Changes in core-mantle boundary heat flux patterns throughout the supercontinent cycle

TL;DR

This study uses advanced geodynamic models to analyze how core-mantle boundary heat flux patterns have evolved over the last billion years, revealing their influence on Earth's magnetic field and thermal history.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the consistent boundary flux method in 3-D mantle convection models to track heat flux changes over the supercontinent cycle.

Findings

Heat flux anomalies vary significantly over Earth's history.

Distribution of boundary heat flux structures changes in location, shape, and number.

Implications for Earth's thermal evolution and magnetic field stability.

Abstract

The Earth's magnetic field is generated by a dynamo in the outer core and is crucial for shielding our planet from harmful radiation. Despite the established importance of the core-mantle boundary heat flux as driver for the dynamo, open questions remain about how heat flux heterogeneities affect the magnetic field. Here, we explore the distribution of core-mantle boundary heat flux on Earth and its changes over time using compressible global 3-D mantle convection models in the geodynamic modeling software ASPECT. We discuss the use of the consistent boundary flux method as a tool to more accurately compute boundary heat fluxes in finite element simulations and the workflow to provide the computed heat flux patterns as boundary conditions in geodynamo simulations. Our models use a plate reconstruction throughout the last 1 billion years -- encompassing the complete supercontinent cycle -- to determine the location and sinking speed of subducted plates. The results show how mantle upwellings and downwellings create localized heat flux anomalies at the core-mantle boundary that can vary drastically over Earth's history and depend on the properties and evolution of the lowermost mantle as well as the surface subduction zone configuration. The distribution of hot and cold structures at the core-mantle boundary changes throughout the supercontinent cycle in terms of location, shape and number, indicating that these structures fluctuate and might have looked very differently in Earth's past. Our results have implications for understanding the Earth's thermal evolution and the stability of its magnetic field over geological timescales. They provide insights into the potential effects of the mantle on the magnetic field and pave the way for further exploring questions about the nucleation of the inner core and the past state of the lowermost mantle.