Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors最新文献

{"title":"Constraining seismic anisotropy on the mantle transition zone boundaries beneath the subducting Nazca slab","authors":"Zhu Zhang ,&nbsp;Wen-Che Yu ,&nbsp;Hsin-Hua Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Some seismic evidence suggests that the mantle transition zone (MTZ) may become highly hydrous and anisotropic, particularly in the vicinity of subduction zones. The two-dimensional path-integrated anisotropy from the upper mantle to the MTZ has been well established beneath the northwestern region of South America. However, explicit details of azimuthal anisotropy on the MTZ boundaries remains ambiguous. Therefore, we attempted to constrain the azimuthal anisotropy on the MTZ boundaries by implementing the P-to-S anisotropic receiver function analysis. We detected significant seismic evidence of azimuthal anisotropy on the 410-km discontinuity, but weak anisotropy on the 660-km discontinuity. The synthetic waveform modeling indicated the fast symmetry axis of anisotropy trends 50° from the north and plunges 40° downwards from horizontal with an anisotropy strength of 4.0% near 410 km depth. The direction of anisotropy suggests the mantle material moves downwards and towards the subducting Nazca slab near the depth of 410 km. The increased anisotropy strength around the 410 km suggests the hydrous wadsleyite may attribute to anisotropy in the upper MTZ. The lack of detectable seismic anisotropy near the depth of 660 km could be caused by the insufficient amount of aligned anisotropic minerals, even though the mantle material continues moving downwards.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 107179"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140277834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adjoint inversion of antipodal PKPab waveforms for P wave velocity anomaly at the base of the lower mantle","authors":"Seiji Tsuboi ,&nbsp;Rhett Butler","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107181","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107181","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We perform an adjoint inversion by using antipodal <em>PKPab</em> phases to estimate the heterogeneous <em>Vp</em> structure at the base of the lowermost mantle. We have carefully examined antipodal stations with high S/N ratios during the past 30 years and selected 20 source-receiver pairs with the epicentral distances &gt;179.0 degree and the Mw &lt;7.0. We have used the spectral-element method on the Earth Simulator of JAMSTEC to calculate the synthetic seismograms for a heterogeneous mantle <em>Vp</em> model with the accuracy of period about 8 s (110 km wavelength at the CMB). We have set up the time window to retrieve the <em>PKPab</em> phase from the vertical component of both observed and computed seismograms to calculate the adjoint source to obtain the sensitivity kernels of <em>Vp</em> in the mantle. The computed <em>Vp</em> sensitivity kernel for each event shows the characteristic annulus pattern in the lowermost mantle, which covers a large area of the CMB. The twenty <em>PKPab</em> earthquake-station pairs in this antipodal study contribute the equivalent of about 3140 measurements at the CMB—compared with 1871 previously studied—and provide new data. Therefore, although the number of individual source-receiver pairs is not large, the summed sensitivity kernels of the <em>PKPab</em> phase for <em>Vp</em> structure at the base of the mantle may be sufficient to model heterogeneity of the <em>Vp</em> structure at the CMB. We summed each event kernel to set up a sensitivity kernel of <em>Vp</em> in the lowermost mantle and iterated the inversion to estimate a heterogeneous structure in D″. Although we have iterations that dominantly affect both South America and the South Pacific, the summary final model shows features within South of Africa, South Pacific, SE Australia, and Central &amp; South America. Keeping the Vs model fixed, we map the CMB <em>Vp</em> heterogeneity measured by the parameter <em>R</em>_<em>s,p</em> = <em>dlnVs/dlnV</em>p and find qualitative, proximal correspondence with the degree-2 pattern of Large Low Velocity Shear Provinces observed in shear tomographic models: in the Pacific and Africa <em>R</em>_<em>s,p</em> &gt; 2.0, whereas the surrounding edges of the edges of the Pacific show <em>R</em>_<em>s,p</em> &lt; 2.0.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 107181"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031920124000396/pdfft?md5=6364b7763d0a4d7b6f2c96d7852286ff&pid=1-s2.0-S0031920124000396-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140182069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Data-driven identification of earthquake clusters: Clusters before the 2010 El mayor-Cucapah earthquake MW 7.1, Baja California, Mexico","authors":"F. Alejandro Nava ,&nbsp;Lenin Ávila-Barrientos","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107182","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107182","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Seismic clusters in background seismicity have been associated with high stress levels and can be an important precursor to large earthquakes, but there is not a unanimous concept of cluster and most cluster identification methods are cumbersome and involve a priori assumptions. We propose a simple definition of seismic cluster and a straightforward method of identification involving a minimum of parameters that can be objectively determined in a data-driven way according to a principle of low random occurrence. As an illustration, definition and method were applied to the identification of cluster activity from October 1979 to March 2010 in northern Baja California, Mexico, between 118°W to 113°W and 30°N to 33°N, a tectonically complex seismic region with several fault systems. Twenty-one clusters were identified, of which 17 located around the places at the northeastern corner of the study area that would be ruptured on April 4, 2010 by the El Mayor-Cucapah <em>M</em>_<em>w</em> 7.1 earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in Baja California, Mexico, and the four others occurred within 9 km from its epicenter. Clustering also became slightly more frequent as the time of the earthquake approached, so that if the clustering survey had been carried out before the whole northern Baja California area, the clustering might have identified the future epicentral region as a region of interest to be closely monitored (this earthquake featured foreshock activity starting some 15 days before the main event). Although the reliability of clusters as precursors to large earthquakes is still to be studied, it is certainly useful to have a reliable and simple method to identify and characterize them.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 107182"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140182033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-collisional lithospheric delamination in eastern Iran, revealed by non-linear teleseismic tomography and residual topography","authors":"Meysam Mahmoodabadi ,&nbsp;Farzam Yamini-Fard ,&nbsp;Mohammad Tatar ,&nbsp;Ahmad Rashidi","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107180","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107180","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Eastern Iranian Mountain Ranges (EIR) emerged as a consequence of the Late Cretaceous collision between the Afghan and Lut blocks. However, the response of the uppermost mantle to this collision remains enigmatic. Additionally, although petrological evidence suggests that post-collisional delamination is possible, it has not been conclusively identified in prior regional seismic imagery. This observation leads us to further explore this possibility using a dense seismic network. To gain insight into the geodynamic implications for eastern Iran and address knowledge gaps, we extensively investigated the seismic structure of the uppermost mantle beneath the EIR using a dense seismic network of 34 temporary stations, complemented by data from nine additional local permanent stations. By meticulously analyzing 6589 relative arrival time residuals from teleseismic records with favorable signal-to-noise ratios, we applied a non-linear tomography method to map <em>P</em>-wave velocity perturbations in a relative sense. Our tomographic images unveiled distinct instances of rapid high-velocity anomalies beneath low-velocity regions in the shallow mantle, suggesting the potential occurrence of lithospheric dripping, followed by subsequent asthenospheric upwelling. This observation offers a plausible explanation for the observed post-collisional magmatism over the Lut Block. Furthermore, to maintain the approximately 1.5-km positive residual topography across the EIR, beyond the influence of crustal properties, additional support from the hot and buoyant asthenosphere becomes crucial, particularly in the absence of a substantial lithospheric mantle.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 107180"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140181982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deciphering the crustal anisotropy and mantle flow beneath the indo-Burma ranges from the harmonic decomposition of the receiver functions","authors":"Hitank Kasaundhan,&nbsp;Dhiraj Kumar Singh,&nbsp;Mohit Agrawal","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The hyper-oblique indentation of the Indian plate beneath the Burmese sliver gives rise to the Indo-Burma Ranges (IBR) in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. This geological formation encompasses one of the enigmatic hotspots and includes the densely populated regions of India and Myanmar. Harmonic Decomposition (HD) of the receiver functions, derived from the Multi-Taper Correlation (MTC) technique, is used to model seismic anisotropy and morphological crustal deformation caused by subduction underneath IBR. We used teleseismic earthquake data from eleven broadband seismic stations installed within the IBR and its foredeep region. The findings indicate that the attitude of the fast symmetry axis or dipping direction of the interface is influenced by the trend of regional geological features and absolute plate motion, with the IBR exhibiting NN<em>E</em>-SSW and N-S directions and the Himalayan region showing NE-SW and E-W directions. Our results reveal that the coupling of the Indian plate with the Burmese and Eurasian plates induces lithospheric fabrics that align perpendicular to the coupling direction, resulting in anisotropy in the brittle upper crust. Directional analysis of the HD model for the interfaces at the middle or lower crust reveals the strike of the fast symmetry axis in the NNE-SSW direction, which suggests the alignment of minerals and partial melt in the direction of the major shear stress. The interface across the Moho reflects four-lobed periodicity, that is, 90^o ambiguity in the strike direction of the fast symmetry axis, varying from the <em>E</em>-W to the N-S directions. The ambiguity indicates the possibility of the 2D-induced entrained mantle flow along the subducting Indian plate and the 3D toroidal flow parallel to the trend of the IBR.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 107183"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140182147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lateral and radial viscosity structure beneath Fennoscandia inferred from seismic and magnetotelluric observations","authors":"Florence D.C. Ramirez ,&nbsp;Kate Selway ,&nbsp;Clinton P. Conrad ,&nbsp;Valerie Maupin ,&nbsp;Maxim Smirnov","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107178","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107178","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fennoscandia is continuously uplifting in response to past deglaciation, termed glacial isostatic adjustment or GIA, and its mantle viscosity is well constrained from ice sheet and sea level data. Here, we compare those GIA-constrained viscosities for the Fennoscandian upper mantle with geophysically-constrained viscosities. We construct the upper mantle viscosity structure of Fennoscandia by inferring temperature and water content from seismic and magnetotelluric (MT) data. Using a 1-D MT model for Fennoscandian cratons together with a global seismic model, we infer an upper mantle viscosity (below 250 km) of ∼10^21±2 Pa·s, which encompasses the GIA-constrained viscosities of 10²⁰ − 10²¹ Pa·s. The GIA viscosities are better matched if the Fennoscandian upper mantle is a wet harzburgite or a dry pyrolite, where pyrolite is ∼10 times more viscous than harzburgite. Using the average temperatures and water contents for harzburgitic upper mantle, the GIA viscosities require 1–4 mm grain sizes indicating a diffusion creep regime. In northwestern Fennoscandia, where a high-resolution 2-D resistivity model is available, greater inferred mantle water content implies viscosities that are 10–100 times lower than those for the Fennoscandian Craton. Our work suggests that the combination of seismic and MT observations can improve upper mantle viscosity estimates, especially for regions with laterally-varying viscosity structures or where GIA constraints are not available. Although our method represents an important step forward, viscosity uncertainty can be further reduced by incorporating additional constraints on rock composition, grain size and mantle stress, as well as more accurate geophysical data, into the viscosity calculation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 107178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031920124000360/pdfft?md5=409afc5998d5f5cfe7b9883a6bc4c5e7&pid=1-s2.0-S0031920124000360-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140181980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Fe-Ca-Mg substitutions on the equation-of-state of pyrope-rich garnet from ab initio modeling and experiments: Insights and implications for the upper mantle","authors":"Maribel Núñez-Valdez ,&nbsp;Niccolò Satta ,&nbsp;Sergio Speziale","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107171","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107171","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We report systematic first-principles results of structural properties and compression behavior based on density functional theory (DFT) and an exchange-correlation functional for solids, of Al-bearing garnets of general compositions in the pyrope-almandine-grossular solid solution system. The combination of DFT and a simple solid solution model is able to produce a compositional dependence of the compression curve consistent with trends observed in experimental studies. Using end-member properties extrapolated from our computations and perturbing an extant thermodynamic model we observe only marginal effects on the bulk sound velocity of pyrolite and MORB along relevant geothermal paths. However, this could hide important effects on the elemental partitioning between garnet and other major phases which should be further investigated both experimentally and computationally. We also present simulations of the effect of combined Fe and Ca substitutions for Mg on the elastic tensor of Al-bearing garnets, our simplified modeling shows only partial agreement with the trends observed in experiments. Therefore, further computational investigations, especially of the effect of Fe-Mg substitution on the tensor, are needed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 107171"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140181981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tectonic development in Singhbhum Craton, NE India decrypted from dyke swarms: A window to understand magma dynamics in Archean-Proterozoic supercontinents","authors":"Arun K. Ojha ,&nbsp;D.P. Monika Saini ,&nbsp;Amar Agarwal ,&nbsp;Ambrish K. Pandey","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107169","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Singhbhum Craton (SC) hosted eight different dyke swarm events, which are collectively known as the Newer Dolerite Dykes. These have been correlated with different cratons and supercontinents based on age, geochemistry, and paleomagnetic data. However, our understanding of stress conditions during and after the dyke intrusions and the magma chamber dynamics is limited due to lack of information. In this study, we have investigated magma dynamics and crustal extension for different dyke swarm events in the SC to explore the magma chamber dynamics during the supercontinent breakup and at other cratons around the globe. Further, we have also quantified post-intrusion response to the far-field stress in different dyke swarms of the SC. For a comprehensive understanding of the magma dynamics and deformation history of the dyke swarms, we investigated dykes associated structures and estimated the magma pressure relative to the principal stresses. We used dyke wall attitude data to explore the paleostress conditions during the dyke intrusion, fault-slip data for post-emplacement deformation, and field structures with dyke thickness data to understand magma dynamics and crustal extension.</p><p>Paleostress analysis in four dyke swarms indicates relatively higher magma pressure in the Pipilia dyke swarm compared to Ghatgaon, Keonjhar, and Kaptipada dyke swarms. This is further supported by the fact that Pipilia dykes are thicker than the other three dyke swarms. Post-emplacement deformation is evident from the fault-slip observations, tectonic fractures, and veins cross-cutting dykes and host rock. Fault-slip observations suggest an extensional tectonic event followed by a compressive one. The extensional stress regime, active during the intrusion of Pipilia dyke swarm, overprints the Ghatgaon dyke swarm, while the far-field stress from the Singhbhum Shear Zone affects all the analyzed dykes and the host rock. These observations are in agreement with the thinned lithosphere of SC. We estimate that the Ghatgaon swarm caused the maximum average crustal extension/dilation of 9.65%, while the Keonjhar swarm led to the least average extension of 1.58%. We suggest that the Pipila dyke swarm event may have dilated a part of the Columbia supercontinent by ∼8.5% as the dilations for other regions in the supercontinents are not known.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"350 ","pages":"Article 107169"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140137843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detailed seismic structure beneath the earthquake zone of Yogyakarta 2006 (Mw ∼6.4), Indonesia, from local earthquake tomography","authors":"Virga Librian ,&nbsp;Mohamad Ramdhan ,&nbsp;Andri Dian Nugraha ,&nbsp;Muhammad Maruf Mukti ,&nbsp;Syuhada Syuhada ,&nbsp;Birger-Gottfried Lühr ,&nbsp;Sri Widiyantoro ,&nbsp;Adityo Mursitantyo ,&nbsp;Ade Anggraini ,&nbsp;Zulfakriza Zulfakriza ,&nbsp;Faiz Muttaqy ,&nbsp;Yayan Mi'rojul Husni","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107170","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107170","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The earthquake, which occurred in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on May 26, 2006, at 22:53:58 UTC with Mw ∼6.4, was one of the most destructive earthquakes in Indonesia. The earthquake caused thousands of fatalities, tens of thousands of injuries, and hundreds of thousands of house damages in the Yogyakarta area and its surroundings at a loss of billions of dollars. Previous studies from seismic tomography and satellite radar imaging hypothesized that the earthquake was caused by activating a so far unknown fault east of the Opak Fault. Although, in the beginning, the Opak fault was suspected to be the source of the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006. This assumption was made because the damage was maximum in the Bantul area west of the Opak Fault. This study demonstrates that our seismic tomography achieved a higher resolution than the previous study and could resolve a failed complex fault system. We utilized more aftershocks (2170 events) and smaller grid sizes for seismic tomography inversion. Four focal mechanisms from aftershocks for Mw ≥ 4.5 were also conducted to support structure interpretation in the study area. Our results successfully delineate the Opak Fault and the second fault, namely the Ngalang Fault, parallel to the eastern part of the fault at a depth of 9 km. Two faults could be indicated by the velocity contrast of Vp, Vp/Vs ratio, and Vs from a horizontal section tomogram. Our focal mechanisms also support seismic tomography, revealing two fault planes in our study area. The results show that the two faults are connected by the Oyo Fault, which is ruptured in the opposite direction compared to the two faults.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 107170"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140275562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of planetary rotation on metal-silicate mixing and equilibration in a magma ocean","authors":"Quentin Kriaa ,&nbsp;Landeau Maylis ,&nbsp;Le Bars Michael","doi":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pepi.2024.107168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>At a late stage of its accretion, the Earth experienced high-energy planetary impacts. Following each collision, the metal core of the impactor sank into molten silicate magma oceans. The efficiency of chemical equilibration between these silicates and the metal core controlled the composition of the Earth interior and left a signature on geochemical and isotopic data. These data constrain the timing, pressure and temperature of Earth formation, but their interpretation strongly depends on the efficiency of metal-silicate mixing and equilibration. We investigate the role of planetary rotation on the dynamics of the sinking metal and on its chemical equilibration using laboratory experiments of particle clouds settling in a rotating fluid. Our clouds initially sink as spherical turbulent thermals, but after a critical depth, rotation becomes important and they transition to a vortical columnar flow aligned with the rotation axis. Applied to Earth formation, our results predict that rotation strongly affects the fall of metal in the magma ocean for impactors smaller than 459 km in radius on a proto-Earth that rotates twice faster than today. On a proto-Earth spinning 5 times faster than today, rotation is important for any impactor smaller than the Earth itself. In contrast with a thermal that grows in all directions, the vortical column grows vertically but keeps a constant horizontal extent. The slower dilution in vortical columns reduces chemical equilibration compared to previous estimates that neglect planetary rotation. We find that rotation significantly affects the degree of equilibration for highly siderophile elements with partition coefficients larger than <span><math><msup><mn>10</mn><mn>3</mn></msup></math></span>. In this case, for a planet spinning twice faster than today, the degree of equilibration decreases by up to a factor 2 compared to previous estimates that neglect the effect of rotation. Finally, the ultimate fate of iron drops is to be detrained from the vortical column as an iron rain, reconciling the traditional iron rain scenario with the model of turbulent thermal.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54614,"journal":{"name":"Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors","volume":"352 ","pages":"Article 107168"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140126037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}