Joint seismic, geodynamic and mineral physical constraints on three-dimensional mantle heterogeneity: Implications for the relative importance of thermal versus compositional heterogeneity

Geophysical Journal International

Volumn 177, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 1284-1304

  Simmons, Nathan A ^a   Forte, Alessandro M ^b   Grand, Stephen P ^c  

^a LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL   (Canada)

^c UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

Author keywords

Body waves; Composition of the mantle; Dynamics of lithosphere and mantle; Gravity anomalies and Earth structure; Mantle processes; Seismic tomography

Indexed keywords

BODY WAVE; CORE-MANTLE BOUNDARY; GEODYNAMICS; GRAVITY ANOMALY; GRAVITY FIELD; LITHOSPHERIC STRUCTURE; MANTLE PROCESS; MANTLE STRUCTURE; S-WAVE; SEISMIC ATTENUATION; SEISMIC VELOCITY; TECTONIC PLATE; TEMPERATURE EFFECT; TRAVEL TIME; UPPER MANTLE;

EID: 66549119885     PISSN: 0956540X     EISSN: 1365246X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04133.x     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. Artemieva, I.M. & Mooney, W.D., 2001. Thermal thickness and evolution of Precambrian lithoshere, J. geophys. Res., 106 (B8), 16387-16414.
2. Boyd, F.R., Gurney, J.J. & Richardson, S.H., 1985. Evidence for a 150-200 km thick Archean lithosphere from diamond inclusion thermobarometry, Nature, 315, 387-389.
3. Brodholt, J.P., Helffrich, G. & Trampert, J., 2007. Chemical versus thermal heterogeneity in the lower mantle: The most likely role of anelasticity, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 262, 429-437.
4. Bunge, H-P., 2005. Low plume excess temperature and high core heat flux inferred from non-adiabatic geotherms in internally heated mantle circulation models, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 153, 3-10.
5. Bunge, H-P., Ricard, Y. & Matas, J., 2001. Non-adiabaticity in mantle convection, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28 (5), 879-882.
6. Cammarano, F., Goes, S., Vacher, P. & Giardini, D., 2003. Inferring upper-mantle temperatures from seismic velocities, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 138 (3-4), 197-222.
7. Chopelas, A. & Boehler, R., 1992. Thermal expansivity in the lower mantle, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 1983-1986.
8. DeMets, C.R., Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F. & Stein, S., 1990. Current plate motions, Geophys. J. Int., 101 (2), 425-478.
9. Deschamps, F., Trampert, J. & Snieder, R., 2002. Anomalies of temperature and iron in the uppermost mantle inferred from gravity data and tomographic models, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 129, 245-264.
10. Deuss, A., Redfern, S.A.T., Chambers, K. & Woodhouse, J.H., 2006. The nature of the 660-kilometer discontinuity in Earth's mantle from global seismic observations of PP precursors, Science, 311 (5758), 198-201.
11. Dziewonski, A.M. & Anderson, D.L., 1981. Preliminary reference Earth model, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 25, 297-356.
12. Forte, A.M., 2000. Seismic-geodynamic constraints on mantle flow: implications for layered convection, mantle viscosity, and seismic anisotropy in the deep mantle, in Earth's Deep Interior: Mineral Physics and Tomography from the Atomic to the Global Scale, pp. 3-36, eds Karato, S.-I., Forte, A.M., Liebermann, R.C., Masters, G. & Stixrude, L., Geophysical Monograph 117, AGU, Washington DC.
13. Forte, A.M., 2007. Constraints on seismic models from other disciplines Implications for mantle dynamics and composition, in Treatise of Geophysics, Vol. 1, pp. 805-858, eds Romanowicz, B. & Dziewonski, A.M., Elsevier, Seismology and Structure of the Earth
14. Forte, A.M. & Mitrovica, J.X., 2001. Deep-mantle high-viscosity flow and thermochemical structure inferred from seismic and geodynamic data, Nature, 410 (6832), 1049-1056.
15. Forte, A.M. & Peltier, W.R., 1987. Plate tectonics and aspherical Earth structure; the importance of poloidal-toroidal coupling, J. geophys. Res., 92, 3645-3679.
16. Forte, A.M. & Peltier, W.R., 1994. The kinematics and dynamics of poloidal-toroidal coupling in mantle flow: The importance of surface plates and lateral viscosity variations, Adv. Geophys., 36, 1-119.
17. Forte, A.M. & Perry, H.K.C., 2000. Geodynamic evidence for a chemically depleted continental tectosphere, Science, 290, 1940-1944.
18. Forte, A.M. & Woodward, R.L., 1997. Seismic-geodynamic constraints on threedimensional structure, vertical flow, and heat transfer in the mantle, J. geophys. Res., 102, 17981-17994.
19. Forte, A.M., Peltier, W.R., Dziewonski, A.M. & Woodward, R.L., 1993. Dynamic surface topography: A new interpretation based upon mantle flow models derived from seismic tomography, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 225-228.
20. Forte, A.M., Woodward, R.L. & Dziewonski, A.M., 1994. Joint inversions of seismic and geodynamic data for models of three-dimensional mantle heterogeneity, J. geophys. Res., 99, 21857-21877.
21. Forte, A.M., Mitrovica, J.X., Moucha, R., Simmons, N.A. & Grand, S.P., 2007. Descent of the ancient Farallon slab drives localized mantle flow below the New Madrid seismic zone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, doi: 10.1029/2006GL027895
22. Forte, A.M., Quéré, S., Moucha, R., Simmons, N.A., Grand, S.P., Mitrovica, J.X. & Rowley, D.B., 2009. African mantle flow is driven by two superplumes: Imlications for asthenospheric flow and driving forces below the African plate, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., submitted.
23. Grand, S.P., 2002. Mantle shear wave tomography and the fate of subducted slabs, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 360 (1800), 2475-2491.
24. Grand, S.P. & Helmberger, D.V., 1984. Upper mantle shear structure of North America, Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc., 76, 399-438.
25. Grand, S.P., Van der Hilst, R.D. & Widiyantoro, S., 1997. Global seismic tomography: A snapshot of convection in the Earth, GSA Today, 7, 1-7.
26. Gu, Y.J., Dziewonski, A.M., Su, W. & Ekstrom, G., 2001. Models of the mantle shear velocity and discontinuities in the pattern of lateral heterogeneities, J. geophys. Res., 106, 11169-11199.
27. Gurnis, M., Mitrovica, J.X., Ritsema, J. & Van Heijst, H.J., 2000. Constraining mantle density structure using geological evidence of surface uplift rates: The case of the African superplume, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 1 (7), doi: 1999GC000035
28. Herring, T.A., Mathews, P.M. & Buffett, B.A., 2002. Modeling of nutation-precession; very long baseline interferometry results, J. geophys. Res., 107 (B4), doi: 10.1029/2001JB000165
29. Irvine, G.J., Pearson, D.G. & Carlson, R.W., 2001. Evolution of the Kaapvaal lithospheric mantle: A Re-Os isotope study of peridotite xenoliths from Lesotho kimberlites, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 2505-2508.
30. Ishii, M. & Tromp, J., 1999. Normal-mode and free-air gravity constraints on lateral variations in velocity and density of Earths mantle, Science, 285 (5431), 1231-1236.
31. Ishii, M. & Tromp, J., 2004. Constraining large-scale mantle heterogeneity using mantle and inner-core sensitive normal modes, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 146 (1-2), 113-124.
32. Ito, E. & Takahasi, E., 1989. Postspinel transformations in the system Mg2SiO4-Fe2SiO4 and some geophysical implications, J. geophys. Res., 94, 10637-10646.
33. James, D.E., Boyd, F.R., Schutt, D., Bell, D.R. & Carlson, R.W., 2004. Xenolith constraints on seismic velocities in the upper mantle beneath southern Africa, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 5, doi: 10.1029/ 2003GC000551
34. Jordan, T.H., 1978. Composition and development of the continental tectosphere, Nature, 274, 544-548.
35. Jordan, T.H., 1981. Continents as a chemical boundary layer, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 301 (1461), 359-373.
36. Kaban, M.K., Schwintzer, P., Artemieva, I.M. & Mooney, W.D., 2003. Density of the continental roots: Compositional and thermal contributions, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 209, 53-69.
37. Kárason, H. & van der Hilst, R.D., 2000. Constraints on mantle convection from seismic tomography, in The History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motion, pp. 277-288, eds Richards, M.R., Gordon, M.R. & van der Hilst, R.D., AGU, Washington DC.
38. Karato, S.I., 1993. Importance of anelasticity in the interpretation of seismic tomography, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 1623-1626.
39. Karato, S.I. & Karki, B.B., 2001. Origin of lateral variation of seismic wave velocities and density in the deep mantle, J. geophys. Res., 106 (B10), 21771-21783.
40. Lemoine, F., Pavlis, N., Kenyon, S., Rapp, R., Pavlis, E. & Chao, B., 1998. New high-resolution model developed for earth's gravitational field, EOS, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 79 (9), 113.
41. Le Stunff, Y. & Ricard, Y., 1995. Topography and geoid due to lithospheric mass anomalies, Geophys. J. Int., 122, 982-990.
42. Le Stunff, Y. & Ricard, Y., 1997. Partial advection of equidensity surfaces: A solution for the dynamic topography problem?, J. geophys. Res., 102 (11), 24655-24667.
43. Li, B. & Liebermann, R.C., 2007. Indoor seismology by probing the Earth's interior by using sound velocity measurements at high pressures and temperatures, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 104, 9145-9150, doi 10.1073/pnas.0608609104.
44. Masters, G., Laske, G., Bolton, H. & Dziewonski, A.M., 2000. The relative behavior of shear velocity, bulk sound speed, and compressional velocity in the mantle: Implications for chemical and thermal structure, in Earth's Deep Interior: Mineral Physics and Tomography from the Atomic to the Global Scale, pp. 63-87, eds Karato, S.-I., Forte, A.M., Liebermann, R.C., Masters, G. & Stixrude, L., Geophysical Monograph 117, AGU, Washington DC.
45. Matas, J. & Bukowinski, M., 2007. On the anelastic contribution to the temperature dependence of lower mantle seismic velocities, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 259, 51-65.
46. Mathews, P.M., Herring, T.A. & Buffett, B.A., 2002. Modeling of nutation and precession: New nutation series for nonrigid Earth and insights into the Earth's interior, J. geophys. Res., 107 (B4), doi: 10.1029/2001JB000390
47. Megnin, C. & Romanowicz, B., 2000. The three-dimensional shear velocity structure of the mantle from the inversion of body, surface and higher-mode waveforms, Geophys. J. Int., 143, 709-728.
48. Mitrovica, J.X. & Forte, A.M., 2004. A new inference of mantle viscosity based upon joint inversion of convection and glacial isostatic adjustment data, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 225 (1-2), 177-189.
49. Mooney, W.D., Laske, G. & Masters, G., 1998. CRUST 5.1: A global crustal model at 5 × 5 degrees, J. geophys. Res., 103 (B1), 727-747.
50. Moucha, R., Forte, A.M., Mitrovica, J.X. & Daradich, A., 2007. Lateral variations in mantle rheology: Implications for convection related surface observables and inferred viscosity models, Geophys. J. Int., 169, 113-135.
51. Ni, S.D. & Helmberger, D.V., 2003a. Ridge-like lower mantle structure beneath South Africa, J. geophys. Res., 108 (B2), doi: 10.1029/2001JB001545
52. Ni, S.D. & Helmberger, D.V., 2003b. Seismological constraints on the South African superplume; could be the oldest distinct structure on Earth, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 206 (1-2), 119-131.
53. Ni, S.D., Helmberger, D.V. & Tromp, J., 2005. Three-dimensional structure of the African superplume from waveform modeling, Geophys. J. Int., 161, 283-294.
54. Ni, S.D., Tan, E., Gurnis, M. & Helmberger, D.V., 2002. Sharp sides to the African superplume, Science, 296 (5574), 1850-1852.
55. O'Reilly, S.Y., Griffin, W.L., Proudjom, Y.H. & Morgan, P., 2001. Are lithospheres forever?Tracking changes in subcontinental lithospheric mantle through time, GSA Today, 11, 4-10.
56. Paige, C.C. & Saunders, M.A., 1982. LSQR: An algorithm for sparse linear equations and sparse least squares, ACM Trans. Math. Software, 8, 43-71.
57. Pearson, D.G., 1999. The age of continental roots, Lithos, 48, 171-194.
58. Perry, H.K.C., Forte, A.M. & Eaton, D.W.S., 2003. Upper-mantle thermochemical structure below North America from seismic-geodynamic flow models, Geophys. J. Int., 154, 279-299.
59. Quéré, S. & Forte, A.M., 2006. Influence of past and present-day plate motions on spherical models of mantle convection: Implications for mantle plumes and hotspots. Geophys. J. Int., 165, 1041-1057.
60. Ricard, Y., Fleitout, L. & Froidevaux, C., 1984. Geoid heights and lithospheric stresses for a dynamic Earth, Ann. Geophys., 2, 267-286.
61. Richards, M.A. & Hager, B.H., 1984. Geoid anomalies in a dynamic earth, J. geophys. Res., 89 (B7), 5987-6002.
62. Ritsema, J., Ni, S., Helmberger, D.V. & Crotwell, H.P., 1998. Evidence for strong shear velocity reductions and velocity gradient in the lower mantle beneath Africa, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25 (23), 4245-4248.
63. Ritsema, J., Van Heijst, H.J. & Woodhouse, J.H., 1999. Complex shear wave velocity structure imaged beneath Africa and Iceland, Science, 286 (5446), 1925-1928.
64. Robertson, G.S. & Woodhouse, J.H., 1996. Ratio of relative S to P velocity heterogeneity in the lower mantle, J. geophys. Res., 101, 20041-20052.
65. Romanowicz, B. & Durek, J., 2000. Seismological constraints on attenuation in the earth: A review, in Earth(tm)s Deep Interior: Mineral Physics and Tomography from the Atomic to the Global Scale, pp. 61-80, eds Karato, S.-I., Forte, A.M., Liebermann, R.C., Masters, G. & Stixrude, L., Geophysical Monograph 117, AGU, Washington, DC.
66. Saltzer, R.L., van der Hilst, R.D. & Kárason, H., 2001. Comparing P and S wave heterogeneity in the mantle, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28 (7), 1335-1338.
67. Shapiro, S.S., Hager, B.H. & Jordan, T.H., 1999. Stability and dynamics of the continental tectosphere, Lithos, 48, 115-133.
68. Simmons, N.A. & Gurrola, H., 2000. Multiple seismic discontinuities near the base of the transition zone in Earth's mantle, Nature, 405, 559-562.
69. Simmons, N.A., Forte, A.M. & Grand, S.P., 2006. Constraining mantle flow with seismic and geodynamic data: A joint approach, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 246 (1-2), 109-124.
70. Simmons, N.A., Forte, A.M. & Grand, S.P., 2007. Thermochemical structure and dynamics of the African superplume, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34 (2), L02301, doi: 10.1029/2006GL028009
71. Spetsius, Z.V., Belousova, E.A., Griffin, W.L., O'Reilly, S.Y. & Pearson, N.J., 2002. Archean sulfide inclusions in Paleozoic zircon megacrysts from the Mir kimberlite, Yakutia: Implications for the dating of diamonds, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 199, 111-126.
72. Steinberger, B. & Calderwood, A.R., 2006. Models of large-scale viscous flow in the Earth's mantle with constraints from mineral physics and surface observations, Geophys. J. Int., 167, 1461-1481.
73. Steinberger, B. & Holme, R., 2008. Mantle flow models with core-mantle boundary constraints and chemical heterogeneities in the lowermost mantle, J. geophys. Res., 113, B05403, doi: 10.1029/ 2007JB005080
74. Su, W. & Dziewonski, A.M., 1997. Simultaneous inversion for 3-D variations in shear and bulk velocity in the mantle, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 100 (1-4), 135-156.
75. Thoraval, C., Machetel, P. & Cazenave, A., 1995. Locally layered convection inferred from dynamic models of the Earth's mantle, Nature, 375, 777-780.
76. Trampert, J., Deschamps, F., Resovsky, J. & Yuen, D., 2004. Probabilistic tomography maps chemical heterogeneities throughout the lower mantle, Science, 306 (5697), 853-856.
77. Vacher, P., Mocquet, A. & Sotin, C., 1998. Computation of seismic profiles from mineral physics: The importance of the non-olivine components for explaining the 660 km depth discontinuity, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 106, 275-298.
78. van der Hilst, R.D. & Kárason, H., 1999. Compositional heterogeneity in the bottom 1000 kilometers of the Earth(tm)s mantle: Toward a hybrid convection model, Science, 283, 1885-1888.
79. van der Hilst, R.D., Widiyantoro, S. & Engdahl, E.R., 1997. Evidence for deep mantle circulation from global tomography, Nature, 386, 578-584.
80. Wen, L.X., 2001. Seismic evidence for a rapidly varying compositional anomaly at the base of the Earth's mantle beneath the Indian Ocean, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 194 (1-2), 83-95.
81. Wen, L.X. & Anderson, D.L., 1997. Layered mantle convection: A model for geoid and topography, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 146, 367-377.
82. Zhao, D., 2001. Seismic structure and origin of hotspots and mantle plumes, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 192, 251-265.