Earth and Space Science Open Archive This preprint has been submitted to and is under consideration at Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. ESSOAr is a venue for early communication or feedback before peer review. Data may be preliminary.Learn more about preprints preprintOpen AccessYou are viewing the latest version by default [v1]Melting of bridgmanite under hydrous shallow lower mantle conditionsAuthorsGeorgeAmuleleiDShun-ichiroKaratoiDJenniferGirardSee all authors George AmuleleiDCorresponding Author• Submitting AuthorCase Western Reserve UniversityiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1504-4722view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressShun-ichiro KaratoiDYale UniversityiDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1483-4589view email addressThe email was not providedcopy email addressJennifer GirardYale universityview email addressThe email was not providedcopy email address
Abstract This study investigates the effect of pressure on diffusion creep of dry San Carlos and synthetic (prepared by sol-gel method) olivine. We prepared dry (water content < 9 ppm wt) fine-grained (< 1 μm grain-size) olivine and deformed the samples (both San Carlos and solgel olivine in the same assembly) in the same sample assembly under high-pressure (P = 2.9–8.8 GPa) and modest temperatures (T = 980–1250 K) at a fixed strain-rate. Evolution of strength was studied using the radial X-ray diffraction from various diffraction planes. We found that San Carlos and sol-gel olivine show similar rheological behaviour (when normalized to the same grain-size). Stress estimated by the radial X-ray diffraction increases with time and initially shows similar values for all diffraction planes. In many cases, stress values start to depend on the diffraction planes in the later stage and time dependence becomes minor. The micro-structural observations show that grain-size increases during an experiment. The results are interpreted using a theory of radial X-ray diffraction and the theoretical models of diffusion and dislocation creep. We conclude that the initial stage of deformation is by diffusion creep, but deformation in the later stage is by dislocation creep. For dislocation creep, our results are in reasonable agreement with previous low temperature dislocation creep results after a correction of temperature effect. For diffusion creep, we obtain an activation volume of 7.0 ± 2.4 cm3/mol that is substantially smaller than the values reported on dislocation creep but agrees well with the results on grain-growth. By comparing the present results on dry olivine with the previous results on wet (water-saturated) olivine, we found that water enhances diffusion creep but only modestly in comparison to dislocation creep. The difference in the pressure and water content dependence between diffusion and dislocation creep has an important influence on the dominant deformation mechanisms of olivine in the upper mantle.
Abstract The amount of ferric iron Fe 3+ in the lower mantle is largely unknown and may be influenced by the disproportionation reaction of ferrous iron Fe 2+ into metallic Fe and Fe 3+ triggered by the formation of bridgmanite. Recent work has shown that Fe 3+ has a strong effect on the density and seismic wave speeds of bridgmanite and the incorporation of impurities such as aluminum. In order to further investigate the effects of ferric iron on mineral behavior at lower mantle conditions, we conducted laser‐heated diamond‐anvil cell (LHDAC) experiments on two sets of samples nearly identical in composition (an aluminum‐rich pyroxenite glass) except for the Fe 3+ content; with one sample with more Fe 3+ (“oxidized”: Fe 3+ /ΣFe ~ 55%) and the other with less Fe 3+ (“reduced”: Fe 3+ /ΣFe ~ 11%). We heated the samples to lower mantle conditions, and the resulting assemblages were drastically different between the two sets of samples. For the reduced composition, we observed a multiphase assemblage dominated by bridgmanite and calcium perovskite. In contrast, the oxidized material yielded a single phase of Ca‐bearing bridgmanite. These Al‐rich pyroxenite samples show a difference in density and seismic velocities for these two redox states, where the reduced assemblage is denser than the oxidized assemblage by ~1.5% at the bottom of the lower mantle and slower (bulk sound speed) by ~2%. Thus, heterogeneities of Fe 3+ content may lead to density and seismic wave speed heterogeneities in Earth's lower mantle.
