Water Reservoirs in the Lower Mantle Beneath Northeastern Asia
Abstract Water in the mantle controls mantle convection and chemical transport processes within Earth's interior. However, whether the water in the lower mantle is primordial or recycled remains an open question. Here we report an electrical structure consisting of two stepped high‐conductivity anomalies crossing the 660‐km interface beneath northeastern Asia. The sheet‐like first‐step conductor locates in the mantle transition zone that can be best interpreted as hydrated stagnant Pacific slab, whereas the funnel‐like second‐step anomaly occurs in the uppermost lower mantle that is inferred to be a water reservoir replenished by the collapsed stagnant slab. The pivotal mechanism of this water transport process could be the dehydration reaction of dense hydrous magnesium silicates and the rehydration of stishovite and liebermannite in the transition zone. Our findings provide evidence for recycled lower‐mantle water reservoirs, and together with seismological and mineralogical studies, illustrate the deep‐mantle water plumbing system operated by cold slab subduction.
Authors
- Yanhui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0974-9459)
- Geeth Manthilake (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8161-081X)
- Aihua Weng
- Junhao Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8252-4091)
- Shiwen Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0939-2245)
- Zikun Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2612-0353)
- Wen‐Liang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5129-8586)
- Yabin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5698-721X)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Jilin University (CN)
- Université Clermont Auvergne (FR)
- Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand (FR)
- Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans (FR)
- Jilin Province Science and Technology Department (CN)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Shijiazhuang Tiedao University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2025-04-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl114180
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Geological and Geophysical Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.04
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Jilin University
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Program for Jilin University Science and Technology Innovative Research Team
- Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences