Effects of rotation on mantle dynamics and lower mantle mass anomalies

Earth's rotation is important for many geophysical processes, but its effects on mantle dynamics are usually neglected on the basis that they are small compared to the other forces involved. However, over long enough times the cumulative effects of rotation may be important in the mantle, which has been suggested in the context of true polar wander on Earth and other planets. Here we investigate the effects that centrifugal forces and self gravity have on mantle convection in a rotating, ellipsoidal Earth with a layer of compositionally distinct dense material at the core-mantle boundary. We present a framework for studying mantle convection for these conditions using a modified version of CitcomS which includes centrifugal forces, gravity perturbations due to ellipticity, and boundary conditions matching those of an ellipsoidal domain. We vary the density and heat production of the compositionally distinct material, and the Rayleigh number of Earth. Of primary interest is whether, for reasonable values of these parameters, the dense material can a) collect near the equator, and b) be swept into the degree 2 pattern observed seismically in the lower mantle.