Research: Global study of transition zone discontinuities and their mineral physical interpretation

Supervisors: Arwen Deuss & Simon Redfern 

The mantle is the largest region in the Earth, extending from the base of the crust to the boundary with the outer core at 2886km. It is divided into a upper and lower mantle by the mantle transition zone, a region that stretches from a depth of 410km to 660km, in which olivine and other components of the mantle undergo several major phase transitions, that can be seen in seismic data. My research concentrates on observing the mantle transition zone using several different seismic data types, with a particular focus on understanding the contrasting observations of the 660km seismic discontinuity in these different data types. The 660km discontinuity is of particular interest as it separates the mantle transition zone and the lower mantle and its properties as a chemical and/or mechanical boundary govern the behaviour of the mantle as a whole.

By studying the properties of seismic discontinuities in the mantle transition zone we are able to bring together work from a variety of fields, including seismology, mineral physics, geochemistry and geodynamics, and use this to further constrain the composition, thermal structure and dynamics of the mantle. 

This project is funded by NERC (studentship number NE/F007175/1) and a CASE award from Exxon-Mobil.

I am a member of the Institute of Theoretical Geophysics and the Deep Earth Structure and Global Seismology group in Cambridge. 

 

 

 


Last updated on 04-Jul-12 14:15