Low melt viscosity enables melt doublets above the 410-km discontinuity

Low melt viscosity enables melt doublets above the 410-km discontinuity. Xie, L., Andrault, D., Yoshino, T., Han, C., Hammond, J. O. S., Xu, F., Zhao, B., Lord, O. T., Fei, Y., Falvard, S., Kakizawa, S., Tsujino, N., Higo, Y., Henry, L., Guignot, N., & Dobson, D. P. Nature Communications, 16(1):3239, 2025.

Paper doi abstract bibtex

Seismic and magnetotelluric studies suggest hydrous silicate melts atop the 410 km discontinuity form 30–100 km thick layers. Importantly, in some regions, two layers are observed. These stagnant layers are related to their comparable density to the surrounding mantle, but their formation mechanisms and detailed structures remain unclear. Here we report a large decrease of silicate melt viscosity at \textasciitilde14 GPa, from 96(5) to 11.7(6) mPa⋅s, as water content increases from 15.5 to 31.8 mol% H₂O. Such low viscosities facilitate rapid segregation of melt, which would typically prevent thick layer accumulation. Our 1D finite element simulations show that continuous dehydration melting of upwelling mantle material produces a primary melt layer above 410 km and a secondary layer at the depth of equal mantle-melt densities. These layers can merge into a single thick layer under low density contrasts or high upwelling rates, explaining both melt doublets and thick single layers.

@article{10.1038/s41467-025-58518-7,
year = {2025},
title = {{Low melt viscosity enables melt doublets above the 410-km discontinuity}},
author = {Xie, Longjian and Andrault, Denis and Yoshino, Takashi and Han, Cunrui and Hammond, James O. S. and Xu, Fang and Zhao, Bin and Lord, Oliver T. and Fei, Yingwei and Falvard, Simon and Kakizawa, Sho and Tsujino, Noriyoshi and Higo, Yuji and Henry, Laura and Guignot, Nicolas and Dobson, David P.},
journal = {Nature Communications},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-58518-7},
pmid = {40185751},
pmcid = {PMC11971259},
abstract = {{Seismic and magnetotelluric studies suggest hydrous silicate melts atop the 410 km discontinuity form 30–100 km thick layers. Importantly, in some regions, two layers are observed. These stagnant layers are related to their comparable density to the surrounding mantle, but their formation mechanisms and detailed structures remain unclear. Here we report a large decrease of silicate melt viscosity at \textbackslashtextasciitilde14 GPa, from 96(5) to 11.7(6) mPa⋅s, as water content increases from 15.5 to 31.8 mol\% H₂O. Such low viscosities facilitate rapid segregation of melt, which would typically prevent thick layer accumulation. Our 1D finite element simulations show that continuous dehydration melting of upwelling mantle material produces a primary melt layer above 410 km and a secondary layer at the depth of equal mantle-melt densities. These layers can merge into a single thick layer under low density contrasts or high upwelling rates, explaining both melt doublets and thick single layers.}},
pages = {3239},
number = {1},
volume = {16},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58518-7}
}

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