Due to their high density,the ilmenite-bearing cumulates(IBC)(with or without KREEP)formed during the late-stage lunar magma ocean solidification are thought to sink into the underlying lunar mantle and trigger lunar ...Due to their high density,the ilmenite-bearing cumulates(IBC)(with or without KREEP)formed during the late-stage lunar magma ocean solidification are thought to sink into the underlying lunar mantle and trigger lunar mantle overturn.Geophysical evidence implied that IBC may descend deep inside the Moon and remain as a partially molten layer at the core-mantle boundary(CMB).However,partial melting may have occurred on the mixed mantle cumulates during the sinking of IBC/KREEP and the silicate melt may be positively buoyant,thus preventing the IBC/KREEP layer from sinking to the CMB.Here,we perform thermodynamic simulation on the stability of lunar mantle cumulates at different depths mixed with different amounts of IBC/KREEP from an updated LMO model.The modeling results suggest that the sinking of IBC/KREEP will cause at least 5 wt%partial melting in the shallow(~120 km)and a much larger degree of partial melting in the deep lunar mantle(~420 km).Due to the density contrast with the surrounding mantle,IBC/KREEP-bearing melts could potentially decouple under certain conditions.The modified lunar mantle by sinking of IBC/KREEP can better explain the formation of different kinds of lunar basaltic magma than the primary lunar mantle formed through differentiation of lunar magma ocean.Sinking of IBC/KREEP back into the lunar mantle may introduce plagioclase,clinopyroxene,garnet,and incompatible radioactive elements into the deep lunar mantle,which will further affect the thermal and chemical evolution of the lunar interior.展开更多
The Earth was born from a giant impact at 4.56 Ga. It is generally thought that the Earth subsequently cooled, and hence shrunk, over geologic time. However, if the Earth's convection was double-layered, there must h...The Earth was born from a giant impact at 4.56 Ga. It is generally thought that the Earth subsequently cooled, and hence shrunk, over geologic time. However, if the Earth's convection was double-layered, there must have been a peak of expansion during uni-directional cooling. We computed the expansion- contraction effect using first principles mineral physics data. The result shows a radius about 120 km larger than that of the present Earth immediately after the consolidation of the magma-ocean on the surface, and subsequent shrinkage of about 110 km in radius within about 10 m.y., followed by gradual expansion of 11 km in radius due to radiogenic heating in the lower mantle in spite of cooling in the upper mantle in the Archean. This was due to double-layered convection in the Archean with final collapse of overturn with contraction of about g km in radius, presumably by the end of the Archean. Since then, the Earth has gradually cooled down to reduce its radius by around 12 km. Geologic evidence supports the late Archean mantle overturn ca. 2.6 Ga, such as the global distribution of super-liqnidus flood basalts on nearly all cratonic fragments (〉35 examples). If our inference is correct, the surface environment of the Earth must have undergone extensive volcanism and emergence of local landmasses, because of the thin ocean cover (3-5 km thickness). Global unconformity appeared in cratonic fragments with stromatolite back to 2.9 Ga with a peak at 2.6 Ga. The global magmatism brought extensive crustal melting to yield explosive felsic volcanism to transport volcanic ash into the stratosphere during the catastrophic mantle overturn. This event seems to be recorded by sulfur mass-independent fractionation (SMIF) at 2.6 Ga. During the mantle overturn, a number of mantle plumes penetrated into the upper mantle and caused local upward doming of by ca. 2-3 km which raised local landmasses above sea-level. The consequent increase of atmospheric oxygen enabled life evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes by 2.1 Ga, or even earlier in the Earth history.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41773052,41973058)。
文摘Due to their high density,the ilmenite-bearing cumulates(IBC)(with or without KREEP)formed during the late-stage lunar magma ocean solidification are thought to sink into the underlying lunar mantle and trigger lunar mantle overturn.Geophysical evidence implied that IBC may descend deep inside the Moon and remain as a partially molten layer at the core-mantle boundary(CMB).However,partial melting may have occurred on the mixed mantle cumulates during the sinking of IBC/KREEP and the silicate melt may be positively buoyant,thus preventing the IBC/KREEP layer from sinking to the CMB.Here,we perform thermodynamic simulation on the stability of lunar mantle cumulates at different depths mixed with different amounts of IBC/KREEP from an updated LMO model.The modeling results suggest that the sinking of IBC/KREEP will cause at least 5 wt%partial melting in the shallow(~120 km)and a much larger degree of partial melting in the deep lunar mantle(~420 km).Due to the density contrast with the surrounding mantle,IBC/KREEP-bearing melts could potentially decouple under certain conditions.The modified lunar mantle by sinking of IBC/KREEP can better explain the formation of different kinds of lunar basaltic magma than the primary lunar mantle formed through differentiation of lunar magma ocean.Sinking of IBC/KREEP back into the lunar mantle may introduce plagioclase,clinopyroxene,garnet,and incompatible radioactive elements into the deep lunar mantle,which will further affect the thermal and chemical evolution of the lunar interior.
基金the supports in part of KAKENH1(Grant Nos. 23540560 and 24840020)
文摘The Earth was born from a giant impact at 4.56 Ga. It is generally thought that the Earth subsequently cooled, and hence shrunk, over geologic time. However, if the Earth's convection was double-layered, there must have been a peak of expansion during uni-directional cooling. We computed the expansion- contraction effect using first principles mineral physics data. The result shows a radius about 120 km larger than that of the present Earth immediately after the consolidation of the magma-ocean on the surface, and subsequent shrinkage of about 110 km in radius within about 10 m.y., followed by gradual expansion of 11 km in radius due to radiogenic heating in the lower mantle in spite of cooling in the upper mantle in the Archean. This was due to double-layered convection in the Archean with final collapse of overturn with contraction of about g km in radius, presumably by the end of the Archean. Since then, the Earth has gradually cooled down to reduce its radius by around 12 km. Geologic evidence supports the late Archean mantle overturn ca. 2.6 Ga, such as the global distribution of super-liqnidus flood basalts on nearly all cratonic fragments (〉35 examples). If our inference is correct, the surface environment of the Earth must have undergone extensive volcanism and emergence of local landmasses, because of the thin ocean cover (3-5 km thickness). Global unconformity appeared in cratonic fragments with stromatolite back to 2.9 Ga with a peak at 2.6 Ga. The global magmatism brought extensive crustal melting to yield explosive felsic volcanism to transport volcanic ash into the stratosphere during the catastrophic mantle overturn. This event seems to be recorded by sulfur mass-independent fractionation (SMIF) at 2.6 Ga. During the mantle overturn, a number of mantle plumes penetrated into the upper mantle and caused local upward doming of by ca. 2-3 km which raised local landmasses above sea-level. The consequent increase of atmospheric oxygen enabled life evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes by 2.1 Ga, or even earlier in the Earth history.