Caltech's Mineral Physicists Find Unusual Properties of Minerals at Earth's Core-Mantle Boundary

(VP, red) and shear (VS, blue) wave velocities determined for (Mg.16Fe.84)O. Seismic observations for the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) and ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) are shown to highlight that just a small fraction of iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O in a deep mantle rock is needed to explain ULVZ observations at Earth's core-mantle boundary.

Using a diamond-anvil cell to recreate the high pressures deep within the earth, researchers at Caltech have found unusual properties in an iron-rich magnesium- and iron-oxide mineral that may explain the existence of several ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) at the core-mantle boundary. A paper about their findings was published in a recent issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

Click here for the article published in Geophysical Research Letters.