Compositional instability of Earth's solid inner core
Compositional instability of Earth's solid inner core
复制标题
地球固体内核的成分不稳定性
DOI:
10.1002/grl.50186
复制
发表时间:
2013
影响因子:
5.2
通讯作者:
Gubbins D
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Gubbins D
All models that invoke convection to explain the observed seismic variations in Earth's inner core require unstable inner core stratification. Previous work has assumed that chemical effects are stabilizing and focused on thermal convection, but recent calculations indicate that the thermal conductivity at core temperatures and pressures is so large that the inner core must cool entirely by conduction. We examine partitioning of oxygen, sulfur, and silicon in binary iron alloys and show that inner core growth results in a variable light element concentration with time: oxygen concentration decreases, sulfur concentration decreases initially and increases later, and silicon produces a negligible effect to within the model errors. The result is a net destabilizing concentration gradient. Convective stability is measured by a Rayleigh number, which exceeds the critical value for reasonable estimates of the viscosity and diffusivity. Our results suggest that inner core convection models, including the recently proposed translational mode, can be viable candidates for explaining seismic results if the driving force is compositional.
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影响因子:
5.2
作者:
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通讯作者:
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DOI:
--
发表时间:
2015
期刊:
影响因子:
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作者:
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通讯作者:
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通讯作者:
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DOI:
--
发表时间:
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期刊:
影响因子:
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