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Atomic-scale mixing between MgO and H2O in the deep interiors of water-rich planets

Journal Article · · Nature Astronomy
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); University of Illinois at Chicago
  2. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
  3. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)
  4. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
  5. Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam (HZP), (Germany). German Research Centre for GeoSciences
  6. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
  7. Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Water-rich planets exist in our Solar System (Uranus and Neptune) and are found to be common in the extrasolar systems (some of the sub-Neptunes). In conventional models of these planets a thick water-rich layer is underlain by a separate rocky interior. In this work, we report experimental results on two rock-forming minerals, olivine ((Mg,Fe)2SiO4) and ferropericlase ((Mg,Fe) O), in water at the pressure and temperature conditions expected for the water-rich planets. Our data indicate a selective leaching of MgO, which peaks between 20 and 40 GPa and above 1,500 K. For water-rich planets with 1–6 Earth masses (>50 wt% H2O), the chemical reaction at the deep water–rock interface would lead to high concentrations of MgO in the H2O layer. For Uranus and Neptune, the top ~3% of the H2O layer would have a large storage capacity for MgO. If an early dynamic process enables the rock–H2O reaction, the topmost H2O layer may be rich in MgO, possibly affecting the thermal history of the planet.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Korean Ministry of Science; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003975; SC0012704; FG02-94ER14466; AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1785537
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1813542
OSTI ID: 1815034
Journal Information:
Nature Astronomy, Journal Name: Nature Astronomy Vol. 5; ISSN 2397-3366
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS