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Title: Reykjanes Ridge evolution: Effects of plate kinematics, small-scale upper mantle convection and a regional mantle gradient
Award ID(s):
1756760
NSF-PAR ID:
10150035
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Earth-Science Reviews
ISSN:
0012-8252
Page Range / eLocation ID:
102956
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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  1. Ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) are thin anomalous patches on the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle, revealed by their effects on the seismic waves that propagate through them. Here we map a broad ULVZ near the Galápagos hotspot using shear-diffracted waves. Forward modelling assuming a cylindrical shape shows the patch is ~600 km wide, ~20 km high, and its shear velocities are ~25% reduced. The ULVZ is comparable to other broad ULVZs mapped on the core-mantle boundary near Hawaii, Iceland, and Samoa.  Strikingly, all four hotspots where the mantle plume appears rooted by these ‘mega-ULVZs’, show similar anomalous isotopic signatures in He, Ne, and W in their ocean island basalts. This correlation suggests mega-ULVZs might be primordial or caused by interaction with the core, and some material from ULVZs is entrained within the plume. For the Galápagos, the connection implies the plume is offset to the west towards the base of the mantle. 
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