Detection of inner core solidification from observations of antipodal PKIIKP

Abstract

PKIIKP waves, reflected from the underside of the inner core boundary, are very sensitive to the S velocity in the uppermost 80 km of the inner core at antipodal distances, undergoing a phase change and a factor of 4 amplification as the distance approaches 180°. Modeled PKIIKP waveforms are consistent with a near-zero shear modulus in the uppermost inner core in a 20-40 km thick patch beneath the eastern equatorial hemisphere. This bright spot of PKIIKP reflection correlates with a thin zone of low P velocity inferred from the complexity of PKIKP waveforms sampling this patch. Estimates of grain sizes from seismic attenuation, the absence of backscattered PKiKP coda in this region, and a prediction for enhanced heat flow through this patch suggest that it is a region of solidification rather than melting.