of partial convective overturn of the crust.

Unravelling the D1 event: evidence for early granite-up, greenstone-down tectonics in the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia

The early tectonic history of the Eastern Goldfields Terrane (EGT) is poorly understood, but in places ca 2800 Ma mafic–ultramafic sequences are conformably overlain by ca 2720–2670 Ma sequences (e.g. Leonora and Laverton districts), suggesting minimal early deformation. The first significant angular unconformities occur at the base of the ca 2670–2655 Ma late basins and indicate that deformation was contemporaneous with deposition of the late basins. These basins mark the end of the volcano-sedimentary record in the EGT and typically grade upwards from polymictic mafic-dominated conglomerates to more siliciclastic compositions with abundant granitic clasts. The clastic sequences record the uplift and exhumation of granite-cored domes. There is a distinct lack of clasts with internal deformation fabrics (e.g. schist or gneiss). The timing of late basin formation overlaps with the ca 2672–2660 Ma D1 event, which has been variously described as extensional or compressional. D1 structures comprise a bedding-parallel S1 that is axial planar to F1 folds. The late basins and early D1 fabrics are overprinted by upright north-trending F2 folds and a sub-vertical S2. A period of crustal thickening was achieved by autochthonous processes with deposition of greenstone sequences into local basins between ca 2720 and 2670 Ma. Partial convective overturn (or granite-up, greenstone-down tectonics) developed as a result of gravitational instability. As the large granite–gneiss bodies rose, solid-state extensional D1 shears developed around the granites with a radial pattern of L1 extension lineations. Areas of compression developed within the sinking greenstone sequences. A final phase of subsidence in the central parts of the greenstone belts produced depocentres (late basins). A shift from dominantly vertical tectonics to horizontal tectonics at ca 2655–2650 Ma is marked by the onset of east–west D2 compression and the change in granite compositions from high-Ca to low-Ca granites. KEY POINTS Older ca 2800 Ma mafic–ultramafic sequences are conformably overlain by ca 2720–2670 Ma sequences suggesting minimal early deformation in the EGT. The first significant angular unconformities are at the base of the ca 2665 Ma late basin sequences. Late basin sequences record the uplift and exhumation of granite-cored domes and sedimentation is contemporaneous with the regional ca 2672–2660 Ma D1 event. The D1 event represents granite-up, greenstone-down tectonics (D1 event) that developed as a result of gravitational instability arising from autochthonous crustal thickening from ca 2720–2670 Ma. Granite-up, greenstone-down tectonics precludes an accretionary model for the development of the EGT.

Cambro-Ordovician magmatism in the Delamerian orogeny: Implications for tectonic development of the southern Gondwanan margin

The Delamerian Orogen formed at the final stages of assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. This system marks the initiation of subduction of the Pacific oceanic lithosphere along a prior rifted and extended passive margin. This paper explores the magmatic consequences following the early Cambrian initiation at the palaeo-Pacific margin in South Australia (SA) and western Victoria. Our data reveal a 50 Ma syn- to post-Delamerian tectono-magmatic history. Sampled from drill core from beneath the eastern Murray Basin cover in eastern SA, boninitic high Mg andesite from drill hole KTH12 and 516.1 ± 2 Ma quartz diorite suggest that first subduction established a volcanic arc within easternmost SA. Pacific-ward trench retreat then resulted in arc migration to reach the Mt Stavely Belt and Stawell Zones in western Victoria by ~510 Ma where boninitic arc magmatism continued until ~490 Ma. In the SA foreland of the Delamerian Orogen, early (522 ± 4 Ma) alkali basalt gave way to intrusion and extrusion of MORB-like tholeiites of back-arc basalt character.Through much of the middle and late Cambrian the SA Delamerian was in the back-arc and under extension but with periodic compression resulting from periodic Pacific-Australian plate coupling beneath the forearc in western Victoria.In SA syn-tectonic I- and S-type granites reflect interaction of MORB-like back-arc magmas and their transported heat with continental-derived sediment of the Kanmantoo Group. The termination of the Delamerian orogeny at ~490 Ma was accompanied by buoyancy-controlled, exhumation and erosion. This was driven by delamination of a mafic, crustal underplate, whose re-melting at 1.5 to 2 GPa and 1050 °C generated the unique 495 ± 1 Ma Kinchina/Monarto adakite. Delamination resulted in lithospheric mantle thinning and local convective overturn allowing upwelling of the asthenosphere to drive the post-kinematic magmatic phase of the Delamerian, yielding voluminous 490 Ma–470 Ma A-type granites.

Relationships between monazite, apatite and chevkinite-group minerals in the rhyolitic Joe Lott Tuff, Utah, USA

The high-silica rhyolitic Joe Lott Tuff was erupted at 19.2 ± 0.4 Ma from the Mount Belknap caldera in Utah, USA. Despite having a volume of ~150 km3 it is compositionally homogeneous and contains ≤3 modal% phenocrysts. The tuff also shows two very unusual aspects of the REE-bearing phases, monazite and the chevkinite-group minerals (CGM): (i) the presence of perrierite-(Ce) in a high-silica rhyolite, and (ii) the replacement of CGM in the stratigraphic sequence by monazite, with a subsequent return to a CGM. Evidence from CGM distribution and variations in monazite and apatite-group composition with stratigraphic height in the deposit are used to infer that prior to eruption the magma was compositionally zoned, the zonation being partially obliterated by convective overturn in the reservoir.

Stochastic Parameterization of Processes Leading to Convective Initiation in Kilometer-Scale Models

AbstractKilometer-scale models allow for an explicit simulation of deep convective overturning but many subgrid processes that are crucial for convective initiation are still poorly represented. This leads to biases such as insufficient convection triggering and late peak of summertime convection. A physically based stochastic perturbation scheme (PSP) for subgrid processes has been proposed (Kober and Craig) that targets the coupling between subgrid turbulence and resolved convection. The first part of this study presents four modifications to this PSP scheme for subgrid turbulence: an autoregressive, continuously evolving random field; a limitation of the perturbations to the boundary layer that removes artificial convection at night; a mask that turns off perturbations in precipitating columns to retain coherent structures; and nondivergent wind perturbations that drastically increase the effectiveness of the vertical velocity perturbations. In a revised version, PSP2, the combined modifications retain the physically based coupling to the boundary layer scheme of the original scheme while removing undesirable side effects. This has the potential to improve predictions of convective initiation in kilometer-scale models while minimizing other biases. The second part of the study focuses on perturbations to account for convective initiation by subgrid orography. Here the mechanical lifting effect is modeled by introducing vertical and horizontal wind perturbations of an orographically induced gravity wave. The resulting perturbations lead to enhanced convective initiation over mountainous terrain. However, the total benefit of this scheme is unclear and we do not adopt the scheme in our revised configuration.

The age of a wake

This study attempts to quantify the decay rates of stratified wakes in active oceanic environments, characterized by the presence of intermittent turbulence and double-diffusive convection. Of particular interest is the possibility of utilizing standard oceanographic microstructure measurements as a means of wake identification and analysis. The investigation is based on a series of direct numerical simulations of wakes produced by a sphere uniformly propagating in stratified two-component fluids. We examine and compare the evolution of wakes in fluid systems that are (i) initially quiescent, (ii) double-diffusively unstable, and (iii) contain preexisting turbulence. The model diagnostics are focused primarily on the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy (ε) and thermal variance (χ). The analysis of decay patterns of ε and χ indicates that microstructure generated by an object of D = 0.6 m in diameter moving at the speed of U = 0.02 m/s could be detected, using modern high-resolution profiling instruments, for 0.5–0.7 h. The detection period depends on environmental conditions; convective overturns are shown to be particularly effective in terms of dispersion of microscale wake signatures. The extrapolation of model results to objects of ∼10 m in diameter propagating with speeds of ∼10 m/s suggests that the microstructure-based wake detection is feasible for at least 4 h after the object’s passage through the monitored areas. The overall conclusion from our study is that the measurement of microscale signatures of turbulent wakes could represent a viable method for hydrodynamic detection of propagating submersibles.

Approaching Earth’s core conditions in high-resolution geodynamo simulations

SUMMARY The geodynamo features a broad separation between the large scale at which Earth’s magnetic field is sustained against ohmic dissipation and the small scales of the turbulent and electrically conducting underlying fluid flow in the outer core. Here, the properties of this scale separation are analysed using high-resolution numerical simulations that approach closer to Earth’s core conditions than earlier models. The new simulations are obtained by increasing the resolution and gradually relaxing the hyperdiffusive approximation of previously published low-resolution cases. This upsizing process does not perturb the previously obtained large-scale, leading-order quasi-geostrophic (QG) and first-order magneto-Archimedes-Coriolis (MAC) force balances. As a result, upsizing causes only weak transients typically lasting a fraction of a convective overturn time, thereby demonstrating the efficiency of this approach to reach extreme conditions at reduced computational cost. As Earth’s core conditions are approached in the upsized simulations, Ohmic losses dissipate up to 97 per cent of the injected convective power. Kinetic energy spectra feature a gradually broadening self-similar, power-law spectral range extending over more than a decade in length scale. In this range, the spectral energy density profile of vorticity is shown to be approximately flat between the large scale at which the magnetic field draws its energy from convection through the QG-MAC force balance and the small scale at which this energy is dissipated. The resulting velocity and density anomaly planforms in the physical space consist in large-scale columnar sheets and plumes, respectively, co-existing with small-scale vorticity filaments and density anomaly ramifications. In contrast, magnetic field planforms keep their large-scale structure after upsizing. The small-scale vorticity filaments are aligned with the large-scale magnetic field lines, thereby minimizing the dynamical influence of the Lorentz force. The diagnostic outputs of the upsized simulations are more consistent with the asymptotic QG-MAC theory than those of the low-resolution cases that they originate from, but still feature small residual deviations that may call for further theoretical refinements to account for the structuring constraints of the magnetic field on the flow.

Non‐subduction origin for 3.2 Ga high‐pressure metamorphic rocks in the Barberton granitoid‐greenstone terrane, South Africa

AbstractThe occurrence of high‐pressure (HP) garnet‐bearing metamorphic rocks in the southern Barberton granitoid–greenstone terrane (BGGT), South Africa, has been proposed as a key indicator of the onset of modern plate tectonics at ca. 3.2 Ga. Here, we report new zircon/titanite U–Pb ages of garnet‐bearing HP metamorphic rocks and associated granitoids in the BGGT that argue against such an interpretation. The results show that HP metamorphism occurred synchronously with granitoid magmatism in the Stolzburg domain, the supposed subducted plate, during two episodes at 3.4 and 3.2 Ga, and that these two episodes of magmatism occurred on both sides of the assumed suture zone, a feature that cannot easily be explained by the subduction model. In contrast, the coupled magmatism and metamorphism probably resulted from partial convective overturn (PCO), another viable mechanism for production and differentiation of continental crust during early Archean.

Energetics and mixing in buoyancy-driven near-bottom stratified flow

Turbulence and mixing in a near-bottom convectively driven flow are examined by numerical simulations of a model problem: a statically unstable disturbance at a slope with inclination $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ in a stable background with buoyancy frequency $N$ . The influence of slope angle and initial disturbance amplitude are quantified in a parametric study. The flow evolution involves energy exchange between four energy reservoirs, namely the mean and turbulent components of kinetic energy (KE) and available potential energy (APE). In contrast to the zero-slope case where the mean flow is negligible, the presence of a slope leads to a current that oscillates with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}=N\sin \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ and qualitatively changes the subsequent evolution of the initial density disturbance. The frequency, $N\sin \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ , and the initial speed of the current are predicted using linear theory. The energy transfer in the sloping cases is dominated by an oscillatory exchange between mean APE and mean KE with a transfer to turbulence at specific phases. In all simulated cases, the positive buoyancy flux during episodes of convective instability at the zero-velocity phase is the dominant contributor to turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) although the shear production becomes increasingly important with increasing $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ . Energy that initially resides wholly in mean available potential energy is lost through conversion to turbulence and the subsequent dissipation of TKE and turbulent available potential energy. A key result is that, in contrast to the explosive loss of energy during the initial convective instability in the non-sloping case, the sloping cases exhibit a more gradual energy loss that is sustained over a long time interval. The slope-parallel oscillation introduces a new flow time scale $T=2\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}/(N\sin \unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD})$ and, consequently, the fraction of initial APE that is converted to turbulence during convective instability progressively decreases with increasing $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ . For moderate slopes with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}<10^{\circ }$ , most of the net energy loss takes place during an initial, short ( $Nt\approx 20$ ) interval with periodic convective overturns. For steeper slopes, most of the energy loss takes place during a later, long ( $Nt>100$ ) interval when both shear and convective instability occur, and the energy loss rate is approximately constant. The mixing efficiency during the initial period dominated by convectively driven turbulence is found to be substantially higher (exceeds 0.5) than the widely used value of 0.2. The mixing efficiency at long time in the present problem of a convective overturn at a boundary varies between 0.24 and 0.3.

Magmatic and anatectic history of a large Archean diapir: Insights from the migmatitic core of the Yalgoo Dome, Yilgarn Craton

The genesis of domes in the Archean was fundamentally different than those on modern Earth as crustal reworking was far more voluminous and triggered by extensive reheating of the crust dictated by major pulses of mantle magmatic activity. In this study, we investigate how such mantle magmatism, reflected by extrusion of mantle-derived mafic–ultramafic greenstones sequences (2825–2760 Ma) in the Youanmi Terrane of the Yilgarn Craton, Australia caused a cascade of crustal processes between 2760 and 2740 Ma to form the 40 × 60 km-diameter Yalgoo Dome. Voluminous deposition of the greenstone sequences initiated at 2800–2760 Ma and followed by voluminous felsic magmatism lasting between 2760 and 2740 Ma. This process melted older basalts at depth and formed the Goonetarra Granodiorite. In turn, magmas, caused water-fluxed melting of older tonalite and amphibolite (2970–2900 Ma) that are preserved in the migmatitic core of the dome. Thermodynamic and geobarometry results on these rocks show that anatexis occurred between 3 and 9 kbar and ~700–800 °C, with 0.5–2 wt% H2O provided by the Goonetarra Granodiorite boosted melt production up to 15–30 vol%. The growth of this voluminous magmatic body accompanied by migmatization of country rocks, caused dramatic crustal weakening, allowing for sagduction of the thick overlying greenstones and the consequent diapiric rise of the buoyant, hot and voluminous granitoid bodies (partial convective overturn; Collins et al., 1998). Thus, the internal evolution and the doming process of the Yalgoo Dome resulted from the arrival of a major thermal (i.e. magma-induced) mantle anomaly into the crust. This event first gave rise to a gravitationally unstable crustal stratigraphy (greenstone over older felsic crust), followed by a wave of conductive heat traveling upward through the crust. This heat first produced voluminous and hydrous magmas as the Goonetarra Granodiorite. Then this melt advected heat and H2O to mid-crustal levels causing water-fluxed anatexis of older rocks and triggering partial convective overturn, including diapiric doming of the felsic middle crust, in a manner quite unlike the formation of Phanerozoic domes that develop due to orogenic-driven processes.