TY - JOUR
T1 - Melting of recycled ancient crust responsible for the Gutenberg discontinuity
AU - Liu, Jia
AU - Hirano, Naoto
AU - Machida, Shiki
AU - Xia, Qunke
AU - Tao, Chunhui
AU - Liao, Shili
AU - Liang, Jin
AU - Li, Wei
AU - Yang, Weifang
AU - Zhang, Guoying
AU - Ding, Teng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - A discontinuity in the seismic velocity associated with the lithosphere-asthenosphere interface, known as the Gutenberg discontinuity, is enigmatic in its origin. While partial mantle melts are frequently suggested to explain this discontinuity, it is not well known which factors critically regulate the melt production. Here, we report geochemical evidence showing that the melt fractions in the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary were enhanced not only by accumulation of compacted carbonated melts related to recycled ancient marine sediments, but also by partial melting of a pyroxene-rich mantle domain related to the recycled oceanic eclogite/pyroxenites. This conclusion is derived from the first set of Mg isotope data for a suite of young petit-spot basalts erupted on the northwest Pacific plate, where a clearly defined Gutenberg discontinuity exists. Our results reveal a specific linkage between the Gutenberg discontinuity beneath the normal oceanic regions and the recycling of ancient subducted crust and carbonate through the deep Earth.
AB - A discontinuity in the seismic velocity associated with the lithosphere-asthenosphere interface, known as the Gutenberg discontinuity, is enigmatic in its origin. While partial mantle melts are frequently suggested to explain this discontinuity, it is not well known which factors critically regulate the melt production. Here, we report geochemical evidence showing that the melt fractions in the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary were enhanced not only by accumulation of compacted carbonated melts related to recycled ancient marine sediments, but also by partial melting of a pyroxene-rich mantle domain related to the recycled oceanic eclogite/pyroxenites. This conclusion is derived from the first set of Mg isotope data for a suite of young petit-spot basalts erupted on the northwest Pacific plate, where a clearly defined Gutenberg discontinuity exists. Our results reveal a specific linkage between the Gutenberg discontinuity beneath the normal oceanic regions and the recycling of ancient subducted crust and carbonate through the deep Earth.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077723339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85077723339&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-019-13958-w
DO - 10.1038/s41467-019-13958-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 31924776
AN - SCOPUS:85077723339
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 11
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 172
ER -
