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Small-scale layered structures at the inner core boundary

Author

Listed:
  • Baolong Zhang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science)

  • Sidao Ni

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Wenbo Wu

    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  • Zhichao Shen

    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  • Wenzhong Wang

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Daoyuan Sun

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Zhongqing Wu

    (University of Science and Technology of China)

Abstract

The fine-scale seismic features near the inner core boundary (ICB) provide critical insights into the thermal, chemical, and geodynamical interactions between liquid and solid cores, and may shed light on the evolution mechanism of the Earth’s core. Here, we utilize a dataset of pre-critical PKiKP waveforms to constrain the fine structure at the ICB, considering the influence of various factors such as source complexity, structural anomalies in the mantle, and properties at the ICB. Our modeling suggests a sharp ICB beneath Mongolia and most of Northeast Asia, but a locally laminated ICB structure beneath Central Asia, Siberia, and part of Northeast Asia. The complex ICB structure might be explained by either the existence of a kilometer-scale thickness of mushy zone, or the localized coexistence of bcc and hcp iron phase at the ICB. We infer that there may be considerable lateral variations in the dendrites growing process at ICB, probably due to the complicated thermochemical and geodynamical interaction between the outer and inner core.

Suggested Citation

  • Baolong Zhang & Sidao Ni & Wenbo Wu & Zhichao Shen & Wenzhong Wang & Daoyuan Sun & Zhongqing Wu, 2023. "Small-scale layered structures at the inner core boundary," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-42177-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42177-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dongdong Tian & Lianxing Wen, 2017. "Seismological evidence for a localized mushy zone at the Earth’s inner core boundary," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-6, December.
    2. Fenglin Niu & Lianxing Wen, 2001. "Hemispherical variations in seismic velocity at the top of the Earth's inner core," Nature, Nature, vol. 410(6832), pages 1081-1084, April.
    3. Dmitry N. Krasnoshchekov & Peter B. Kaazik & Vladimir M. Ovtchinnikov, 2005. "Seismological evidence for mosaic structure of the surface of the Earth's inner core," Nature, Nature, vol. 435(7041), pages 483-487, May.
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