Effective buoyancy ratio: a new parameter to characterize thermo-chemical mixing in the Earth's mantle

Abstract

Abstract. Numerical modeling has been carried out in a 2-D cylindrical shell domain to quantify the evolution of a primordial dense layer around the core mantle boundary. Effective buoyancy ratio, Beff was introduced to characterize the evolution of the two-layer thermo-chemical convection in the Earth's mantle. Beff decreases with time due to (1) warming the compositionally dense layer, (2) cooling the overlying mantle, (3) eroding the dense layer by thermal convection in the overlying mantle, and (4) diluting the dense layer by inner convection. When Beff reaches the instability point, Beff = 1, effective thermo-chemical convection starts, and the mantle will be mixed (Beff = 0) during a short time. A parabolic relation was revealed between the initial density difference of the layers and the mixing time. Morphology of large low shear velocity provinces as well as results from seismic tomography and normal mode data suggest a value of Beff ≥ 1 for the mantle.