Basal mantle structure regenerated through supercontinents

The African large low shearwave-velocity province (LLSVP) advected plumes manifest as large igneous provinces (LIPs) during Pangea breakup. The existence of such basal mantle structures during earlier supercontinents is unknown. Here we analyze samples from China and Brazil to demonstrate with literature data a series of seven LIPs of supercontinent Rodinia from 940–720 million years ago. Multi-proxy reconstruction results in a coherent ring of LIPs comparable with the size of Rodinia that resembles the product of an ancient LLSVP whose edges advected LIP-producing plumes. Oceanic lithosphere recycling following supercontinental assembly is evident in Nd isotopes as evolving LIP-sources. There is a same secular variational pattern of LIP sources with a replenished depleted component advected by plumes as well as a similar manner yet contrasting paleogeographic configurations corresponding to supercontinental breakup between Rodinian and Pangean LLSVPs. This evolving pattern of LLSVPs suggests their partial regeneration (replenishment and migration) between supercontinents. Reconstruction of seven sequential Rodinia large igneous provinces defines a basal mantle structure similar but different from that of Pangea, which implies partial regeneration of large low shearwave-velocity provinces through supercontinent cycles.