Geochemical constraints on the structure of the Earth's deep mantle and the origin of the LLSVPs

Gleeson, Matthew, Soderman, Caroline, Matthews, Simon, Cottaar, Sanne and Gibson, Sally 2021. Geochemical constraints on the structure of the Earth's deep mantle and the origin of the LLSVPs. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 22 (9) , e2021GC009932. 10.1029/2021GC009932

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Abstract

Geophysical analysis of the Earth’s lower mantle has revealed the presence of two superstructures characterized by low shear wave velocities on the core-mantle boundary. These Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) play a crucial role in the dynamics of the lower mantle and act as the source region for deep-seated mantle plumes. However, their origin, and the characteristics of the surrounding deep mantle, remain enigmatic. Mantle plumes located above the margins of the LLSVPs display evidence for the presence of this deep-seated, thermally and/or chemically heterogeneous mantle material ascending into the melting region. As a result, analysis of the spatial geochemical heterogeneity in OIBs provides constraints on the structure of the Earth’s lower mantle and the origin of the LLSVPs. In this study, we focus on the Galápagos Archipelago in the eastern Pacific, where bilateral asymmetry in the radiogenic isotopic composition of erupted basalts has been linked to the presence of LLSVP material in the underlying plume. We show, using spatial variations in the major element contents of high-MgO basalts, that the isotopically enriched south-western region of the Galápagos mantle – assigned to melting of LLSVP material – displays no evidence for lithological heterogeneity in the mantle source. As such, it is unlikely that the Pacific LLSVP represents a pile of subducted oceanic crust. Clear evidence for a lithologically heterogeneous mantle source is, however, found in the north-central Galápagos, indicating that a recycled crustal component is present near the eastern margin of the Pacific LLSVP, consistent with seismic observations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher:	American Geophysical Union
ISSN:	1525-2027
Funders:	Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, NERC RTSG NE/L002507/1
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 September 2021
Date of Acceptance:	31 August 2021
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2024 01:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/143948

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