Review
Environmental Sciences
Christopher C. C. Finlay, Nicolas Gillet, Julien Aubert, Philip W. W. Livermore, Dominique Jault
Summary: The turbulent motions of liquid metal in Earth's outer core generate the geomagnetic field. Observations and simulations have shown that the present-day core motions are dominated by a planetary-scale gyre, a jet in the northern polar region, and waves involving the magnetic field. In this review, we explore the dynamics of these core features and discuss their impact on the Earth's magnetism and rotation.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jonathan E. E. Mound, Christopher J. J. Davies
Summary: Thermal interactions between Earth's core and mantle play a crucial role in maintaining the geomagnetic field, but their specific effects on magnetic field behavior are still uncertain. Through numerical dynamo simulations, researchers successfully reproduced Earth-like conditions and revealed how the mantle controls core dynamics. By comparing these simulations to global magnetic field models, they found that the long-term geomagnetic signatures are characterized by equatorial patches of reverse flux. Additionally, the simulations suggest that the present-day geomagnetic field may be unusual.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Maylis Landeau, Alexandre Fournier, Henri-Claude Nataf, David Cebron, Nathanael Schaeffer
Summary: Earth's magnetic field is generated by fluid motions, and the mechanism that sustains the geodynamo remains debated. This review assesses the potential mechanisms and finds that convection, possibly aided by the exsolution of light elements, is the most likely scenario.
NATURE REVIEWS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
D. Holdenried-Chernoff, B. A. Buffett
Summary: Fluctuations in the paleomagnetic field suggest that the dipole decay time is shorter than expected. The short decay time can be explained by turbulent diffusion, and mean-field theory can quantitatively account for the dynamo results. The predicted decay time depends on the amplitude and length scale of the flow that interacts with the magnetic field. By extending these predictions to the paleomagnetic field, it is found that the inferred decay time requires a bulk root-mean-square velocity less than 0.8-1.2 mm/s.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Youjun Zhang, Kai Luo, Mingqiang Hou, Peter Driscoll, Nilesh P. Salke, Jan Minar, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Eran Greenberg, Russell J. Hemley, R. E. Cohen, Jung-Fu Lin
Summary: This study investigates the transport properties of solid and liquid Fe-Si alloys at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, finding that with increasing Si concentration, Si impurity scattering gradually dominates and leads to temperature independence of the resistivity and less electron-electron contribution to the conductivity in Fe-9Si.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicolas Gillet, Felix Gerick, Dominique Jault, Tobias Schwaiger, Julien Aubert, Mathieu Istas
Summary: The Earth's magnetic field displays variations on a broad range of time scales. Through satellite monitoring, we have gained more knowledge about the rapid physical processes in the Earth's outer core. We have identified nonaxisymmetric wavelike patterns in the equatorial region of the core surface, which have large spatial scales and interannual periods of approximately 7 years.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Andrew Tangborn, Weijia Kuang, Terence J. Sabaka, Ce Yi
Summary: This study produced a 5-year mean secular variation of the geomagnetic field for the period 2020-2025 using the NASA Geomagnetic Ensemble Modeling System. The forecast involves a bias correction scheme that removes model biases, and the algorithm was validated before being applied to the forecast period.
EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Philip W. Livermore, Yves Gallet, Alexandre Fournier
Summary: Archeomagnetic analyses in the Near-East during the first millennium BCE reveal six spikes in intensity variation lasting between 30 and 100 years, with a high dependency on specific treatments of data at the fragment level. Increasing the error budget results in a spikeless model that closely resembles the SHAWQ-Iron Age global model.
PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yi Yang, Xiaodong Song
Summary: Analysis of repeated seismic waves since the early 1990s indicates that the rotation of Earth's inner core has recently paused and is now reversing, aligning with the multidecadal oscillation of the length of day and magnetic field variations. These findings provide evidence for dynamic interactions between different layers of the Earth, possibly due to the exchange of angular momentum from the core and mantle to the surface.
Article
Geography, Physical
Venera Dobrica, Cristiana Stefan, Crisan Demetrescu
Summary: This study examined the Earth's surface magnetic field and its secular variation, focusing on the internal constituents and dynamics of the SV foci. By analyzing long time-span geomagnetic models and applying filtering techniques, the study revealed new features of the Earth's surface field evolution, such as the westward drift of the inter-centennial constituent and the westward drift of higher frequency constituents in the equatorial band.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sam Greenwood, Christopher J. Davies, Jon E. Mound
Summary: This study focuses on the thermal origin of the stable layer at the top of Earth's outer core and conducts a systematic investigation into the core's thermal evolution. The findings show that many scenarios for the history of CMB heat flow leading to thermal stratification are inconsistent with exponential trends from mantle evolution models.
PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Steve Lund, Gary Acton, Brad Clement, Makoto Okada, Lloyd Keigwin
Summary: The study presents important information on the paleomagnetic field variations during two specific periods based on PSV and excursion data obtained from ODP sites in the western North Atlantic. By correcting age estimates and comparing records, it reveals significant variability of the geomagnetic field at different timescales and characteristics of excursions, providing insights into the behavior of the magnetic field between reversals.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Avto Goguitchaichvili, Esteban Hernandez-Quintero, Rafael Garcia-Ruiz, Vadim Kravchinsky, Ruben Cejudo, Gerardo Cifuentes
Summary: This study compiled data from 32 localities in Mexico to establish a model of geomagnetic field variation. The use of Geomagnetic Repeat Stations provided supplementary data, and methods such as agglomerative hierarchical grouping tree and Chebyshev metrics were utilized to mitigate measurement errors. The Bootstrap method and penalized cubic splines were employed to build the secular variation curve, showing similar trends to global model data.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Youjun Zhang, Mingqiang Hou, Peter Driscoll, Nilesh P. Salke, Jin Liu, Eran Greenberg, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Jung-Fu Lin
Summary: The study measured the electrical resistivities of Fe-Ni-Si alloys at high temperature and pressure, showing the significant impact of Si on the thermal conductivity of the alloy. The research suggests that the adiabatic core heat flow is low enough for thermal convection to drive the geodynamo over most of Earth's history, while the strength of compositional convection increases with inner-core growth.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Priyabrata Mukherjee, Swarandeep Sahoo
Summary: This study investigates the behavior of thermal convection in the Earth's outer core and the impact of stable stratification on the magnetic field structure. The research finds that stable stratification reduces the threshold for convection onset, but increases the length scale and decreases the frequency of convective instabilities. Rapid rotation favors penetrative radial convective flows. The confinement of buoyancy, Coriolis, and Lorentz forces due to stable stratification suppresses dynamo action and inhibits the growth of magnetic fields. However, enhanced buoyancy forcing can overcome this suppression and lead to strongly convecting dipolar dominated dynamos even with moderate stratification.
PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
D. G. Meduri, A. J. Biggin, C. J. Davies, R. K. Bono, C. J. Sprain, J. Wicht
Summary: Numerical geodynamo simulations capture key aspects of paleosecular variation and time-averaged field behavior since 10 Ma, with models driven by compositional convection and specific dipolarity ranges showing the most accurate results. These findings provide valuable insights for next generation global paleomagnetic field model reconstructions.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jenny Wong, Christopher J. Davies, Christopher A. Jones
Summary: Seismic observations suggest the presence of a stably-stratified region known as the F-layer at the base of Earth's outer core. By varying key parameters, a regime diagram shows the dynamics of the slurry F-layer, indicating the existence of a stably-stratified slurry in the Earth's core.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
M. Murphy Quinlan, A. M. Walker, C. J. Davies, J. E. Mound, T. Muller, J. Harvey
Summary: Modeling the planetary heat transport of small bodies in the early Solar System is key to understand the geological context of meteorite samples. Including temperature-dependence in the models is crucial for accurate interpretations of the origin of different classes of meteorites. The thermal properties of parent bodies play a significant role in the timing and depth of meteorite genesis.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Daniele Brandt, Marcia Ernesto, Catherine Constable
Summary: This study presents an extensive directional paleomagnetic database of the Kiaman reversed superchron, with a constant behavior of concentrated and circular distributions at latitudes higher than 10 degrees. Through Giant Gaussian Process (GGP) models, the research found a covariant type that best explains the directional distribution of the Kiaman database. The results suggest that the correlations between Gaussian coefficients are valid for the last 10 Myr and the Kiaman superchron, and that the relative variability of the Kiaman field is lower compared to the past 10 Myr.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Christopher J. Davies, Richard K. Bono, Domenico G. Meduri, Julien Aubert, Samuel Greenwood, Andrew J. Biggin
Summary: The researchers investigate the variation of Earth's magnetic field strength over geological time by combining numerical geodynamo simulations with theoretical scaling laws. They find that both scaling laws, despite uncertainties from different heating modes and boundary conditions, are compatible with the power-law behavior exhibited by the internal field and core-mantle boundary fields. The QG-MAC-free scaling matches Earth's modern CMB field, while the QG-MAC-fixed prediction overestimates palaeointensities over the last 3.5 Gyr.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sam Greenwood, Christopher J. Davies, Jon E. Mound
Summary: This study focuses on the thermal origin of the stable layer at the top of Earth's outer core and conducts a systematic investigation into the core's thermal evolution. The findings show that many scenarios for the history of CMB heat flow leading to thermal stratification are inconsistent with exponential trends from mantle evolution models.
PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Sam Greenwood, Christopher J. Davies, Anne Pommier
Summary: The study suggests that the Martian core is currently fully conductive with temperatures above 1940 K. All models are consistent with a range of k(c)=16-35 W m(-1) K-1. Models with an activation volume of 6 (0) cm(3) mol(-1) require a mantle reference viscosity of 10(19)-10(20)(10(20)-10(21)) Pa s.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Monica Pozzo, Christopher J. Davies, Dario Alfe
Summary: The thermal conductivity of Earth's core is a critical parameter that affects core cooling rate, inner core age, and geodynamo power. Recent studies have shown a wide range of values for core thermal conductivity due to challenges in extrapolating to core liquid conditions of pressure, temperature, and composition. This study uses density functional theory calculations to determine the thermal conductivity and resistivity of FeSi alloys, and finds that resistivity increases with Si composition and reduces thermal conductivity. Analysis of possible errors in the calculations shows that experimental and corrected calculations are consistent within uncertainties. Core thermal history models based on the corrected estimates of thermal conductivity support previous findings of inner core formation around 400-700 million years ago and an early molten lower mantle.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Takashi Nakagawa, Christopher J. Davies
Summary: Numerical dynamo simulations can produce fields similar to the geomagnetic field, but they cannot fully replicate the physical conditions of Earth's core. Recent research has shown that simulations can approach the Quasi-Geostrophic with Magnetic, Archimedean, and Coriolis (QG-MAC) force balance observed in Earth's core. However, the relationship between the QG-MAC balance and the morphological features of the simulated fields is not yet well-established. In this study, compliance criteria for field morphology and scale-dependent force balances were used to assess a suite of simulations. The results show that most compliant simulations that approach a realistic magnetic Reynolds number are in QG-MAC balance. Simulations that achieve excellent morphological compliance, QG-MAC balance, and high Reynolds number are confined to a specific range of dipolarity.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Alfred J. Wilson, Monica Pozzo, Dario Alfe, Andrew M. Walker, Sam Greenwood, Anne Pommier, Christopher J. Davies
Summary: The Earth's core has been generating a global magnetic field for at least 3.5 billion years, sustained by the growth of the inner core. Previous models suggested that there might have been insufficient power for the geodynamo prior to the formation of the inner core. However, the precipitation of silicon from the liquid core could potentially offer an alternative power source for the ancient magnetic field. This study presents the first ab initio determination of the silicon partition coefficient at core-mantle boundary conditions and confirms its thermodynamic description integrated into a model of coupled core-mantle thermal evolution. The results demonstrate that models incorporating silicon precipitation can satisfy various constraints and support the presence of an ancient geodynamo.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
P. Driscoll, C. Davies
Summary: The persistence of the geomagnetic field conflicts with the highly thermally conductive core, making core convection and dynamo action difficult. Parameters such as mantle viscosity ratio, core thermal conductivity, and core radiogenic heat rate were explored to understand core evolution. Previous models failed to reproduce the present-day inner core size and dynamo, but a potentially new solution involving a hot initial core and lower melting temperature deserves further investigation.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jonathan E. E. Mound, Christopher J. J. Davies
Summary: Thermal interactions between Earth's core and mantle play a crucial role in maintaining the geomagnetic field, but their specific effects on magnetic field behavior are still uncertain. Through numerical dynamo simulations, researchers successfully reproduced Earth-like conditions and revealed how the mantle controls core dynamics. By comparing these simulations to global magnetic field models, they found that the long-term geomagnetic signatures are characterized by equatorial patches of reverse flux. Additionally, the simulations suggest that the present-day geomagnetic field may be unusual.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Alfred J. Wilson, Dario Alfe, Andrew M. Walker, Christopher J. Davies
Summary: The formation of Earth's solid inner core is a significant event in the evolution of the deep Earth and the generation of the geomagnetic field. Previous studies have underestimated the cooling required for the inner core nucleation, leaving a gap in our understanding of deep Earth evolution. This paper explores untested iron-rich systems to better understand the nucleation process and provides new insights into the formation of Earth's inner core.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Stefano Maffei, Philip W. Livermore, Jon E. Mound, Sam Greenwood, Christopher J. Davies
Summary: Paleomagnetic studies in Central and Southern Italy revealed extreme directional changes in the geomagnetic field during its last reversal about 780,000 years ago. The observed changes may be localized and transient, rather than indicative of global variations. The amount of kinetic energy required to instantaneously reproduce these changes differs depending on whether they are considered global or local in nature.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Alfred J. Wilson, Andrew M. Walker, Dario Alfe, Christopher J. Davies
Summary: Classical nucleation theory predicts average waiting times for systems to freeze as they are cooled below the melting temperature, but for systems at low to moderate undercooling, waiting times are too long for freezing to be observed via simulation. This study develops a new approach to estimate waiting times at temperatures closer to the melting point using statistics on solidlike particles in molecular dynamic simulations of supercooled liquids. The method allows characterization of nucleation behavior at small undercooling conditions without prior thermodynamic insight.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Lingyu Zhang, Kristoffer Szilas
Summary: This study presents new petrological and geochemical data for the Narssaq Ultramafic Body (NUB) in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex of SW Greenland. The results indicate that the ultramafic rocks of NUB are not mantle residues, but instead represent crustal cumulates derived from high-Mg magmas.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Rong Xu, Sarah Lambart, Oliver Nebel, Ming Li, Zhongjie Bai, Junbo Zhang, Ganglan Zhang, Jianfeng Gao, Hong Zhong, Yongsheng Liu
Summary: This study investigated the iron isotope compositions of Cenozoic basalts in Southeast China, finding significant variations related to different types of basalts and their respective sources.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
C. J. Ebinger, Miriam C. Reiss, Ian Bastow, Mary M. Karanja
Summary: The East African rift system is formed above mantle upwellings and the formation of rifts is related to lithospheric thinning and magmatic activity. The amount of splitting varies spatially and the fast axes are predominantly parallel to the orientation of the rifts. Thick lithospheric modules have less splitting and different orientations, which may indicate mantle plume flow. Splitting rotates and increases in strength as it enters the rift zones, suggesting that the anisotropy is mainly present at shallow depths.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Correction
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ekaterina Rojas-Kolomiets, Owen Jensen, Michael Bizimis, Gene Yogodzinski, Lukas Ackerman
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Robert W. Nicklas, Igor S. Puchtel, Ethan F. Baxter
Summary: Oxygen fugacity is a fundamental parameter for understanding redox processes in igneous systems. This study compares the Fe-XANES oxybarometry method with the V-in-olivine method for evaluating fO(2) in MORB lavas. The results show that the V-in-olivine method is not applicable to samples with low MgO content, and that the majority of Archean komatiite sources have lower fO(2) than modern MORB.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Chunfei Chen, Stephen F. Foley, Sebastian Tappe, Huange Ren, Lanping Feng, Yongsheng Liu
Summary: The volatile components CO2 and H2O play a major role in mantle melting and heterogeneity. In this study, Ca isotopes were used to trace the lithological heterogeneity in alkaline magmatic rocks. The results revealed the presence of K-richterite and carbonate components as the source of alkaline magmas with low delta 44/40Ca values. These findings highlight the importance of Ca isotopes as a robust tracer of lithological variation caused by volatiles in the Earth's upper mantle.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Timothee Jautzy, Gilles Rixhon, Regis Braucher, Romain Delunel, Pierre G. Valla, Laurent Schmitt, Aster Team
Summary: Although the current approach to estimate catchment-wide denudation rates using only 10Be concentrations has made significant progress in geomorphology, this study argues for the inclusion of 26Al measurements and testing of steady-state assumptions in slow eroding, formerly glaciated landscapes. The study conducted measurements of both 10Be and 26Al in stream sediments from the Vosges Massif in France and found that elevation, slope, channel steepness, and precipitation were the primary factors controlling denudation rates. The study also revealed a significant relationship between the extent of past glaciation and the cosmogenic (un-)steadiness in the stream sediments.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Erik van der Wiel, Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen, Cedric Thieulot, Wim Spakman
Summary: Numerical models of Earth's mantle dynamics can predict the vigour and mixing of mantle flow, and the average slab sinking rates are an unexplored parameter that can provide intrinsic information on these characteristics. Through numerical experiments, it has been found that slab sinking rates are strongly correlated with mantle convection and mixing, and may explain geochemical observations from hotspot volcanoes.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)