Migration and accumulation of hydrous mantle incipient melt in the Earth's asthenosphere: Constraints from in-situ falling sphere viscometry measurements

Zhou, Wen-Yi; Hao, Ming; Hrubiak, Rostislav; Kenney-Benson, Curtis; Zhang, Jin S.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118833

Migration and accumulation of hydrous mantle incipient melt in the Earth's asthenosphere: Constraints from in-situ falling sphere viscometry measurements

Journal Article · Wed Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Earth and Planetary Science Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118833· OSTI ID:2569917

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Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
Carnegie Inst. of Science, Washington, DC (United States)
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

The Earth's oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is marked by a notable decrease in seismic wave velocities and an increase in attenuation. This phenomenon is likely attributed to the accumulation of partial melt at the top of the asthenosphere. Nevertheless, the process involving the upward migration and aggregation of low-degree partial melts, highly likely to be mantle incipient melts in the asthenosphere, remains underexplored. Viscosity is a key factor controlling the flow of melts, thus in this study, we used In-situ X-ray falling sphere viscometry experiments to determine the viscosity of the mantle incipient melt containing 1.8–4.0 wt.% water at 1.5–6 GPa and 2100 K. We found that water and pressure can effectively decrease the viscosity of the mantle incipient melt. Therefore, the mantle incipient melts are highly mobile with a high segregation velocity in the deeper part of the asthenosphere. However, during ascent, their mobility diminishes due to an increase in viscosity and a decrease in water content. In conclusion, these mechanisms potentially contribute to the accumulation of partial melt at the top of the asthenosphere.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 2569917

Journal Information:: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Journal Name: Earth and Planetary Science Letters Vol. 641; ISSN 0012-821X

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Migration and accumulation of hydrous mantle incipient melt in the Earth's asthenosphere: Constraints from in-situ falling sphere viscometry measurements

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