In situ deformation of antigorite-olivine two-phase mixtures: Implications for dynamics and seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge

Hurlow, Roselyn; Su, Wenhao; Zhou, Wen-Yi; Lin, Feng; Miyagi, Lowell; Officer, Timothy; Yu, Tony; Wang, Yanbin; Wu, Meiqian; Wang, Qin; Zhang, Jin S.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119719

In situ deformation of antigorite-olivine two-phase mixtures: Implications for dynamics and seismic anisotropy in the mantle wedge

Journal Article · Fri Nov 07 19:00:00 EST 2025 · Earth and Planetary Science Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119719· OSTI ID:3008971

^[1]; ^[2]; Zhou, Wen-Yi ^[2]; Lin, Feng ^[3]; ^[3]; Officer, Timothy ^[4]; Yu, Tony ^[4]; Wang, Yanbin ^[4]; Wu, Meiqian ^[5]; ^[5]; ^[6]

Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Center for Advanced Radiation Sources (CARS)
Nanjing Univ. (China)
Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

Water released from hydrous minerals in subducting slabs reacts with the overlying plate, resulting in widespread serpentinization in the mantle wedge. Deformation of serpentinized peridotites has been invoked to explain forearc seismic anisotropy, yet studies of the mechanical properties and deformation behaviors of serpentine-bearing multiphase aggregates remain limited. Here we deformed olivine-antigorite mixtures containing 70, 50, and 20 vol.% of antigorite at 2.5 – 7.6 GPa, 673 K and strain rates of ∼10^–5–10^–4 s^–1. Elasto-viscoplastic self-consistent simulations, constrained by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, were used to estimate lattice strain, stress–strain partitioning, crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) development, and aggregate strength. Selected run products were also analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction for comparison with the CPO results obtained from XRD experiments. We found olivine transitions from A- or B-type to C-type when antigorite fraction drops to 20 vol.%, coinciding with a microstructural change from interconnected weak layers to a load-bearing framework (LBF). An additional run on a sample Atg50/Ol50 with preexisting microstructures suggested the formation of LBF was promoted by these microstructures, although the preexisting antigorite CPO has been overprinted at 20.8 % strain and could be erased completely by subsequent deformation in nature. Estimated viscosity of the two-phase mixtures suggests that low-degree serpentinization (≤20 %) in the mantle wedge may increase the strength of olivine-rich peridotite and hinder slab-mantle decoupling, whereas high-degree serpentinization (≥50–70 %) weakens the peridotite and favors decoupling if sufficient viscosity contrast (>10) develops. Seismic anisotropy shows a nonlinear dependence on antigorite fraction: antigorite CPO governs the anisotropy of the mixtures with ≥50 vol.% antigorite, whereas olivine CPO dominates at low fractions (∼20 vol.%). The presence of pre-existing microstructures reduces seismic anisotropy of the deformed mixtures, however the persistence of pre-existing CPO in actively subducting slabs remains uncertain, making their significance over geological timescales questionable.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0004153; AC52-07NA27344; AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 3008971

Report Number(s):: LLNL--JRNL-2003596

Journal Information:: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Journal Name: Earth and Planetary Science Letters Vol. 672; ISSN 0012-821X

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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