Effect of water on seismic attenuation of the upper mantle: The origin of the sharp lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary.

Oceanic lithosphere moves over a mechanically weak layer (asthenosphere) characterized by low seismic velocity and high attenuation. Near mid-ocean ridges, partial melting can produce such conditions because of the high-temperature geotherm. However, seismic observations have also shown a large and sharp velocity reduction under oceanic plates at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) far from mid-ocean ridges. Here, we report the effect of water on the seismic properties of olivine aggregates in water-undersaturated conditions at 3 GPa and 1,223 to 1,373 K via in-situ X-ray observation using cyclic loading. Our results show that water substantially enhances the energy dispersion and reduces the elastic moduli over a wide range of seismic frequencies (0.5 to 1,000 s). An attenuation peak that appears at higher frequencies (1 to 5 s) becomes more pronounced as the water content increases. If water exists only in the asthenosphere, this is consistent with the observation that the attenuation in the asthenosphere is almost constant over a wide frequency range. These sharp seismic changes at the oceanic LAB far from mid-ocean ridges could be explained by the difference in water content between the lithosphere and asthenosphere.

Measurement of the Seebeck coefficient under high pressure by dual heating.

This study presents a new method for measuring the Seebeck coefficient under high pressure in a multi-anvil apparatus. The application of a dual-heating system enables precise control of the temperature difference between both ends of the sample in a high-pressure environment. Two pairs of W-Re thermocouples were employed at both ends of the sample to monitor and control the temperature difference, and independent probes were arranged to monitor the electromotive force (emf) produced by temperature oscillation at a given target temperature. The temperature difference was controlled within 1 K during the resistivity measurements to eliminate the influence of the emf owing to a sample temperature gradient. The Seebeck measurement was successfully measured from room temperature to 1400 K and was obtained by averaging the two measured values with opposite thermal gradient directions (∼20 K). Thermoelectric properties were measured on disk-shaped p-type Si wafers with two different carrier concentrations as a reference for high Seebeck coefficients. This method is effective to determine the thermoelectric power of materials under pressure.