An internally generated magnetic field once existed on the Moon. This field reached high intensities (∼10–100
Dense Fe‐Ti‐rich cumulates, formed as the last dregs of the lunar magma ocean, are thought to have driven a large‐scale overturn of the lunar mantle over 4 Ga ago. Analysis of lunar seismic data has implied that some of the overturned bodies may have reached the lunar core‐mantle boundary and remained there until the present day as a partially molten layer. However, whether such a molten layer could be stable during >4 Ga of post‐magma‐ocean lunar history and explain lunar seismic observations remains poorly constrained. Here, we report the first sound velocity measurements on a Fe‐Ti‐rich lunar melt up to conditions of the lowermost lunar mantle. Our results suggest that a partial melt layer with at least 20% overturned Fe‐Ti‐rich melt can be trapped atop the lunar core‐mantle boundary until the present day, strongly influencing the thermochemical evolution of the lunar interior.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10370195
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 49
- Issue:
- 13
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract μ T, perhaps intermittently) from ∼4.3 to 3.6 Gyr ago and then weakened to ≲5μ T before dissipating by ∼1.9–0.8 Gyr ago. While the Moon’s metallic core could have generated a magnetic field via a dynamo powered by vigorous convection, models of a core dynamo often fail to explain the observed characteristics of the lunar magnetic field. In particular, the core alone may not contain sufficient thermal, chemical, or radiogenic energy to sustain the high-intensity fields for >100 Myr. A recent study by Scheinberg et al. suggested that a dynamo hosted in electrically conductive, molten silicates in a basal magma ocean (BMO) may have produced a strong early field. However, that study did not fully explore the BMO’s coupled evolution with the core. Here we show that a coupled BMO–core dynamo driven primarily by inner core growth can explain the timing and staged decline of the lunar magnetic field. We compute the thermochemical evolution of the lunar core with a 1D parameterized model tied to extant simulations of mantle evolution and BMO solidification. Our models are most sensitive to four parameters: the abundances of sulfur and potassium in the core, the core’s thermal conductivity, and the present-day heat flow across the core–mantle boundary. Our models best match the Moon’s magnetic history if the bulk core contains ∼6.5–8.5 wt% sulfur, in agreement with seismic structure models. -
null (Ed.)Seismic observations indicate that the lowermost mantle above the core-mantle boundary is strongly heterogeneous. Body waves reveal a variety of ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs), which extend not more than 100 km above the core-mantle boundary and have shear velocity reductions of up to 30 per cent. While the nature and origin of these ULVZs remain uncertain, some have suggested they are evidence of partial melting at the base of mantle plumes. Here we use coupled geodynamic/thermodynamic modelling to explore the hypothesis that present-day deep mantle melting creates ULVZs and introduces compositional heterogeneity in the mantle. Our models explore the generation and migration of melt in a deforming and compacting host rock at the base of a plume in the lowermost mantle. We test whether the balance of gravitational and viscous forces can generate partially molten zones that are consistent with the seismic observations. We find that for a wide range of plausible melt densities, permeabilities and viscosities, lower mantle melt is too dense to be stirred into convective flow and instead sinks down to form a completely molten layer, which is inconsistent with observations of ULVZs. Only if melt is less dense or at most ca. 1 per cent more dense than the solid, or if melt pockets are trapped within the solid, can melt remain suspended in the partial melt zone. In these cases, seismic velocities would be reduced in a cone at the base of the plume. Generally, we find partial melt alone does not explain the observed ULVZ morphologies and solid-state compositional variation is required to explain the anomalies. Our findings provide a framework for testing whether seismically observed ULVZ shapes are consistent with a partial melt origin, which is an important step towards constraining the nature of the heterogeneities in the lowermost mantle and their influence on the thermal, compositional, and dynamical evolution of the Earth.more » « less
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SUMMARY The southern boundary of the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean is marked by the Swan Islands transform fault (SITF), which also represents the ocean–continent transition of the Honduras continental margin. This is one of the few places globally where a transform continental margin is currently active. The CAYSEIS experiment acquired an ∼165-km-long seismic refraction and gravity profile (P01) running across this transform margin, and along the ridge-axis of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre (MCSC) to the north. This profile reveals not only the crustal structure of an actively evolving transform continental margin, that juxtaposes Mesozoic-age continental crust to the south against zero-age ultraslow spread oceanic crust to the north, but also the nature of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the ridge-transform intersection (RTI). The traveltimes of arrivals recorded by ocean-bottom seismographs (OBSs) deployed along-profile have been inverse and forward modelled, in combination with gravity modelling, to reveal an ∼25-km-thick continental crust that has been continuously thinned over a distance of ∼65 km to ∼10 km adjacent to the SITF, where it is juxtaposed against ∼3–4-km-thick oceanic crust. This thinning is primarily accommodated within the lower crust. Since Moho reflections are only sparsely observed, and, even then, only by a few OBSs located on the continental margin, the 7.5 km s–1 velocity contour is used as a proxy to locate the crust–mantle boundary along-profile. Along the MCSC, the crust–mantle boundary appears to be a transition zone, at least at the seismic wavelengths used for CAYSEIS data acquisition. Although the traveltime inversion only directly constrains the upper crust at the SITF, gravity modelling suggests that it is underlain by a higher density (>3000 kg m–3) region spanning the width (∼15 km) of its bathymetric expression, that may reflect a broad region of metasomatism, mantle hydration or melt-depleted lithospheric mantle. At the MCSC ridge-axis to the north, the oceanic crust appears to be forming in zones, where each zone is defined by the volume of its magma supply. The ridge tip adjacent to the SITF is currently in a magma rich phase of accretion. However, there is no evidence for melt leakage into the transform zone. The width and crustal structure of the SITF suggests its motion is currently predominantly orthogonal to spreading. Comparison to CAYSEIS Profile P04, located to the west and running across-margin and through 10 Ma MCSC oceanic crust, suggests that, at about this time, motion along the SITF had a left-lateral transtensional component, that accounts for its apparently broad seabed appearance westwards.
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Abstract Mineral/melt partition coefficients have been widely used to provide insights into magmatic processes. Olivine is one of the most abundant and important minerals in the lunar mantle and mare basalts. Yet, no systematic olivine/melt partitioning data are available for lunar conditions. We report trace element partition data between host mineral olivine and its melt inclusions in lunar basalts. Equilibrium is evaluated using the Fe-Mg exchange coefficient, leading to the choice of melt inclusion-host olivine pairs in lunar basalts 12040, 12009, 15016, 15647, and 74235. Partition coefficients of 21 elements (Li, Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Y, Zr, Nb, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) were measured. Except for Li, V, and Cr, these elements show no significant difference in olivine-melt partitioning compared to the data for terrestrial samples. The partition coefficient of Li between olivine and melt in some lunar basalts with low Mg# (Mg# < 0.75 in olivine, or < ~0.5 in melt) is higher than published data for terrestrial samples, which is attributed to the dependence of DLi on Mg# and the lack of literature DLi data with low Mg#. The partition coefficient of V in lunar basalts is measured to be 0.17 to 0.74, significantly higher than that in terrestrial basalts (0.003 to 0.21), which can be explained by the lower oxygen fugacity in lunar basalts. The significantly higher DV can explain why V is less enriched in evolved lunar basalts than terrestrial basalts. The partition coefficient of Cr between olivine and basalt melt in the Moon is 0.11 to 0.62, which is lower than those in terrestrial settings by a factor of ~2. This is surprising because previous authors showed that Cr partition coefficient is independent of fO2. A quasi-thermodynamically based model is developed to correlate Cr partition coefficient to olivine and melt composition and fO2. The lower Cr partition coefficient between olivine and basalt in the Moon can lead to more Cr enrichment in the lunar magma ocean, as well as more Cr enrichment in mantle-derived basalts in the Moon. Hence, even though Cr is typically a compatible element in terrestrial basalts, it is moderately incompatible in primitive lunar basalts, with a similar degree of incompatibility as V based on partition coefficients in this work, as also evidenced by the relatively constant V/Cr ratio of 0.039 ± 0.011 in lunar basalts. The confirmation of constant V/Cr ratio is important for constraining concentrations of Cr (slightly volatile and siderophile) and V (slightly siderophile) in the bulk silicate Moon.more » « less
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null (Ed.)Volatiles including carbon and hydrogen are generally considered to be more soluble in silicate melts than in mantle rocks. How these melts contribute to the storage and distribution of key volatiles in Earth's interior today and during its early evolution, however, remains largely unknown. It is essential to improve our knowledge about volatiles-bearing silicate magmas over the entire mantle pressure regime. Here we investigate molten Mg FexSiO3 ( , 0.25) containing both carbon and hydrogen using first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. Our results show that the dissolution mechanism of the binary volatiles in melts varies considerably under different conditions of pressure and redox. When incorporated as CO2 and H2O components (corresponding to oxidizing conditions) almost all carbon and hydrogen form bonds with oxygen. Their speciation at low pressure consists of predominantly isolated molecular CO2, carbonates, and hydroxyls. More oxygenated species, including tetrahedrally coordinated carbons, hydrogen (O-H-O) bridges, various oxygen-joined complexes appear as melt is further compressed. When two volatiles are incorporated as hydrocarbons CH4 and C2H6 (corresponding to reducing conditions), hydroxyls are prevalent with notable presence of molecular hydrogen. Carbon-oxygen bonding is almost completely suppressed. Instead carbon is directly correlated with itself, hydrogen, and silicon. Both volatiles also show strong affinity to iron. Reduced volatile speciation thus involves polymerized complexes comprising of carbon, hydrogen, silicon, and iron, which can be mostly represented by two forms: C1−4H1−5Si0−5O0−2 (iron-free) and C5−8H1−8Si0−6Fe5−8O0−2. The calculated partial molar volumes of binary volatiles in their oxidized and reduced incorporation decrease rapidly initially with pressure and then gradually at higher pressures, thereby systematically lowering silicate melt density. Our assessment of the calculated opposite effects of the volatile components and iron on melt density indicates that melt-crystal density crossovers are possible in the present-day mantle and also could have occurred in early magma ocean environments. Melts at upper mantle and transition zone conditions likely dissolve carbon and hydrogen in a wide variety of oxidized and non-oxygenated forms. Deep-seated partial melts and magma ocean remnants at lower mantle conditions may exsolve carbon as complex reduced species possibly to the core during core-mantle differentiation while retaining a majority of hydrogen as hydroxyls-associated species.more » « less
