On the Dynamics of Water Transportation and Magmatism in the Mid-Mantle

Abstract

The distribution of water within the Earth's mantle has significant implications for the Earth's dynamics and evolution. Recent mineral physics experiments indicate that dense hydrous magnesium silicates can contain large amounts of water stable up to 60 GPa or even beyond along slab geotherms. Here we perform petrological-thermomechanical numerical simulations of water transportation by deep slab subduction and related magmatism in the mid-mantle. Key parameters including those defining the slab thermal parameter and the water storage capacity in the oceanic lithosphere and surrounding mantle are explored. The results show two major dehydration events of ultramafic rocks at around 150 and 750 km by dehydration of serpentine at 600°C and superhydrous phase B in the entrained wet upper mantle, respectively. Large amounts of water, ∼1.5 wt% at least locally, are carried down to the mantle transition zone and lower mantle. We estimate an upper limit of slab water flux into the mid-mantle of 0.1–0.28 × 1012 kg/yr, which is ∼13%–37% of the input water from the serpentinized mantle. Moreover, a substantial fraction of the water released by the slab is absorbed by the entrained mantle and overlying mid-mantle portions, such that ∼30%–70% of the water injected at the trench could be delivered to the lower mantle. The deepest magmatism is observed at ∼1,500 km in case of phase H breakdown (MgO-SiO2-H2O system), coinciding with the depth of strong seismic attenuation. Overall, these simulations suggest that up to 0.2 ocean mass per billion years could be transported down to the mid-mantle and beyond.