1. Convective Erosion of a Primordial Stratification Atop Earth's Core.
- Author
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Bouffard, M., Landeau, M., and Goument, A.
- Subjects
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EARTH'S core , *EROSION , *GEOMAGNETISM , *TURBULENT flow - Abstract
Seismic and geomagnetic observations suggest the presence of a stratified layer atop Earth's core. Previous laboratory experiments showed that this layer could be primordial, produced by a collision between the primitive Earth and a giant impactor. However, paleomagnetic data require turbulent flow motions in the core for the last 3.4 Ga. Such flows can erode an existing stratification. It is therefore unclear whether a primordial stratification still exists nowadays. Here, we use numerical simulations to investigate the erosion by thermal convection of a chemical layer atop Earth's core. Our scaling law predicts that a primordial layer thicker than 1 km with a density anomaly above 0.01% can survive 4.5 Ga of convective erosion. We conclude that the observed present‐day stratification could be a vestige of core formation. We also observe strong double‐diffusive flows in the layer. These might reconcile the existence of a stratification with the present‐day structure of the geomagnetic field. Key Points: We perform the first simulations on the erosion by thermal convection of a chemically stratified layer atop Earth's coreOur numerical scaling suggests that a primordial chemical stratification in Earth's core can persist up to the present dayThe stratification at the top of Earth's core, suggested by seismic and geomagnetic observations, could be a vestige of core formation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
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