[iris-bulk] AGU special SEDI session DI08 on Mantle structure

[IRIS]

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to draw your attention to a special SEDI session
"DI08: Chemical Heterogeneities in the Earth's Mantle: Their Roles
in the Early Earth Differentiation, Mantle Dynamics and Geochemistry"
for the coming fall AGU meeting. This is a multi-disciplinary session.
We intend to have discussions from the upper mantle to the lower mantle,
from seismology, mineral physics, geodynamics, to geochemistry, and
from early-earth to present-day mantle heterogeneities.

We would appreciate your participation and very much look forward
to seeing you at AGU.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is September 10th.

Our apologies, if your receive this email multiple times.

Conveners:

Lianxing Wen
Stony Brook University
Dept. Geosciences
Stony Brook, NY, USA  11794
1-631-632-1726
Lianxing.Wen at sunysb.edu

Sang-Heon Shim
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
USA
sangshim at mit.edu

Trond Torsvik
Geological Survey Norway
Leiv Eirikssons Vei 39
  PB 3006 Lade
Trondheim, NOR   N-7002
trond.torsvik at ngu.no

Takashi Nakagawa
Kyushu University
Earth & Planetary Sciences
  6-10-1, Hakozaki
Fukuoka, JPN  812-8581
takashi at geo.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Michael Thorne
University of Utah
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
  135 South 1460 East
Salt Lake City, UT, USA  84112
801-513-9351
michael.thorne at utah.edu


Jung-Fu Lin
University of Texas at Austin
USA
afu at jsg.utexas.edu



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DI08: Chemical Heterogeneities in the Earth's Mantle: Their Roles in  
the Early Earth Differentiation, Mantle Dynamics and Geochemistry

Recent high-resolution seismic studies have suggested the existence of  
large-scale velocity anomalies in the Earth’s mantle. Until recently,  
most heterogeneities have been interpreted as variations in  
temperature and chemical composition (mainly Fe and Si). However,  
recent discoveries in seismology and mineral physics, such as, sharp  
edges and large velocity reductions of the seismic anomalies, the  
large hydrogen storage capacity of transition zone minerals, the spin  
transition of Fe in silicates and oxides in the mid-mantle, the  
perovskite to postperovskite transition in the lowermost mantle, and  
the possible presence of melt atop the transition zone and in the deep  
mantle, call for new interpretations of mantle heterogeneities.  
Furthermore, a broad range of exciting proposals has been recently  
made on the origin, formation and dynamical evolution of these  
anomalies, as well as possible roles they play in the early Earth  
differentiation, mantle thermo-chemical plume formation, and  
explaining relative hotspot motion and the geochemical observations at  
the Earth’s surface.

Therefore, it is timely to discuss seismic evidence and developments  
in understanding the occurrence, observational consequences, and inter- 
relationships of the various kinds of mantle heterogeneities, and  
investigate the integration of new constraints and novel  
interpretations from the combined perspective of multiple disciplines  
to better understand the nature and origin of mantle heterogeneities.  
We invite new results covering heterogeneities from the uppermost to  
the lowermost mantle from seismology, geodynamics, plate  
reconstruction, geochemistry, and mineral physics. Attempts to  
integrate these new results are welcome as well.

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