Seismic anisotropy reveals crustal flow driven by mantle vertical loading in the Pacific NW

Buoyancy anomalies within Earth's mantle create large convective currents that are thought to control the evolution of the lithosphere. While tectonic plate motions provide evidence for this relation, the mechanism by which mantle processes influence near-surface tectonics remains elusive. Here, we present an azimuthal anisotropy model for the Pacific Northwest crust that strongly correlates with high-velocity structures in the underlying mantle but shows no association with the regional mantle flow field. We suggest that the crustal anisotropy is decoupled from horizontal basal tractions and, instead, created by upper mantle vertical loading, which generates pressure gradients that drive channelized flow in the mid-lower crust. We then demonstrate the interplay between mantle heterogeneities and lithosphere dynamics by predicting the viscous crustal flow that is driven by local buoyancy sources within the upper mantle. Our findings reveal how mantle vertical load distribution can actively control crustal deformation on a scale of several hundred kilometers.

Data for "joint modeling of lithosphere and mantle dynamics: Sensitivity to viscosities within the lithosphere, asthenosphere, transition zone, and D" layers"

The article presents the data calculated from four different viscosity structures V1, V2 [1], SH08 [2], and GHW13 [3], as well as two tomography models S40RTS [4] and SAW642AN [5], using the joint modeling of lithosphere and mantle dynamics technique [3, 6-9]. Besides, the data contain the information on the viscosity variations of the lithosphere, asthenosphere, transition zone, and D″ layer based on the viscosity structure SH08.

Deep mantle structure as a reference frame for movements in and on the Earth

Earth's residual geoid is dominated by a degree-2 mode, with elevated regions above large low shear-wave velocity provinces on the core-mantle boundary beneath Africa and the Pacific. The edges of these deep mantle bodies, when projected radially to the Earth's surface, correlate with the reconstructed positions of large igneous provinces and kimberlites since Pangea formed about 320 million years ago. Using this surface-to-core-mantle boundary correlation to locate continents in longitude and a novel iterative approach for defining a paleomagnetic reference frame corrected for true polar wander, we have developed a model for absolute plate motion back to earliest Paleozoic time (540 Ma). For the Paleozoic, we have identified six phases of slow, oscillatory true polar wander during which the Earth's axis of minimum moment of inertia was similar to that of Mesozoic times. The rates of Paleozoic true polar wander (<1°/My) are compatible with those in the Mesozoic, but absolute plate velocities are, on average, twice as high. Our reconstructions generate geologically plausible scenarios, with large igneous provinces and kimberlites sourced from the margins of the large low shear-wave velocity provinces, as in Mesozoic and Cenozoic times. This absolute kinematic model suggests that a degree-2 convection mode within the Earth's mantle may have operated throughout the entire Phanerozoic.

Melting of iron at Earth's inner core boundary based on fast X-ray diffraction

Earth's core is structured in a solid inner core, mainly composed of iron, and a liquid outer core. The temperature at the inner core boundary is expected to be close to the melting point of iron at 330 gigapascal (GPa). Despite intensive experimental and theoretical efforts, there is little consensus on the melting behavior of iron at these extreme pressures and temperatures. We present static laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments up to 200 GPa using synchrotron-based fast x-ray diffraction as a primary melting diagnostic. When extrapolating to higher pressures, we conclude that the melting temperature of iron at the inner core boundary is 6230 ± 500 kelvin. This estimation favors a high heat flux at the core-mantle boundary with a possible partial melting of the mantle.