Definition
The upper mantle is defined as that part of the mantle between the crust and the phase transition of γ-olivine to perovskite. The total mass of the upper mantle is 1.06 × 1024 kg, about a quarter of the total mass of the mantle. Its volume, 2.95 × 1011 km3, is a third of the total volume of the mantle.
Until the discovery of a major transition near 660-km depth, the upper mantle was better known as Bullen’s “layer B,” extending to 400-km depth. A sharp gradient or discontinuity in seismic velocity causes a bend in the travel time curves of P-wave arrivals near 20°, such that the slowness drops from more than 12 s/deg to 10 s/deg. This phenomenon was observed as early as 1931 by Jeffreys, who correctly adopted a suggestion by J.D. Bernal that it represents a high-pressure modification of olivine. The modern notion of the upper mantle actually extends into Bullen’s next layer, “layer C,” which has now been abandoned as a physically meaningful subdivision.
The depths to the top...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Becker, T. W., and Boschi, L., 2002. A comparison of tomographic and geodynamic mantle models. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 3(1), 1003.
Bostock, M. G., 2009. Teleseismic body-wave scattering and receiver-side structure. In Romanowicz, B., and Dziewonski, A. (eds.), Seismology and Structure of the Earth. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 219–246.
Dziewonski, A. M., and Anderson, D. L., 1981. Preliminary reference Earth model. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 25, 297–356.
Ferreira, A. M. G., Woodhouse, J. H., Visser, K., and Trampert, J., 2010. On the robustness of global radially anisotropic surface wave tomography. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, B04313, doi:10.1029/2009JB006716.
Fukao, Y., Widiyantoro, S., and Obayashi, M., 2001. Stagnant slabs in the upper and lower mantle transition region. Reviews of Geophysics, 39, 291–323.
Gu, Y. J., Dziewonski, A. M., and Ekström, G., 2001. Preferential detection of the Lehmann discontinuity beneath continents. Geophysical Research Letters, 28, 4655–4658.
Houser, C., Masters, G., Flanagan, M., and Shearer, P., 2008. Determination and analysis of long-wavelength transition zone structure using precursors. Geophysical Journal International, 174, 178–194.
Jordan, T. H., 1981. Continents as a chemical boundary layer. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 301A, 359–373.
Montelli, R., Nolet, G., Dahlen, F. A., and Masters, G., 2006. A catalogue of deep mantle plumes: new results from finite-frequency tomography. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 7, Q11007.
Rawlinson, N., Pozgay, S., and Fishwick, S., 2010. Seismic tomography: a window into deep earth. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 178, 101–135.
Sigloch, K., McQuarrie, N., and Nolet, G., 2008. Two-stage subduction history under North America inferred from multiple-frequency tomography. Nature Geoscience, 1, 458–462.
Zhao, D., Xu, Y., Wiens, D. A., Dorman, L., Hildebrand, J., and Webb, S., 1997. Depth extent of the Lau back-arc spreading center and its relation to subduction processes. Science, 278, 254–257.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Nolet, G. (2011). Earth’s Structure, Upper Mantle. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_44
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_44
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8701-0
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-8702-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences