COMITAC · An integrated geoscientific study of the thermodynamics and composition of the Earth's core-mantle interface

The core-mantle interface is the central cog in the Earth's titanic heat engine. As the boundary between the two major convecting parts of the Earth system (the solid silicate mantle and the liquid iron outer core) the properties of this region have a profound influence on the thermochemical and dynamic evolution of the entire planet, including tectonic phenomena at the surface. Evidence from seismology shows that D (the lowermost few hundred kilometres of the mantle) is strongly heterogeneous in temperature, chemistry, structure and dynamics