7 Search Results

Abstract Dense Fe‐Ti‐rich cumulates, formed as the last dregs of the lunar magma ocean, are thought to have driven a large‐scale overturn of the lunar mantle over 4 Ga ago. Analysis of lunar seismic data has implied that some of the overturned bodies may have reached the lunar core‐mantle boundary and remained there until the present day as a partially molten layer. However, whether such a molten layer could be stable during >4 Ga of post‐magma‐ocean lunar history and explain lunar seismic observations remains poorly constrained. Here, we report the first sound velocity measurements on a Fe‐Ti‐rich lunar melt up to conditionsmore » of the lowermost lunar mantle. Our results suggest that a partial melt layer with at least 20% overturned Fe‐Ti‐rich melt can be trapped atop the lunar core‐mantle boundary until the present day, strongly influencing the thermochemical evolution of the lunar interior.« less

Abstract Phase A (Mg ₇ Si ₂ O ₈ (OH) ₆ ) is one of the important dense hydrous magnesium silicates in subducting slab, because it forms after the breakdown of antigorite serpentine and could be the dominant hydrous phase in the upper‐mantle deep slab for the water transportation into deep Earth. In this study, the compressional ( P ) and shear ( S ) wave velocities of phase A were measured at simultaneous pressure and temperature conditions up to 11 GPa and 1073 K. Combined with elastic properties of olivine and pyroxenes, we calculate the hydration effect on the velocities ofmore » harzburgite lithology in cold subduction zones throughout the depth ranges where phase A is thermodynamically stable. Our calculations suggest that the hydration increases both P ‐ and S ‐wave velocities of harzburgite; at ∼5 wt% hydration, its seismic detectability is enhanced by 1%–1.5% in velocity contrasts relative to its anhydrous counterpart.« less

In this study, the volumetric compression of jadeite (NaAlSi₂O₆) melt at high pressures was determined by three-dimensional volume imaging using the synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography technique in a rotation-anvil device. Combined with the sample mass, measured using a high-precision analytical balance prior to the high-pressure experiment, the density of jadeite melt was obtained at high pressures and high temperatures up to 4.8 GPa and 1955 K. The density data were fitted to a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, resulting in a best-fit isothermal bulk modulus K_T0 of $10.8$ $$^{+1.9}_{–5.3}$$ GPa and its pressure derivative K'_T0 of $3.4$ $$^{+6.6}_{–0.4}$$. Comparison with datamore » for silicate melts of various compositions from the literature shows that alkali-rich, polymerized melts are generally more compressible than alkali-poor, depolymerized ones. The high compressibility of jadeite melt at high pressures implies that polymerized sodium aluminosilicate melts, if generated by low-degree partial melting of mantle peridotite at ~250–400 km depth in the deep upper mantle, are likely denser than surrounding mantle materials, and thus gravitationally stable.« less

Sound velocity and equation of state of liquids provide important constraints on the generation, presence, and transport of silicate and metallic melts in the Earth’s interior. Unlike their solid counterparts, these properties of liquids pose great technical challenges to high-pressure measurements and are poorly constrained. Here we present the technical developments that have been made at the GSECARS beamline 13-ID-D of the Advanced Photon Source for the past several years for determination of sound velocity of liquids using the ultrasonic techniques in a 1000-ton Kawai-type multianvil apparatus. Temperature of the sound velocity measurements has been extended to ~2400 K atmore » 4 GPa and ~2000 K at 8 GPa to enable studies of liquids with very high melting temperatures, such as the silicate liquids.« less

A Paris-Edinburgh press combined with a multi-channel collimator assembly has been commissioned at the GeoSoilEnviro Center for Advanced Radiation Sources (GSECARS) beamline for monochromatic X-ray scattering, with an emphasis on studying low-Z liquids, especially silicate liquids at high pressure. The Paris-Edinburgh press is mounted on a general-purpose diffractometer, with a pixel array detector mounted on the detector arm. The incident monochromatic undulator beam with energies up to 60 keV is focused both horizontally and vertically to a beam size about 30 × 30 µm. With this setup, background scattering from the surrounding pressure media is completely removed at 2θ anglesmore » above 10° for samples larger than 1.05 mm in diameter. Thirty minutes is typically sufficient to collect robust X-ray scattering signals from a 1.6 mm diameter amorphous silicate sample. Cell assemblies for the standard Paris-Edinburgh anvils have been developed and pressures and temperatures up to 7 GPa and 2300 K, respectively, have been maintained steadily over hours. We have also developed a cupped-toroidal Drickamer anvil to further increase pressure and temperature capabilities. The cupped-toroidal Drickamer anvil combines features of a modified Drickamer anvil and the traditional Paris-Edinburgh anvil. Pressures up to 12 GPa have been generated at temperatures up to 2100 K.« less

Sound velocities of diopside liquid were determined at high pressures and temperatures up to 3.8 GPa and 2375 K, using the ultrasonic technique combined with synchrotron X–ray diffraction and imaging in a multianvil apparatus. Our results show that the sound velocity increases with pressure but is nearly independent of temperature. Using a Monte Carlo approach, the measured high–pressure sound velocities combined with ambient–pressure density provide tight constraints for the equation of state of diopside liquid, with a best–fit adiabatic bulk modulus (K_S) of 23.8 ± 0.4 GPa and its pressure derivative (K_S') of 7.5 ± 0.5. The calculated adiabatic temperaturemore » and density profile of diopside liquid suggest that a melt layer with diopside composition in the upper mantle would be gravitationally unstable and start to crystallize from the bottom of the layer during cooling. By comparing our results with previous acoustic measurements on silicate glasses, we demonstrate the important differences in sound velocities between silicate liquids and glasses and conclude that silicate glasses may not work as a good analog material for studying the acoustic properties of silicate liquids, as measurements on unrelaxed glasses do not capture the entropic contribution to the compressional properties of liquids. Here, we modeled velocity reductions due to partial melts in the upper mantle using our results and found that for a given velocity reduction, the deeper the low–velocity region, the larger the melt fraction is required. Using silicate glass data for such estimation would result in a significant underestimation of melt fractions at high pressures.« less

In this work, we developed a new method for in-situ pressure determination in multi-anvil, high pressure apparatus using an acoustic travel time approach within the framework of acoustoelasticity. The ultrasonic travel times of polycrystalline Al₂O₃ were calibrated against NaCl pressure scale up to 15 GPa and 900°C in a Kawai-type double-stage multi-anvil apparatus in conjunction with synchrotron X-radiation, thereby providing a convenient and reliable gauge for pressure determination at ambient and high temperatures. The pressures derived from this new travel time method are in excellent agreement with those from the fixed-point methods. Application of this new pressure gauge in anmore » offline experiment revealed a remarkable agreement of the densities of coesite with those from the previous single crystal compression studies under hydrostatic conditions, thus providing strong validation for the current travel time pressure scale. Additionally, the travel time approach not only can be used for continuous in-situ pressure determination at room temperature, high temperatures, during compression and decompression, but also bears a unique capability that none of the previous scales can deliver, i.e., simultaneous pressure and temperature determination with a high accuracy (+-0.16 GPa in pressure and +-17°C in temperature). Therefore, the new in-situ Al₂O₃ pressure gauge is expected to enable new and expanded opportunities for offline laboratory studies of solid and liquid materials under high pressure and high temperature in multi-anvil apparatus.« less