Despite recent insight regarding the history and current state of the Moon from satellite sensing and analyses of limited Apollo-era seismic data, deficiencies remain in our understanding of the deep lunar interior. We reanalyzed Apollo lunar seismograms using array-processing methods to search for the presence of reflected and converted seismic energy from the core. Our results suggest the presence of a solid inner and fluid outer core, overlain by a partially molten boundary layer. The relative sizes of the inner and outer core suggest that the core is ~60% liquid by volume. Based on phase diagrams of iron alloys and the presence of partial melt, the core probably contains less than 6 weight % of lighter alloying components, which is consistent with a volatile-depleted interior.
Abstract:The content of hydrogen in the outer core of the Earth is roughly quantified from the dependence of the density of iron (viewed as the main component of the core) on the amount of hydrogen dissolved in the core, with account of the most likely presence of iron hydrogen in the outer core, and the matter's density jumps at the boundaries between the outer liquid core and the internal solid core (that is devoid of hydrogen) and the mantle. Estimations for the outer liquid core show that the hydrogen content varies from 0.67 wt. % at the boundary with the solid inner core to 3.04 wt. % at the boundary with the mantle.Iron occlusion is viewed as the most likely mechanism for the iron-nickel core to capture such a significant amount of hydrogen. Iron occlusion took place at the stage of the young sun when the metallic core emerged in the cooling protoplanetary cloud containing hydrogen in high amounts, and non-volatile hydrogen was accumulated. Absorption (occlusion) of molecular hydrogen was preceded by dissociation of molecules into atoms and ionization of the atoms, as proved by results of studies focused on Fe-H2 system, and hydrogen dissipation was thus prevented. The core matter was subject to gravitational compression at high pressures that contributed to the forced rapprochement of protons and electrons which interaction resulted by the formation of hydrogen atoms. Highly active hydrogen atoms reacted with metals and produced hydrides of iron and nickel, FeH and NiH. While the metallic core and then the silicate mantle were growing and consolidating, the stability of FeH and NiH was maintained due to pressures that were steadily increasing. Later on, due to the impacts of external forces on the Earth, marginal layers at the mantle-core boundary were detached and displaced, pressures decreased in the system, and iron and nickel hydrides were decomposed to produce molecular hydrogen. Consequences of the hydrides transformation into molecular hydrogen are important in terms of petrology, mineralogy and geodynamics. At high temperatures, molecular hydrogen can be involved in redox reactions with iron silicates and carbonaceous gases (CO and CO2), and the synthesis of water becomes possible throughout the entire mantle. It is known that water can significantly reduce the temperature of rock melting, which leads to partial melting of the rocks and pluming in the asthenosphere (in the D" layer) at the bottom of the mantle, and causes the hydrolysis of magnesium silicates, which results in the chemically bound state (hydroxyl ions). Highly ductile hydroxyl-containing magnesium silicates can alter rheological properties of the rocks. A combination of rheologically weak areas in the mantle rocks and the external cosmic effects can cause significant impacts on the tectonic activity and facilitate its manifestation throughout the entire mantle. GEODYNAMICS & TECTONOPHYSICS P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E I N S T I T U T E O F T H E E A R T H ' S C R U S T S I B E R I A N B R A N C H O F R U S S I A N A C A D E M Y O...
Processes within the lowest several hundred kilometers of Earth's rocky mantle play a critical role in the evolution of the planet. Understanding Earth's lower mantle requires putting recent seismic and mineral physics discoveries into a self-consistent, geodynamically feasible context. Two nearly antipodal large low-shear-velocity provinces in the deep mantle likely represent chemically distinct and denser material. High-resolution seismological studies have revealed laterally varying seismic velocity discontinuities in the deepest few hundred kilometers, consistent with a phase transition from perovskite to post-perovskite. In the deepest tens of kilometers of the mantle, isolated pockets of ultralow seismic velocities may denote Earth's deepest magma chamber.
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