Multidisciplinary constraints on the thermal-chemical boundary between Earth's core and mantle
Heat flux from the core to the mantle provides driving energy for mantle convection thus powering plate tectonics, and contributes a significant fraction of the geothermal heat budget. Indirect estimates of core-mantle boundary heat flow are typically based on petrological evidence of mantle temperature, interpretations of temperatures indicated by seismic travel times, experimental measurements of mineral melting points, physical mantle convection models, or physical core convection models. However, previous estimates have not consistently integrated these lines of evidence. In this work, an interdisciplinary analysis is applied to co-constrain core-mantle boundary heat flow and test the thermal boundary layer (TBL) theory. The concurrence of TBL models, energy balance to support geomagnetism, seismology, and review of petrologic evidence for historic mantle temperatures supports QCMB ∼15 TW, with all except geomagnetism supporting as high as ∼20 TW. These values provide a tighter constraint on core heat flux relative to previous work. Our work describes the seismic properties consistent with a TBL, and supports a long-lived basal mantle molten layer through much of Earth's history.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2022 |
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Title | Multidisciplinary constraints on the thermal-chemical boundary between Earth's core and mantle |
DOI | 10.1029/2021GC009764 |
Authors | Daniel A. Frost, Margaret Susan Avery, Bruce Buffett, Bethany A. Chidester, Jie Deng, Susannah M. Dorfman, Zhi Li, Lijun Liu, Mingda Lv, Joshua F. Martin |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
Index ID | 70248970 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center |