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The Earth's magnetic field is generated by a dynamo in the outer core and iscrucial for shielding our planet from harmful radiation. Despite theestablished importance of the core-mantle boundary heat flux as driver for thedynamo, open questions remain about how heat flux heterogeneities affect themagnetic field. Here, we explore the distribution of core-mantle boundary heatflux on Earth and its changes over time using compressible global 3-D mantleconvection models in the geodynamic modeling software ASPECT. We discuss theuse of the consistent boundary flux method as a tool to more accurately computeboundary heat fluxes in finite element simulations and the workflow to providethe computed heat flux patterns as boundary conditions in geodynamosimulations.  Our models use a plate reconstruction throughout the last 1 billion years --encompassing the complete supercontinent cycle -- to determine the location andsinking speed of subducted plates. The results show how mantle upwellings anddownwellings create localized heat flux anomalies at the core-mantle boundarythat can vary drastically over Earth's history and depend on the properties andevolution of the lowermost mantle as well as the surface subduction zoneconfiguration. The distribution of hot and cold structures at the core-mantleboundary changes throughout the supercontinent cycle in terms of location,shape and number, indicating that these structures fluctuate and might havelooked very differently in Earth's past. Our results have implications forunderstanding the Earth's thermal evolution and the stability of its magneticfield over geological timescales. They provide insights into the potentialeffects of the mantle on the magnetic field and pave the way for furtherexploring questions about the nucleation of the inner core and the past stateof the lowermost mantle.

Changes in core-mantle boundary heat flux patterns throughout the supercontinent cycle