Abstract. Strong constraints can be placed on the origin of heterogeneity of seismic wave velocities and density if the observed ratios of various parameters are compared with mineral physics predictions. They include the shear to compressional wave velocity heterogeneity ratio, Rs/p --• log Vs /• log Vp, the bulk sound to shear wave velocity heterogeneity ratio, R•/s --6 log V• /6 log Vs, and the density to velocity heterogeneity ratio, R,,,,p --6 log p /6 log V,,p.

First-principles molecular-dynamics simulations show that over the pressure regime of Earth's mantle the mean silicon-oxygen coordination number of magnesium metasilicate liquid changes nearly linearly from 4 to 6. The density contrast between liquid and crystal decreases by a factor of nearly 5 over the mantle pressure regime and is 4% at the core-mantle boundary. The ab initio melting curve, obtained by integration of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, yields a melting temperature at the core-mantle boundary of 5400 +/- 600 kelvins.

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