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Upside-down differentiation and generation of a ‘primordial’ lower mantle

Author

Listed:
  • Cin-Ty A. Lee

    (MS-126, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA)

  • Peter Luffi

    (MS-126, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA)

  • Tobias Höink

    (MS-126, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA)

  • Jie Li

    (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1005, USA)

  • Rajdeep Dasgupta

    (MS-126, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA)

  • John Hernlund

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

Abstract

The 'primordial' lower mantle Cin-Ty Lee and colleagues put forward the hypothesis that a necessary by-product of whole-mantle convection during the Earth's first billion years was deep and hot melting, resulting in the generation of dense liquids that crystallized and sank into the lower mantle. As melt extraction concentrates incompatible elements, such as the heat-producing elements uranium, thorium and potassium, as well as the noble gases, into the melt, they propose that such sunken lithologies would have 'primordial' chemical signatures, despite having a non-primordial origin. This might explain the 'primordial' signature now observed in ocean island basalts.

Suggested Citation

  • Cin-Ty A. Lee & Peter Luffi & Tobias Höink & Jie Li & Rajdeep Dasgupta & John Hernlund, 2010. "Upside-down differentiation and generation of a ‘primordial’ lower mantle," Nature, Nature, vol. 463(7283), pages 930-933, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:463:y:2010:i:7283:d:10.1038_nature08824
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08824
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