Large Low Shear-wave Velocity Research Articles

Heavy Mo isotope enrichment in the Pitcairn plume: Implications for the subduction cycle of anoxic sediments

Subduction redistributes elements between Earth's principal geochemical reservoirs, modifying the chemical composition of Earth's mantle, crust, atmosphere, and hydrosphere, and consequently having an impact on the evolution of life itself. Subduction of surface material that has been geochemically modified by low-temperature processes leads to mineralogical and chemical heterogeneities in mantle reservoirs over time and is recorded in modern ocean island basalts. One of the principal geochemical end members of the heterogeneous deep mantle, the enriched mantle 1 (EM-1) source of Pitcairn Island, has been attributed to the contribution of crustal material with vastly different chemical compositions and ages. The Mo isotope composition of lavas from Pitcairn Island constrains the nature of this recycled crustal component. Pitcairn lavas have elevated δ98/95Mo relative to the depleted mantle. The high δ98/95Mo is associated with high time-integrated 232Th/238U and 87Rb/86Sr, and low time-integrated 147Sm/144Nd and 238U/204Pb. These characteristics can be attributed to the recycling of nearly pristine pelagic sediments that were deposited in a Proterozoic anoxic deep-ocean into the sources of the Pitcairn Island lavas. The isotope composition of these lavas is similar to that of EM-1 hotspots from the South Atlantic, indicating the addition of reduced sediments in both of Earth's large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs). Consistent data from both locations imply that the subduction cycling of sedimentary redox-sensitive elements such as Mo, S, Se, and U into arc magmas was in these cases inefficient in the Precambrian and the chemical and isotopic signature of reduced sediments is preserved in the source of ocean island basalts bearing the EM-1 characteristics.

Spatial Characteristics of Recycled and Primordial Reservoirs in the Deep Mantle

AbstractThe spatial distribution of the geochemical domains hosting recycled crust and primordial (high‐3He/4He) reservoirs, and how they are linked to mantle convection, are poorly understood. Two continent‐sized seismic anomalies located near the core‐mantle boundary—called the Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs)—are potential geochemical reservoir hosts. It has been suggested that high‐3He/4He hotspots are spatially confined to the LLSVPs, hotspots sampling recycled continental crust are associated with only one of the LLSVPs, and recycled continental crust shows no relationship with latitude. We reevaluate the links between LLSVPs and isotopic signatures of hotspot lavas using improved mantle flow models including plume conduit advection. While most hotspots with the highest‐3He/4He can indeed be traced to the LLSVP interiors, at least one high‐3He/4He hotspot, Yellowstone, is located outside of the LLSVPs. This suggests high‐3He/4He is not geographically confined to the LLSVPs. Instead, a positive correlation between hotspot buoyancy flux and maximum hotspot 3He/4He suggests that it is plume dynamics (i.e., buoyancy), not geography, which determines whether a dense, deep, and possibly widespread high‐3He/4He reservoir is entrained. We also show that plume‐fed EM hotspots (enriched mantle, with low‐143Nd/144Nd), signaling recycled continental crust, are spatially linked to both LLSVPs, and located primarily in the southern hemisphere. Lastly, we confirm that hotspots sampling HIMU (“high‐μ,” or high 238U/204Pb) domains are not spatially limited to the LLSVPs. These findings clarify and advance our understanding of deep mantle reservoir distributions, and we discuss how continental and oceanic crust subduction is consistent with the spatial decoupling of EM and HIMU.

Plume interaction and mantle heterogeneity: A geochemical perspective

Mantle plumes originating from the Core-Mantle Boundary (CMB) or the Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ) play an important role in material transfer through Earth’s interior. The hotspot-related plumes originate through different mechanisms and have diverse processes of material transfer. Both the Morganian plumes and large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) are derived from the D″ layer in the CMB, whereas the Andersonian plumes originate from the upper mantle. All plumes have a plume head at the Moho, although the LLSVPs have an additional plume head at the MTZ. We compare the geochemical characteristics of various plumes in an attempt to evaluate the material exchange between the plumes and mantle layers. The D″ layer, the LLSVPs and the Morganian plumes are consisted of subducted slab and post-perovskite from the lower mantle. Bridgmanite would crystallize during the upwelling process of the LLSVPs and the Morganian plumes in the lower mantle, and the residual is a basalt-trachyte suite. Unlike the Morganian plumes, the crystallization in the LLSVPs is insufficient that material accumulates beneath the MTZ to form a plume head. Typically, the secondary plumes above the plume head occur at the edge of the LLSVPs because it is easier for bridgmanite crystal separating from the plume head at the edge, and the residual material with low density upwells to form the secondary plumes. Meanwhile, Na and K are enriched during the long-term crystallization process, and then the basalt-phonolite suite appears in the LLSVPs. The geochemical characteristics of Andersonian plumes suggest that the basalt-rhyolite suite is the major component in the upper mantle. Meanwhile the basalt-rhyolite suite also appears in the LLSVPs and the Morganian plumes because of the assimilation and contamination in the plume head beneath the Moho.

The dynamics and impact of compositionally originating provinces in a mantle convection model featuring rheologically obtained plates

SUMMARY Previous geodynamic studies have indicated that the presence of a compositionally anomalous and intrinsically dense (CAID) mantle component can impact both core heat flux and surface features, such as plate velocity, number and size. Implementing spherical annulus geometry mantle convection models, we investigate the influence of intrinsically dense material in the lower mantle on core heat flux and the surface velocity field. The dense component is introduced into a system that features an established plate-like surface velocity field, and subsequently we analyse the evolution of the surface velocity as well as the interior thermal structure of the mantle. The distribution and mobility of the CAID material is investigated by varying its buoyancy ratio relative to the ambient mantle (ranging from 0.7 to 1.5), its total volume (3.5–10 per cent of the mantle volume) and its intrinsic viscosity (0.01–100 times the ambient mantle viscosity). We find at least three distinct distributions of the dense material can occur adjacent to the core–mantle boundary (CMB), including multiple piles of varying topography, a core enveloping layer and two diametrically opposed provinces (which can on occasion break into three distinct piles). The latter distribution mimics the morphology of the seismically observed large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) and can occur over the entire range of CAID material viscosities. However, diametrically opposed provinces occur primarily in cases with CAID material buoyancy numbers of 0.7–0.85 (corresponding to contrasts in density between ambient and CAID material of 130 and 160 kg m−3, respectively) in our model (with an effective Rayleigh number of order 106). Steep and high topography piles are also obtained for cases featuring buoyancy ratios of 0.85 and viscosities 10–100 times that of the ambient mantle. An increase in relative density, as well as larger volumes of CAID material, lead to the development of a core enveloping layer. Our findings show that when two provinces are present core heat flux can be reduced by up to 50 per cent relative to cases in which CAID material is absent. Surface deformation quantified by Plateness is minimally influenced by variation of the properties of the dense material. Surface velocity is found to be reduced in general but mostly substantially in cases featuring high CAID material viscosities and large volumes (i.e. 10 per cent) or buoyancy ratios.

Controls on Global Mantle Convective Structures and Their Comparison With Seismic Models

AbstractSeismic observations suggest (1) significant accumulation of subducted slabs above the 670‐km discontinuity in many subduction zones, (2) possible structure change at ~1,000‐km depth, and (3) the large low shear wave velocity provinces above the core‐mantle boundary in the African and Pacific lower mantle be associated with chemical heterogeneity. Global mantle convection models with realistic plate motion history reproduce most of these structures. However, it remains unclear how the convection models compare with seismic models at different spatial wavelengths and depths. By conducting quantitative analysis between mantle convection and seismic models, we found that mantle convective structures show significant correlations with seismic structures in the upper mantle and mantle transition zone for wavelengths up to spherical harmonic degree 20. However, the global correlation is weak at intermediate to short wavelengths (for degrees 4 and higher) in the lower mantle below ~1,000‐km depth. A weak layer beneath the spinel‐to‐postspinel phase change help consistently reproduce stagnant slabs in the western Pacific, while having insignificant effects elsewhere, that is, the large low shear wave velocity province structures. The cold slab structures and their correlations with the seismically fast anomalies are nearly identical for our convection models with and without the plumes, indicating that seismically fast anomalies in the mantle mainly result from the subducted slabs. Models with viscosity increase at 1,000‐km depth and the 670‐km depth phase change may reproduce seismic slab structures including the stagnant slabs in the mantle transition zone equally well as models with a thin weak layer below the 670‐km phase boundary.

Pacific‐Panthalassic Reconstructions: Overview, Errata and the Way Forward

AbstractWe have devised a new absolute Late Jurassic‐Cretaceous Pacific plate model using a fixed hot spot approach coupled with paleomagnetic data from Pacific large igneous provinces (LIPs) while simultaneously minimizing plate velocity and net lithosphere rotation (NR). This study was motivated because published Pacific plate models for the 83.5‐ to 150‐Ma time interval are variably flawed, and their use affects modeling of the entire Pacific‐Panthalassic Ocean and interpretation of its margin evolution. These flaws could be corrected, but the revised models would imply unrealistically high plate velocities and NR. We have developed three new Pacific realm models with varying degrees of complexity, but we focus on the one that we consider most realistic. This model reproduces many of the Pacific volcanic paths, modeled paleomagnetic latitudes fit well with direct observations, plate velocities and NR resulting from the model are low, and all reconstructed Pacific LIPs align along the surface‐projected margin of the Pacific large low shear wave velocity province. The emplacement of the Shatsky Rise LIP at ~144 Ma probably caused a major plate boundary reorganization as indicated by a major jump of the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon triple junction and a noteworthy change of the Pacific‐Izanagi seafloor spreading direction at around chron M20 time.

Ancient high Pt/Os crustal contaminants can explain radiogenic 186Os in some intraplate magmas

The origin of variations in 186Os/188Os ratios amongst mantle-derived basaltic and komatiitic lavas remains controversial, with opposing models arguing for deep core-mantle versus shallow mantle sources. Crustal contamination has generally not been favored due to the low Os contents of such sources, meaning that variations in 186Os/188Os would require involvement of extremely high proportions of crustal material. Here we re-examine crustal contamination as an effective means for generating significant 186Os/188Os variations in Earth materials. Using chromitites and peridotites from the Stillwater, Muskox and Rum layered intrusions, we show that radiogenic 186Os/188Os ratios are correlated with 187Os/188Os ratios and can only be explained by shallow-level mixing processes and crustal contamination. The samples have δ186Os ([{(186Os/188Ossample[t]/186Os/188OsPM(t)) − 1} × 1000], where the modern primitive mantle [PM] 186Os/188Os is 0.1198388) values ranging between 0.04 to 0.15 for the ∼2.7 Ga Stillwater Igneous Complex, −0.05 to 0.17 for the ∼1.27 Ga Muskox Intrusion, and 0.02 to 0.13 for the ∼0.06 Ga Rum Layered Suite. The highly siderophile element (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re) contents of the chromitites and peridotites can be modeled through high sulfide-melt partitioning (typically >8000) and emphasize the role of S-saturation and HSE scavenging. Considering the high sulfide-melt partitioning and accounting for high silicate melt to sulfide melt ratios (R-factors), it is possible to explain the variations in 186Os–187Os in layered intrusions using calculated Os isotope crustal evolution growth models. These calculations indicate that <4% of ancient high Pt/Os crustal contributions can explain the composition of the chromitites and peridotites that were examined. Our observations are consistent with published models for chromitite genesis that invoke either crustal melt-primitive melt mixing, or cumulate assimilation. A crustal origin for radiogenic 186Os is a possible cause for 186Os/188Os ratio variations observed in some komatiites. It is more difficult to explain radiogenic 186Os/188Os measured in Hawaiian lavas by crustal contamination processes. Instead, ancient high Pt/Os oceanic crust, shallow mantle sources such as metasomatic sulfide, or metal-rich large low-shear wave velocity provinces at the core-mantle boundary, all remain valid explanations.

Implementation of a Volume-of-Fluid method in a finite element code with applications to thermochemical convection in a density stratified fluid in the Earth’s mantle

We describe the implementation of a second-order accurate Volume-of-Fluid interface tracking algorithm in the open source finite element code ASPECT that is designed to model convection and other processes in the Earth’s mantle. This involves the solution of the incompressible Stokes equations coupled to an advection diffusion equation for the temperature, a Boussinesq approximation that governs the dependence of the density on the temperature, and an advection equation for a marker indicating two initial (constant) density states, that are passively advected in the underlying flow field. The Volume-of-Fluid method in ASPECT is fully parallelized and fully integrated with ASPECT’s adaptive mesh refinement algorithm. We present the results of several interface tracking benchmarks in order to demonstrate the accuracy of the method, as well as the results of several benchmarks commonly used in the computational mantle convection community. Finally, we present the results of computations with and without adaptive mesh refinement of a model problem involving thermochemical convection in a computationally stratified fluid designed to provide insight into how thermal plumes, that eventually reach the Earth’s surface as ocean island basalts, originate at structures near the core-mantle boundary known as Large Low Shear wave Velocity Provinces or “LLSVPs”. LLSVPs are structures in parts of the lowermost portion of the Earth’s mantle, characterized by slow shear wave velocities and higher density than the surrounding mantle, which were discovered by seismic tomography of the deep Earth.

Geochemistry and Distribution of Recycled Domains in the Mantle Inferred From Nd and Pb Isotopes in Oceanic Hot Spots: Implications for Storage in the Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Provinces

AbstractSubduction of continental and oceanic crust is thought to give rise to geochemically distinct reservoirs in the mantle called EM (enriched mantle) and HIMU (high μ = 238U/204Pb), respectively. However, the locations of EM and HIMU domains in the Earth's interior are poorly constrained. We explore the geographic distribution of extreme EM (143Nd/144Nd ≤ 0.512630) and HIMU (206Pb/204Pb ≥ 20) geochemical signatures in ocean island basalts erupted at hot spots, highlighting three observations. First, hot spots geographically associated with the two large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) have a similar range of EM compositions. If these hot spots are sourced by the LLSVPs via upwelling plumes, this observation is consistent with the hypothesis that the LLSVPs formed by similar processes and have similar geodynamic histories. Second, the EM and HIMU domains exhibit different latitudinal zonation: oceanic hot spots with the most extreme EM compositions (143Nd/144Nd &lt; 0.5125) are concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere (14°S to 52°S latitude), while oceanic hot spots hosting HIMU compositions are found primarily near the tropical latitudes (38°N to 29°S). Third, all 13 oceanic hot spots with EM compositions (143Nd/144Nd ≤ 0.512630) are geographically associated with the LLSVPs; oceanic hot spots located far from the LLSVPs exhibit only non‐EM (143Nd/144Nd &gt; 0.512630) compositions. In contrast, the HIMU domains do not show a clear geographic association with the LLSVPs. Therefore, EM and HIMU domains in the Earth's mantle exhibit different spatial distributions. This may reflect differences in subduction inputs of these two components, or differences in how they segregate or accumulate in the deep Earth.

Deformation, crystal preferred orientations, and seismic anisotropy in the Earth's D″ layer

We use a forward multiscale model that couples atomistic modeling of intracrystalline plasticity mechanisms (dislocation glide ± twinning) in MgSiO3 post-perovskite (PPv) and periclase (MgO) at lower mantle pressures and temperatures to polycrystal plasticity simulations to predict crystal preferred orientations (CPO) development and seismic anisotropy in D″. We model the CPO evolution in aggregates of 70% PPv and 30% MgO submitted to simple shear, axial shortening, and along corner-flow streamlines, which simulate changes in flow orientation similar to those expected at the transition between a downwelling and flow parallel to the core–mantle boundary (CMB) within D″ or between CMB-parallel flow and upwelling at the borders of the large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVP) in the lowermost mantle. Axial shortening results in alignment of PPv [010] axes with the shortening direction. Simple shear produces PPv CPO with a monoclinic symmetry that rapidly rotates towards parallelism between the dominant [100](010) slip system and the macroscopic shear. These predictions differ from MgSiO3 post-perovskite textures formed in diamond-anvil cell experiments, but agree with those obtained in simple shear and compression experiments using CaIrO3 post-perovskite. Development of CPO in PPv and MgO results in seismic anisotropy in D″. For shear parallel to the CMB, at low strain, the inclination of ScS, Sdiff, and SKKS fast polarizations and delay times vary depending on the propagation direction. At moderate and high shear strains, all S-waves are polarized nearly horizontally. Downwelling flow produces Sdiff, ScS, and SKKS fast polarization directions and birefringence that vary gradually as a function of the back-azimuth from nearly parallel to inclined by up to 70° to CMB and from null to ∼5%. Change in the flow to shear parallel to the CMB results in dispersion of the CPO, weakening of the anisotropy, and strong azimuthal variation of the S-wave splitting up to 250 km from the corner. Transition from horizontal shear to upwelling also produces weakening of the CPO and complex seismic anisotropy patterns, with dominantly inclined fast ScS and SKKS polarizations, over most of the upwelling path. Models that take into account twinning in PPv explain most observations of seismic anisotropy in D″, but heterogeneity of the flow at scales <1000 km is needed to comply with the seismological evidence for low apparent birefringence in D″.

Modelling Earth’s surface topography: Decomposition of the static and dynamic components

Contrasting results on the magnitude of the dynamic component of topography motivate us to analyse the sources of uncertainties affecting long wavelength topography modelling. We obtain a range of mantle density structures from thermo-chemical interpretation of available seismic tomography models. We account for pressure, temperature and compositional effects as inferred by mineral physics to relate seismic velocity with density. Mantle density models are coupled to crustal density distributions obtained with a similar methodology. We compute isostatic topography and associated residual topography maps and perform instantaneous mantle flow modelling to calculate the dynamic topography. We explore the effects of proposed mantle 1-D viscosities and also test a 3D pressure- and temperature-dependent viscosity model. We find that the patterns of residual and dynamic topography are robust, with an average correlation coefficient (r) of respectively ∼0.74 and ∼0.71, upper-lower quartile ranges of 0.86–0.65 for residual topography and 0.83–0.62 for dynamic topography maps. The amplitudes are, on the contrary, poorly constrained. For the static component, the inferred density models of lithospheric mantle give an interquartile range of isostatic topography that is always higher than 100m, reaching 1.7km in some locations, and averaging ∼720m. Crustal density models satisfying the same compressional velocity structure lead to variations in isostatic topography averaging 350m, with peaks of 1km in thick crustal regions, and always higher than 100m. The uncertainties on isostatic topography are strong enough to mask, if present, the contribution of mantle convection to surface topography. For the dynamic component, we obtain a peak-to-peak dynamic topography amplitude exceeding 3km for all our mantle density and viscosity models. These extremely high values would be associated with a magnitude of geoid undulations that is not in agreement with observations. Considering chemical heterogeneities in correspondence with the lower mantle Large Low Shear wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) helps to decrease the peak-to-peak amplitudes of dynamic topography and geoid, but significantly reduces the correlation between synthetic and observed geoid. The correlation coefficients between all our residual and dynamic topography maps (a total of 220 and 198, respectively) is <0.55 (average=∼0.19). The correlation slightly improves when considering only the very long-wavelength components of the maps (average=∼0.23). We therefore conclude that a robust determination of dynamic topography is not feasible since current uncertainties affecting crustal density, mantle density and mantle viscosity are still too large. A truly interdisciplinary approach, combining constraints from the geological record with a multi-methodological interpretation of geophysical observations, is required to tackle the challenging task of linking the surface topography to deep processes.

Managing metal the core left behind

Geophysics At the very base of Earth's rocky mantle lie two distinct regions called large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs). Zhang et al. suggest a very old origin for the LLSVPs by tying their formation to Earth's 4.5 billion years ago. Tiny amounts of metallic melt trapped at the base of

A Devonian >2000-km-long dolerite dyke swarm-belt and associated basalts along the Urals-Novozemelian fold-belt: part of an East-European (Baltica) LIP tracing the Tuzo Superswell

Two dolerite dyke swarms are recognized along and paralleling the Ural Mountains, Russia. The Uralian swarm is 1400-km long (2300-km long if traced from its inferred plume centre). Further north, the Pay-Khoy swarm can be traced through the Pay-Khoy–Novaya Zemlya fold belt for a distance of c. 250 km (800-km long if traced from its inferred plume centre). An Upper Devonian age for volcanism associated with the Pay-Khoy swarm is well constrained by isotopic data. A Devonian age for the Uralian swarm was until now supported mainly by broad geological field relationships between the dykes and host rocks, i.e. dykes locally cut Proterozoic, Ordovician to Devonian sedimentary rocks, but never Carboniferous sequences. Rare isotopic age determinations also support an Upper Devonian age for the weakly altered dykes. Herein, a new precise U–Pb baddeleyite age determination of 377.2 ± 0.9 Ma is reported from a large (>50-m wide) gabbro–dolerite dyke cutting the uppermost Proterozoic in the Middle Urals. This result confirms a predicted Upper Devonian age for the dyke and gives additional support to the Devonian age of the Uralian swarm. Given this precise U–Pb age, the Uralian swarm is correlated with the Pay-Khoy swarm, Devonian basalts which are widely distributed across the East European (Baltica) Craton, as well as alkaline magmatic rocks and kimberlites of more restricted distribution. Collectively, this Devonian magmatism can be combined into a Kola–Dnieper Large Igneous Province (LIP) with two proposed mantle plume centres: (1) a southern centre at the intersection of the Dnieper-Donets aulacogen and Uralian swarm and (2) a northern centre in the Barents Sea, at the convergence between the Pay-Khoy dyke swarm and an unnamed swarm extending from the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula, as well as converging rift/graben zones. Furthermore, this Kola–Dnieper LIP of the East European (Baltica) Craton, with its two plume centres, is approximately coeval with the Yakutsk–Vilyui LIP and its plume centre on the eastern side of the Siberian Craton. These two LIPs were in close proximity at that time and their three plumes may represent a superplume derived from an active part of a single deep mantle LLSVP (Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Province), the so-called Tuzo superswell.

The absolute paleoposition of the North China Block during the Middle Ordovician

Present-day hot spots and Phanerozoic large igneous provinces (LIPs) and kimberlites mainly occur at the edges of the projections of Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) on the earth’s surface. If a plate contains accurately dated LIPs or kimberlites, it is possible to obtain the absolute paleoposition of the plate from the LIP/kimberlite and paleomagnetic data. The presence of Middle Ordovician kimberlites in the North China Block provides an opportunity to determine the absolute paleoposition of the block during the Middle Ordovician. In addition to paleobiogeographical information and the results of previous work on global plate reconstruction for the Ordovician Period, we selected published paleomagnetic data for the North China Block during the Middle Ordovician and determined the most reasonable absolute paleoposition of the North China Block during the Middle Ordovician: paleolatitude of approximately 16.6°S to 19.1°S and paleolongitude of approximately 10°W. The block was located between the Siberian Plate and Gondwana, close to the Siberian Plate. During the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, the North China Block may have moved toward the Siberian Plate and away from the Australian Plate.

Heterogeneities from the first 100 million years recorded in deep mantle noble gases from the Northern Lau Back-arc Basin

Heavy noble gases can record long-lasting heterogeneities in the mantle, because Ne, Ar, and Xe isotopes are produced from extant (U, Th, K) and extinct (129I and 244Pu) radionuclides. However, the presence of ubiquitous atmospheric contamination in basalts, particularly for ocean island basalts (OIBs) that sample the Earth's deep mantle, have largely hampered precise characterization of the mantle source compositions. Here we present new high-precision noble gas data from gas-rich basalts erupted along the Rochambeau Rift (RR) in the northwestern corner of the Lau Basin. The strong influence of a deep mantle plume in the Rochambeau source is apparent from low 4He/3He ratios down to 25,600 (3He/4He of 28.1RA).We find that the Rochambeau source is characterized by low ratios of radiogenic to non-radiogenic nuclides of Ne, Ar, and Xe (i.e., low 21Ne/22Ne, 40Ar/36Ar, and 129Xe/130Xe) compared to the mantle source of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). High-precision xenon isotopic measurements indicate that the lower 129Xe/130Xe ratios in the Rochambeau source cannot be explained solely by mixing atmospheric xenon with MORB-type xenon; nor can fission-produced Xe be added to MORB Xe to produce the compositions seen in the Rochambeau basalts. Deconvolution of fissiogenic xenon isotopes demonstrate a higher proportion of Pu- fission derived Xe in the Rochambeau source compared to the MORB source. Therefore, both I/Xe and Pu/Xe ratios are different between OIB and MORB sources. Our observations require heterogeneous volatile accretion and a lower degree of processing for the plume source compared to the MORB source. Since differences in 129Xe/130Xe ratios have to be produced while 129I is still alive, OIB and MORB sources must have been processed at different rates for the first 100 million years (Myr) of Solar System history, and subsequent to this period, the two reservoirs have not been homogenized.In combination with recent results from the Iceland plume, our noble gas observations require the formation and preservation of less-degassed, early-formed (pre-4.45Ga) heterogeneities in the Earth's deep mantle. Consequently, the primitive noble gas reservoir sampled by mantle plumes cannot be created solely through sequestration of recycled slabs or undegassed melts at the base of the mantle during the past 4.4Ga. Finally, if the more primitive, less degassed heterogeneities reside in the Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs), then LLSVPs must be long-lasting features of the deep mantle and are not composed exclusively of recycled material.

Why is the areoid like the residual geoid?

The equipotential figures of Earth (residual geoid), and of Mars (areoid) are characterized by pairs of elevated and pairs of depressed antipodal equatorial regions. Elevated regions of the residual geoid lie vertically above the two Large Low Shear Wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) on the Core Mantle Boundary (CMB). There is evidence that the LLSVPs are dense, physicochemically distinct, and have been stable in their positions with respect to each other and to the Earth's spin axis for at least ∼550 My. The final event in the planetary‐scale development of the Earth's structure was the moon‐forming event and the comparable event on Mars is thought by many to have been the Borealis basin‐forming impact. We attribute the formation of the LLSVPs and postulated comparable masses underlying the elevated regions of the areoid on the CMB of Mars, to the immediate after‐effects of those two giant impacts.

A trace element perspective on the source of ocean island basalts (OIB) and fate of subducted ocean crust (SOC) and mantle lithosphere (SML)

We analyze the first-order observations, basic concepts and explicit/implicit assumptions built into the three major hypotheses for the enriched component(s) in the source of ocean island basalts (OIB) in terms of incompatible trace elements: (1) subducted ocean crust (SOC), (2) subducted continental sediments, and (3) mantle metasomatism. SOC is compositionally too depleted (i.e., [La/Sm] N <1) to be the major source material for OIB that are highly incompatible element enriched (e.g., [La/Sm] N »1). We cannot rule out the contribution of continental sediments as an enriched OIB source component; however, except for two known cases that are yet to be further investigated, there is no convincing evidence for any significant sediment contribution to the petrogenesis of global OIB. Continental materials through subduction erosion can certainly contribute to mantle compositional heterogeneity and may contribute towards some enriched component in OIB source regions. Overall, OIB are not only enriched in incompatible elements, but also enriched in the progressively more incompatible elements, with their inferred source material being variably more enriched than the primitive mantle. These observations require that the OIB sources are pre-enriched by lowdegree (Low-F) melt metasomatism. The interface between the growing oceanic lithosphere and the top of the seismic low velocity zone (LVZ) represents a natural peridotite solidus and is the ideal site for major low-F melt induced metasomatism. The ∼ 70 Myr history of oceanic lithosphere growth to its full thickness of ∼ 90 km records the history of mantle metasomatism, resulting in the deep portion of the oceanic lithosphere being an important enriched geochemical reservoir. We argue that ancient subducted metasomatized mantle lithosphere (SML) provides the major source component for OIB. The metasomatic agent is an H 2 O-CO 2 -rich silicate melt derived from within the LVZ. Upward migration and concentration of the melt at the lithosphere-LVZ interface (i.e., the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary or LAB) results in chemical stratification in the LVZ with the deeper portion being more depleted (i.e., DMM), providing the source for MORB. The widespread metasomatized peridotites, pyroxenites and hornblendites from xenolith suites exhumed from the deep lithosphere (both oceanic and continental) and in orogenic peridotite massifs confirm the role of a low-F silicate melt phase as the metasomatic agent. The SOC, if subducted into the lower mantle, will be too dense to return in bulk to the upper mantle source regions of oceanic basalts, and may have contributed to the two large low shear wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs) at the base of the mantle beneath the Pacific and Africa over Earth's history.

Plate Tectonics, the Wilson Cycle, and Mantle Plumes: Geodynamics from the Top

By 1968, J. Tuzo Wilson had identified three basic elements of geodynamics: plate tectonics, mantle plumes of deep origin, and the Wilson Cycle of ocean opening and closing, which provides evidence of plate tectonic behavior in times before quantifiable plate rotations. My pre-1968 experience disposed me to try to play a part in testing these ideas. Most recently, with colleagues, I have been able to show that deep-seated plumes of the past ∼5.5 × 108 years have risen only from narrow plume generation zones (PGZs) at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) mostly on the edges of two Large Low Shear wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) that have been stable, antipodal, and equatorial in their present positions for hundreds of millions of years and perhaps much longer. A need now is to develop an understanding of Earth that embodies plate tectonics, deeply subducted slabs, and stable LLSVPs with plumes that rise from PGZs on the CMB.

The North Atlantic Igneous Province reconstructed and its relation to the Plume Generation Zone: the Antrim Lava Group revisited

SUMMARY Large igneous provinces (LIPs) have recently been suggested to originate at the edges of low-velocity zones on the core mantle boundary (Plume Generation Zones). If true, LIPs can potentially be used to constrain paleolongitude in plate tectonic reconstructions. To validate the hypothesis, it is essential to study LIPs of which the paleolongitude can be constrained by other methods, such as hotspot reference frames. An ideal candidate to this end is the early Cenozoic North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). Despite being the largest volcanic unit of the British Tertiary Igneous Province (BTIP, part of the NAIP), the age and paleoposition of the Antrim Lava Group (ALG) in Northern Ireland, which is key to the NAIP as a whole, was hitherto poorly constrained. In this paper, we therefore present an integrated high-resolution paleomagnetic and geochronological study. The ALG is divided into three formations: the Lower Basalt Formation (LBF), Interbasaltic Formation (IBF) and the Upper Basalt Formation (UBF). The IBF is mostly lateritic and encloses the Tardree rhyolite. We offer new age constraints from all three formations using the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar method and propose that 62.6 ± 0.3, 61.3 ± 0.3 and 59.6 ± 0.3 Ma (1σ , internal uncertainties) are sound estimates of the age of emplacement of the LBF, Tardree rhyolite (IBF) and UBF, respectively. This constrains the nominal duration of emplacement of the ALG to 3 ± 0.6 Ma (1σ ). This reevaluation of the magnetic signature in the ALG revealed reverse polarity remanence in all three formations and an overall paleomagnetic north pole at latitude 78.9 ◦ N, longitude 167 ◦ E( A95= 6.3; age ∼61 Ma) in the European reference system. This appears consistent with paleomagnetic poles from the rest of the NAIP; both in Europe and Greenland, as well as predictions from modern apparent polar wander paths. The new radiometric ages span magnetochron C26r, C27n and C27r. The normal polarity chron C27n most probably occurred during the IBF hiatus, explaining why no normal polarity remanence was detected in the paleomagnetic investigation. Emplacement of the LBF falls in magnetochron C27r, making this one of the oldest lava sequence in the NAIP; older than the C27n lava pile in Western Greenland. The 60 Ma position of the NAIP in a paleomagnetic reference frame, puts it close to the northern edge of the African large low shear wave velocity anomaly at the core–mantle boundary and therefore in the line with the Plume Generation Zone hypothesis. However, the back-projected Icelandic hotspot, normally considered to have formed the NAIP, is located ∼1500 km north of the latitude at which the NAIP erupted. The northward motion of the north Atlantic lithosphere since the late Cretaceous challenging the existing correlation of the NAIP to the Icelandic hotspot, normally used to explain the observed pre- and syn-breakup North Atlantic magmatism (63–55 Ma), and either an additional plume located further south in the North Atlantic may be invoked to create the NAIP, or the Icelandic hotspot must have

Longitude: Linking Earth's ancient surface to its deep interior

Earth scientists have had no direct way of calculating longitudes for times before those of the oldest hotspot track eruption sites in the Cretaceous (~ 130 Myr ago). For earlier times palaeomagnetic data constrain only ancient latitudes and continental rotations. We have recently devised a hybrid plate motion reference frame that permits the calculation of longitude back to Pangean assembly at ~ 320 Ma. This reference frame, here corrected for True Polar Wander (TPW), places most reconstructed Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) of the past 300 Myr radially above the edges of the Large Low Shear wave Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) in Earth's lowermost mantle. This remarkable correlation between surface and deep mantle features, which is also discernible for all hotspots with a deep-plume origin, provides a new way of reconstructing the original positions of LIP sites, and therefore the position of continents whose longitudes have hitherto been unknown. We place the 258 Ma Emeishan LIP eruption of South China at 4°N and 140°E, in that way constraining the width and the geometry of the Palaeotethys Ocean during the Late Permian. If LLSVPs have remained stable for even longer and TPW has been small, we can, under these assumptions, also restore Siberia and Gondwana longitudinally for Late Devonian (~ 360 Ma) and Late Cambrian (~ 510 Ma) times.