High-resolution probing of the Earth’s lowermost mantle

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Last updated: August 2026

About

The core-mantle boundary separates the slowly convecting silicate mantle from the vigorously convecting liquid outer core. Heat and material transfer across this boundary influence mantle circulation, plate tectonics, and the thermal history of Earth's core. Seismology provides the principal means of resolving the structure and dynamics of this inaccessible region.

This project uses high-resolution seismic imaging to investigate the lowermost mantle and its connection with geodynamic processes. It treats uncertainty explicitly, because uneven seismic coverage and complex wave propagation make the inverse problem inherently non-unique.

Research questions

• What is the origin of large low-velocity provinces, ultra-low velocity zones, and the D'' layer?
• How do lowermost-mantle structures relate to subducted lithosphere, mantle plumes, and heat transfer across the core-mantle boundary?
• Which seismic observations provide the strongest constraints on fine-scale structure and anisotropy?

Methods and data

Projects can use global seismic waveforms, array processing, tomography, Bayesian inversion, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, machine-learning measurements, and geodynamic interpretation. Students can develop methods, analyse a regional dataset, or connect seismic models with mantle-convection predictions.

Possible projects

Possible directions include imaging core-mantle boundary topography, resolving ultra-low velocity zones, constraining anisotropy in D'', evaluating new ocean-bottom or polar seismic data, and comparing seismic structures with thermochemical convection models.

Essential background

Useful preparation includes seismology, geophysics, mathematics, physics, programming, or statistics. Students need not have experience in every method listed above.