Geochemical evidence for excess iron in the mantle beneath Hawaii

Chemical interaction of Earth's mantle with the liquid outer core should influence the mantle's iron content. Osmium isotope ratios in Hawaiian lavas indicate a mass flux of ≤1% core to the mantle, which is the immediate source of these lavas. We present precise measurements of the Fe/Mn ratio for Hawaiian lavas, revealing an increase of 1 to 2% in the mole fraction of iron in the mantle beneath Hawaii. This corresponds to a density anomaly of about 0.5%, about the same magnitude observed in seismic tomography models of the Pacific superswell region. These data also rule out a role for Mn-rich sediments as the source of the Hawaiian Os isotope signal.