Seismic Observations of Splitting of the Mid-Transition Zone Discontinuity in Earth's Mantle

The transition zone of Earth's mantle is delineated by globally observed discontinuities in seismic properties at depths of about 410 and 660 kilometers. Here, we investigate the detailed structure between 410 and 660 kilometers depth, by making use of regional stacks of precursors to the SS ph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2001-10, Vol.294 (5541), p.354-357
Main Authors: Deuss, Arwen, Woodhouse, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Cartilage
Datasets
Earth
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Earthquakes, seismology
Exact sciences and technology
Geology
Infrared reflection
Internal geophysics
Jaw
Mammals
Mantle
Mantle (Geology)
Mineralogy
Observations
Olivine
Physics
Reflectors
Seismic waves
Seismology
Solid-earth geophysics, tectonophysics, gravimetry
Stone
Studies
Topography
Transition zones
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Summary:The transition zone of Earth's mantle is delineated by globally observed discontinuities in seismic properties at depths of about 410 and 660 kilometers. Here, we investigate the detailed structure between 410 and 660 kilometers depth, by making use of regional stacks of precursors to the SS phase. The previously observed discontinuity at about 520 kilometers depth is confirmed in many regions, but is found to be absent in others. There are a number of regions in which we find two discontinuities at about 500 and 560 kilometers depth, an effect which can be interpreted as a "splitting" of the 520 kilometer discontinuity. These observations provide seismic constraints on the sharpness and observability of mineralogical phase transitions in the mantle transition zone.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1063524