Rheological control of Wadati-Benioff zone seismicity

Intermediate and deep focus earthquakes in Wadati-Benioff zones are thought to occur in the cold interiors of downgoing slabs which are significantly stronger than the warmer mantle. Given that earthquakes in oceanic lithosphere appear restricted by an isotherm, and hence a given value of lithospheric strength, we investigate whether a similar formulation is useful for subducting plates. Strength in downgoing slabs should be affected by both pressure and temperature, an effect previously treated using a depth‐dependent limiting temperature for seismicity [Wortel, 1982]. We find this limiting temperature implies that a possible limiting strength increases strongly with depth, unless either the temperatures were too low or the activation volume too large. Comparison of the analytic model used by Wortel with numerical thermal models appears to exclude the first possibility. We explore the second possibility by using the numerical thermal model to compute strength contours for flow law constants reported from laboratory experiments, and find that the expected pressure strengthening is large enough that the slab should have considerable strength well below the deepest seismicity. We conclude that if laboratory results are applicable to these conditions, either a strongly depth‐dependent limiting strength exists or factors in addition to strength control the distribution of subduction zone earthquakes

Leveraging HTC for UK eScience with very large Condor pools: demand for transforming untapped power into results

We provide an insight into the demand from the UK eScience community for very large HighThroughput Computing resources and provide an example of such a resource in current productionuse: the 930-node eMinerals Condor pool at UCL. We demonstrate the significant benefits thisresource has provided to UK eScientists via quickly and easily realising results throughout a rangeof problem areas. We demonstrate the value added by the pool to UCL I.S infrastructure andprovide a case for the expansion of very large Condor resources within the UK eScience Gridinfrastructure. We provide examples of the technical and administrative difficulties faced whenscaling up to institutional Condor pools, and propose the introduction of a UK Condor/HTCworking group to co-ordinate the mid to long term UK eScience Condor development, deploymentand support requirements, starting with the inaugural UK Condor Week in October 2004

CaSiO3 perovskite at lower mantle pressures

We investigate by first-principles the structural behavior of CaSiO3 perovskite up to lower mantle pressures. We confirm that the cubic perovskite modification is unstable at all pressures. The zero Kelvin structure is stabilized by SiO6 octahedral rotations that lower the symmetry to tetragonal, orthorhombic, rhombohedral, or to a cubic supercell. The resulting structures have comparable energies and equation of state parameters. This suggests that relatively small deviatoric/ shear stresses might induce phase transformations between these various structures softening some elastic moduli, primarily the shear modulus. The seismic signature accompanying a local increase in CaSiO3 content should be a positive density anomaly and a negative V-S anomaly

Condor services for the Global Grid:interoperability between Condor and OGSA

In order for existing grid middleware to remain viable it is important to investigate their potentialfor integration with emerging grid standards and architectural schemes. The Open Grid ServicesArchitecture (OGSA), developed by the Globus Alliance and based on standard XML-based webservices technology, was the first attempt to identify the architectural components required tomigrate towards standardized global grid service delivery. This paper presents an investigation intothe integration of Condor, a widely adopted and sophisticated high-throughput computing softwarepackage, and OGSA; with the aim of bringing Condor in line with advances in Grid computing andprovide the Grid community with a mature suite of high-throughput computing job and resourcemanagement services. This report identifies mappings between elements of the OGSA and Condorinfrastructures, potential areas of conflict, and defines a set of complementary architectural optionsby which individual Condor services can be exposed as OGSA Grid services, in order to achieve aseamless integration of Condor resources in a standardized grid environment

Modeling the melting of multicomponent systems: the case of MgSiO3 perovskite under lower mantle conditions

Knowledge of the melting properties of materials, especially at extreme pressure conditions, represents a long-standing scientific challenge. For instance, there is currently considerable uncertainty over the melting temperatures of the high-pressure mantle mineral, bridgmanite (MgSiO3-perovskite), with current estimates of the melting T at the base of the mantle ranging from 4800 K to 8000 K. The difficulty with experimentally measuring high pressure melting temperatures has motivated the use of ab initio methods, however, melting is a complex multi-scale phenomenon and the timescale for melting can be prohibitively long. Here we show that a combination of empirical and ab-initio molecular dynamics calculations can be used to successfully predict the melting point of multicomponent systems, such as MgSiO3 perovskite. We predict the correct low-pressure melting T, and at high-pressure we show that the melting temperature is only 5000 K at 120 GPa, a value lower than nearly all previous estimates. In addition, we believe that this strategy is of general applicability and therefore suitable for any system under physical conditions where simpler models fail

Thermal expansion and crystal structure of cementite, Fe3C, between 4 and 600K determined by time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction

The cementite phase of Fe3C has been studied by high-resolution neutron powder diffraction at 4.2 K and at 20 K intervals between 20 and 600 K. The crystal structure remains orthorhombic (Pnma) throughout, with the fractional coordinates of all atoms varying only slightly (the magnetic structure of the ferromagnetic phase could not be determined). The ferromagnetic phase transition, with Tc 480 K, greatly affects the thermal expansion coefficient of the material. The average volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion above Tc was found to be 4.1 (1) × 10-5 K-1; below Tc it is considerably lower (< 1.8 × 10-5 K-1) and varies greatly with temperature. The behaviour of the volume over the full temperature range of the experiment may be modelled by a third-order Grüneisen approximation to the zero-pressure equation of state, combined with a magnetostrictive correction based on mean-field theory

The elastic properties of hcp-Fe1-xSix at Earth’s inner-core conditions

The density of the Earth's inner core is less than that of pure iron and the P-wave velocities and, particularly, the S-wave velocities in the inner core observed from seismology are lower than those generally obtained from mineral physics. On the basis of measurements of compressional sound velocities to ∼100 GPa in diamond-anvil cells, extrapolated to inner-core pressures, it has been suggested that both the inner-core density and P-wave velocity can be matched simultaneously by the properties of a hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) Fe–Si or Fe–Ni–Si alloy. In this paper we present the results of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of hcp-Fe–Si alloys at 360 GPa and at temperatures up to melting. We find that although the inner-core density can be readily matched by an Fe–Si alloy, the same is not true for the wave velocities. At inner-core temperatures, the P-wave velocity in hcp-Fe–Si remains equal to, or slightly above, that of hcp-Fe and shows little change with silicon content. The S-wave velocity is reduced with respect to that of pure hcp-iron, except for temperatures immediately prior to melting, where the velocities are almost equal; this is a consequence of the fact that the strong temperature dependence of the shear modulus that was seen in similar simulations of hcp-Fe just prior to melting was not found in hcp-Fe–Si, and so in this temperature range the reduced S-wave velocity of pure iron closely matches that of the alloy. Our results show that for an hcp-Fe–Si alloy matching the inner-core density, both the P-wave and the S-wave velocities will be higher than those observed by seismology and we conclude, therefore, that our calculations indicate that inner core velocities cannot be explained by an hcp-Fe–Si alloy. The opposite conclusion, obtained previously from experimental data measured at lower pressures, is a consequence of: (i) the necessarily large extrapolation in pressure and temperature required to extend the experimental results to inner-core conditions and (ii) the use of a velocity–density relationship for pure hcp-iron that is now considered to be incorrect

Thermoelasticity of Fe7C3 under inner-core conditions

It has recently been reported, on the basis of extrapolated experimental data, that the iron carbide, Fe7C3, has shear wave velocities and a Poisson's ratio consistent with the seismological values for the Earth's inner core and thus that Fe7C3 is a strong candidate for the inner core composition. In this study, using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we report the thermoelastic properties of Fe7C3 at 350 GPa up to its melting temperature. Due to significant elastic softening prior to melting, the calculated elastic properties, including wave velocities, do indeed agree well with those from seismology. However, the density was found to be much too low (by ~8%) when compared to geophysical data, and therefore, Fe7C3 must be ruled out as a major component of the Earth's inner core

The influence of potassium on core and geodynamo evolution

We model the thermal evolution of the core and mantle using a parametrized convection scheme, and calculate the entropy available to drive the geodynamo as a function of time. The cooling of the core is controlled by the rate at which the mantle can remove heat. Rapid core cooling favours the operation of a geodynamo but creates an inner core that is too large; slower cooling reduces the inner core size but makes a geodynamo less likely to operate. Introducing potassium into the core retards inner core growth and provides an additional source of entropy. For our nominal model parameters, a core containing approximate to 400 ppm potassium satisfies the criteria of present-day inner core size, surface heat flux, mantle temperature and cooling rate, and positive core entropy production.We have identified three possibilities that may allow the criteria to be satisfied without potassium in the core. (1) The core thermal conductivity is less than half the generally accepted value of 50 W m(-1) K-1. (2) The core solidus and adiabat are significantly colder and shallower than results from shock experiments and ab initio simulations indicate. (3) The core heat flux has varied by no more than a factor of 2 over Earth history. All models we examined with the correct present-day inner core radius have an inner core age of < 1.5 Gyr; prior to this time the geodynamo was sustained by cooling and radioactive heat production within a completely liquid core

Habitable Planets: Interior Dynamics and Long-Term Evolution

Here, the state of our knowledge regarding the interior dynamics and evolution of habitable terrestrial planets including Earth and super-Earths is reviewed, and illustrated using state-of-the-art numerical models. Convection of the rocky mantle is the key process that drives the evolution of the interior: it causes plate tectonics, controls heat loss from the metallic core (which generates the magnetic field) and drives long-term volatile cycling between the atmosphere/ocean and interior. Geoscientists have been studying the dynamics and evolution of Earth's interior since the discovery of plate tectonics in the late 1960s and on many topics our understanding is very good, yet many first-order questions remain. It is commonly thought that plate tectonics is necessary for planetary habitability because of its role in long-term volatile cycles that regulate the surface environment. Plate tectonics is the surface manifestation of convection in the 2900-km deep rocky mantle, yet exactly how plate tectonics arises is still quite uncertain; other terrestrial planets like Venus and Mars instead have a stagnant lithosphere- essentially a single plate covering the entire planet. Nevertheless, simple scalings as well as more complex models indicate that plate tectonics should be easier on larger planets (super-Earths), other things being equal. The dynamics of terrestrial planets, both their surface tectonics and deep mantle dynamics, change over billions of years as a planet cools. Partial melting is a key process influencing solid planet evolution. Due to the very high pressure inside super-Earths' mantles the viscosity would normally be expected to be very high, as is also indicated by our density function theory (DFT) calculations. Feedback between internal heating, temperature and viscosity leads to a superadiabatic temperature profile and self-regulation of the mantle viscosity such that sluggish convection still occur