The evolution and distribution of recycled oceanic crust in the Earth’s mantle: Insight from geodynamic models

A better understanding of the Earth’s compositional structure is needed to place the geochemical record of surface rocks into the context of Earth accretion and evolution. Cosmochemical constraints imply that lower-mantle rocks may be enriched in silica relative to upper-mantle pyrolite, whereas geophysical observations support whole-mantle convection and mixing. To resolve this discrepancy, it has been suggested that subducted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) segregates from subducted harzburgite to accumulate in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) and/or the lower mantle. However, the key parameters that control basalt segregation and accumulation remain poorly constrained. Here, we use global-scale 2D thermochemical convection models to investigate the influence of mantle-viscosity profile, planetary-tectonic style and bulk composition on the evolution and distribution of mantle heterogeneity. Our models robustly predict that, for all cases with Earth-like tectonics, a basalt-enriched reservoir is formed in the MTZ, and a harzburgite-enriched reservoir is sustained at 660~800 km depth, despite ongoing whole-mantle circulation. The enhancement of basalt and harzburgite in and beneath the MTZ, respectively, are laterally variable, ranging from ~30% to 50% basalt fraction, and from ~40% to 80% harzburgite enrichment relative to pyrolite. Models also predict an accumulation of basalt near the core mantle boundary (CMB) as thermochemical piles, as well as moderate enhancement of most of the lower mantle by basalt. While the accumulation of basalt in the MTZ does not strongly depend on the mantle-viscosity profile (explained by a balance between basalt delivery by plumes and removal by slabs at the given MTZ capacity), that of the lowermost mantle does: lower-mantle viscosity directly controls the efficiency of basalt segregation (and entrainment) near the CMB; upper-mantle viscosity has an indirect effect through controlling slab thickness. Finally, the composition of the bulk-silicate Earth may be shifted relative to that of upper-mantle pyrolite, if indeed significant reservoirs of basalt exist in the MTZ and lower mantle.