Electrical conductivity measurements of aqueous fluids under pressure with a hydrothermal diamond anvil cell.

Electrical conductivity data of aqueous fluids under pressure can be used to derive the dissociation constants of electrolytes, to assess the effect of ionic dissociation on mineral solubility, and to interpret magnetotelluric data of earth's interior where a free fluid phase is present. Due to limitation on the tensile strength of the alloy material of hydrothermal autoclaves, previous measurements of fluid conductivity were mostly restricted to less than 0.4 GPa and 800 °C. By adapting a Bassett-type hydrothermal diamond anvil cell, we have developed a new method for acquiring electrical conductivity of aqueous fluids under pressure. Our preliminary results for KCl solutions using the new method are consistent with literature data acquired with the conventional method, but the new method has great potential for working in a much broader pressure range.

Water and hydrogen are immiscible in Earth's mantle.

In the deep, chemically reducing parts of Earth's mantle, hydrous fluids contain significant amounts of molecular hydrogen (H2). Thermodynamic models of fluids in Earth's mantle so far have always assumed that molecular hydrogen and water are completely miscible. Here we show experimental evidence that water and hydrogen can coexist as two separate, immiscible phases. Immiscibility between water and hydrogen may be the cause of the formation of enigmatic, ultra-reducing domains in the mantle that contain moissanite (SiC) and other phases indicative of extremely reducing conditions. Moreover, the immiscibility between water and hydrogen may provide a mechanism for the rapid oxidation of Earth's upper mantle immediately following core formation.

The origin of the terrestrial noble-gas signature.

In the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, xenon is strongly depleted relative to argon, when compared to the abundances in chondritic meteorites. The origin of this depletion is poorly understood. Here we show that more than one weight per cent of argon may be dissolved in MgSiO(3) perovskite, the most abundant phase of Earth's lower mantle, whereas the xenon solubility in MgSiO(3) perovskite is orders of magnitude lower. We therefore suggest that crystallization of perovskite from a magma ocean in the very early stages of Earth's history concentrated argon in the lower mantle. After most of the primordial atmosphere had been lost, degassing of the lower mantle replenished argon and krypton, but not xenon, in the atmosphere. Our model implies that the depletion of xenon relative to argon indicates that perovskite crystallized from a magma ocean in the early history of Earth and perhaps also Mars.

Optical absorption and radiative thermal conductivity of silicate perovskite to 125 gigapascals.

Mantle convection and plate tectonics are driven by the heat flow from Earth's core to the surface. The radiative contribution to heat transport is usually assumed to be negligible. Here, we report the near-infrared and optical absorption spectra of silicate perovskite, the main constituent of the lower mantle, to 125 gigapascals. Silicate perovskite remains quite transparent up to the pressures at the core-mantle boundary. Estimates of radiative thermal conductivity derived from these spectra approach 10 watts meter(-1) kelvin(-1) at lowermost mantle conditions, implying that heat conduction is dominated by radiation. However, the increase in radiative conductivity with temperature (T) is less pronounced than expected from a T3 dependency.

Water solubility in aluminous orthopyroxene and the origin of Earth's asthenosphere.

Plate tectonics is based on the concept of rigid lithosphere plates sliding on a mechanically weak asthenosphere. Many models assume that the weakness of the asthenosphere is related to the presence of small amounts of hydrous melts. However, the mechanism that may cause melting in the asthenosphere is not well understood. We show that the asthenosphere coincides with a zone where the water solubility in mantle minerals has a pronounced minimum. The minimum is due to a sharp decrease of water solubility in aluminous orthopyroxene with depth, whereas the water solubility in olivine continuously increases with pressure. Melting in the asthenosphere may therefore be related not to volatile enrichment but to a minimum in water solubility, which causes excess water to form a hydrous silicate melt.

Phase transitions in solids stimulated by simultaneous exposure to high pressure and relativistic heavy ions.

In many solids, heavy ions of high kinetic energy (MeV-GeV) produce long cylindrical damage trails with diameters of order 10 nm. Up to now, no information was available how solids cope with the simultaneous exposure to these energetic projectiles and to high pressure. We report the first experiments where relativistic uranium and gold ions from the SIS heavy-ion synchrotron at GSI were injected through several mm of diamond into solid samples pressurized up to 14 GPa in a diamond anvil cell. In synthetic graphite and natural zircon, the combination of pressure and ion beams triggered drastic structural changes not caused by the applied pressure or the ions alone. The modifications comprise long-range amorphization of graphite rather than individual track formation, and in the case of zircon the decomposition into nanocrystals and nucleation of the high-pressure phase reidite.

Viscosity of fluids in subduction zones.

The viscosities of aqueous fluids with 10 to 80 weight percent dissolved silicates have been measured at 600 degrees to 950 degrees C and 1.0 to 2.0 gigapascals by in situ observation of falling spheres in the diamond anvil cell. The viscosities at 800 degrees C range from 10(-4) to 10(0.5) pascal seconds. The combination of low viscosities with a favorable wetting angle makes silicate-rich fluid an efficient agent for material transport at low-volume fractions. Our results therefore suggest that there may be a direct relationship between the position of the volcanic front and the onset of complete miscibility between water and silicate melt in the subducting slab.

Carbon solubility in olivine and the mode of carbon storage in the Earth's mantle.

The total amount of carbon in the atmosphere, oceans and other near-surface reservoirs is thought to be negligible compared to that stored in the Earth's mantle. Although the mode of carbon storage in the mantle is largely unknown, observations of microbubbles on dislocations in minerals from mantle xenoliths has led to the suggestion that carbon may be soluble in silicates at high pressure. Here we report measurements of carbon solubility in olivine, the major constituent of the upper mantle, at pressures up to 3.5 GPa. We have found that, contrary to previous expectations, carbon solubility in olivine is exceedingly low--of the order of 0.1 to 1 parts per million by weight. Together with similar data for pyroxenes, garnet and spinel, we interpret this to imply that most carbon must be present as a separate phase in the deeper parts of the upper mantle, probably as a carbonate phase. Large-scale volcanic eruptions tapping such a carbonate-bearing mantle reservoir might therefore rapidly transfer large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, consistent with models that link global mass extinctions to flood basalt eruptions via a sudden increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.