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Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones

Ultralow velocity zones (ULVZs) are the most anomalous structures within the Earth’s interior; however, given the wide range of associated characteristics (thickness and composition) reported by previous studies, the origins of ULVZs have been debated for decades. Using a recently developed seismic...

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Autores principales: Hansen, Samantha E., Garnero, Edward J., Li, Mingming, Shim, Sang-Heon, Rost, Sebastian
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10075969/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37018398
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add4838
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author Hansen, Samantha E.
Garnero, Edward J.
Li, Mingming
Shim, Sang-Heon
Rost, Sebastian
author_facet Hansen, Samantha E.
Garnero, Edward J.
Li, Mingming
Shim, Sang-Heon
Rost, Sebastian
author_sort Hansen, Samantha E.
collection PubMed
description Ultralow velocity zones (ULVZs) are the most anomalous structures within the Earth’s interior; however, given the wide range of associated characteristics (thickness and composition) reported by previous studies, the origins of ULVZs have been debated for decades. Using a recently developed seismic analysis approach, we find widespread, variable ULVZs along the core-mantle boundary (CMB) beneath a largely unsampled portion of the Southern Hemisphere. Our study region is not beneath current or recent subduction zones, but our mantle convection simulations demonstrate how heterogeneous accumulations of previously subducted materials could form on the CMB and explain our seismic observations. We further show that subducted materials can be globally distributed throughout the lowermost mantle with variable concentrations. These subducted materials, advected along the CMB, can provide an explanation for the distribution and range of reported ULVZ properties.
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spelling pubmed-100759692023-04-06 Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones Hansen, Samantha E. Garnero, Edward J. Li, Mingming Shim, Sang-Heon Rost, Sebastian Sci Adv Earth, Environmental, Ecological, and Space Sciences Ultralow velocity zones (ULVZs) are the most anomalous structures within the Earth’s interior; however, given the wide range of associated characteristics (thickness and composition) reported by previous studies, the origins of ULVZs have been debated for decades. Using a recently developed seismic analysis approach, we find widespread, variable ULVZs along the core-mantle boundary (CMB) beneath a largely unsampled portion of the Southern Hemisphere. Our study region is not beneath current or recent subduction zones, but our mantle convection simulations demonstrate how heterogeneous accumulations of previously subducted materials could form on the CMB and explain our seismic observations. We further show that subducted materials can be globally distributed throughout the lowermost mantle with variable concentrations. These subducted materials, advected along the CMB, can provide an explanation for the distribution and range of reported ULVZ properties. American Association for the Advancement of Science 2023-04-05 /pmc/articles/PMC10075969/ /pubmed/37018398 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add4838 Text en Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) , which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Earth, Environmental, Ecological, and Space Sciences
Hansen, Samantha E.
Garnero, Edward J.
Li, Mingming
Shim, Sang-Heon
Rost, Sebastian
Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title_full Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title_fullStr Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title_full_unstemmed Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title_short Globally distributed subducted materials along the Earth’s core-mantle boundary: Implications for ultralow velocity zones
title_sort globally distributed subducted materials along the earth’s core-mantle boundary: implications for ultralow velocity zones
topic Earth, Environmental, Ecological, and Space Sciences
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10075969/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37018398
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add4838
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