Effects of Fe spin transition on the elasticity of (Mg,Fe)O magnesiowüstites and implications for the seismological properties of the Earth's lower mantle
High-pressure x-ray diffraction of (Mg{sub 0.8}Fe{sub 0.2})O at room temperature reveals a discontinuity in the bulk modulus at 40 ({+-}5) GPa, similar pressure at which an electronic spin-pairing transition of Fe{sup 2+} is also observed. In the x-ray diffraction experiments the transition is completed only at 80 GPa, possibly reflecting lack of equilibration. Combining recent measurements, we document anomalies in the compression curve of Mg-rich magnesiowuestites that are manifestations of the spin transition. The best fit to a third order Birch-Murnaghan equation for the low-spin phase of magnesiowuestite with 17-20 mol% FeO yields bulk modulus K{sub T0} = 190 ({+-}150) GPa, pressure derivative ({partial_derivative}K{sub T}/{partial_derivative}){sub T0} = 4.6 ({+-}2.7) and unit-cell volume V{sub 0} = 71 ({+-}5) {angstrom}{sup 3}, consistent with past estimates of the ionic radius of octahedrally-coordinated low-spin Fe{sup 2+} in oxides. A sharp spin transition at lower-mantle depths between 1100 and 1900 km (40-80 GPa) would cause a unit-cell volume decrease ({Delta}{nu}{sub {phi}}) of 3.7 ({+-}0.8) to 2.0 ({+-}0.2) percent and bulk sound velocity increase ({Delta}{nu}{sub {phi}}) of 8.1 ({+-}6-1.7) percent ({nu}{sub {phi}} = {radical}K{sub s}/{rho}). Even in the absence of a visible seismic discontinuity, we expect the Fe-spin transition to imply a correction to current compositional models of the lower mantle, with up to 10 mol percent increase of magnesiowuestite being required to match the seismological data.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 920466
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JRNL-224498; JGREA2; TRN: US200818%%654
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 112; ISSN 0148-0227
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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