Thermal and compositional structure of the upper mantle.

摘要

Constraints for models of the convective, thermal, and mineralogical structure within the mantle depend heavily on seismic observations of the deep, and otherwise inaccessible, Earth. Studies presented within this dissertation focus primarily on the upper mantle discontinuities that bound the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle at the nominal depths of 410 and 660 km. These discontinuities are attributed to phase transitions of the mantle mineral olivine to denser configurations. Additionally, they may demark compositional layers within the mantle. This region figures prominently in the convective style of the planet. I address the questions of whether the 660-km discontinuity in some way inhibits flow from crossing between the upper and lower mantle and, more specifically, if it coincides with a compositional barrier in the mantle.; Thermal variations associated with warm-rising and cool-sinking material in the mantle produce observable variations in the depths of the discontinuities. If rising or sinking materials cross the entire extent of the mantle, then the transition zone should respond to its associated thermal perturbations in a correlated manner. If instead, convection were divided between the upper and lower mantle, then thermal perturbations in the transition zone need not be spatially correlated. Observations presented in this dissertation display regions in which both the 410- and 660-km discontinuities possess greater than 20 km of peak-to-peak topography that is not correlated between the two.; Studying the upper mantle below the western United States, I find no correlation between the upper mantle and the surface tectonics of the region. The topography on both discontinuities in this region is nearly as pronounced as that found where the cold subducting Tonga slab interacts with the upper mantle, suggesting the presence of a similar thermal anomaly. Additionally, amplitudes of the velocity jumps associated with the discontinuities appear to vary a great deal, in some regions appearing quite strong, while in others considerably weaker.; These observations indicate small-scale mantle structure that I attribute to the presence of lateral compositional variations. Furthermore, perturbations in the depths of the discontinuities illustrate the presence of thermal variations that do not extend across the entire transition zone, thereby suggesting the existence of layered mantle convection beneath the western United States. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)