Experimental evidence supports mantle partial melting in the asthenosphere

The low-velocity zone (LVZ) is a persistent seismic feature in a broad range of geological contexts. It coincides in depth with the asthenosphere, a mantle region of lowered viscosity that may be essential to enabling plate motions. The LVZ has been proposed to originate from either partial melting or a change in the rheological properties of solid mantle minerals. The two scenarios imply drastically distinct physical and geochemical states, leading to fundamentally different conclusions on the dynamics of plate tectonics. We report in situ ultrasonic velocity measurements on a series of partially molten samples, composed of mixtures of olivine plus 0.1 to 4.0 volume % of basalt, under conditions relevant to the LVZ. Our measurements provide direct compressional (VP) and shear (VS) wave velocities and constrain attenuation as a function of melt fraction. Mantle partial melting appears to be a viable origin for the LVZ, for melt fractions as low as ∼0.2%. In contrast, the presence of volatile elements appears necessary to explaining the extremely high VP/VS values observed in some local areas. The presence of melt in LVZ could play a major role in the dynamics of plate tectonics, favoring the decoupling of the plate relative to the asthenosphere

Evaluation of (Mg,Fe) partitioning between silicate perovskite and magnesiowustite up to 120 GPa and 2300 K

International audienceThe (Mg,Fe) partition coefficients between Al-(Mg,Fe)SiO3 perovskite (Pv) and (Mg,Fe)O magnesiowustite (Mw) were inferred from Pv and Mw volumes measured by X-ray diffraction (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble), from 22 to 120 GPa, after laser annealing up to 2300 K. The (Mg,Fe) partition coefficient is found to decrease with increasing pressure and temperature (at moderate pressures) and with the additions of Al2O3. More iron is found in perovskite than in magnesiowustite at the highest pressures and temperatures. Artifacts possibly encountered during the calculation are discussed. Perovskite was found stable up to 120 GPa and 2200 K, with iron contents (Fe/(Mg+Fe)) up to 25%. The effects of Fe and Al2O3 on the orthorhombic distortion remain reduced

Thermodynamical constraints on the crystallization of a deep magma-ocean on Earth

International audienceIt has been argued that the crystallization of the magma ocean (MO) after the Moon-forming impact led to the formation of a basal magma ocean (BMO). We search which primordial conditions of pressure, temperature and chemical composition could be compatible with such scenario, based on thermodynamical constraints. The major requirement is an early formation of a viscous layer (VL) of mantle material (i.e. bridgmanite (Bg)) at mid lower-mantle depth, which could insulate thermally and chemically the BMO from the rest of the mantle. To produce such VL, Bg grains should be: (i) neutrally buoyant at mid lower-mantle depths, (ii) sufficiently abundant to produce an efficient insulating layer, and (iii) aggregated to the boundary layer from above and below. The first and the second require a large amount of MO crystallization, up to more than 45%, even in the most favorable case of all Fe partitioning into the melt. The latter is very questionable because the Bg grains have a very small settling velocity. We also investigate different scenarios of MO crystallization to provide constraints on the resulting core temperature. Starting from a fully molten Earth, a temperature as high as ∼4725 K could be found at the core–mantle boundary (CMB), if the Bg grains settle early atop the CMB. Such a basal layer of Bg can efficiently decouple from each other the cooling rates of the core and the mantle above the VL. If the settling velocity of Bg grains is too low and/or the MO is too turbulent, such basal VL may not form. In this case, the CMB temperature after MO solidification should stabilize at ∼4350 K. At this temperature, enough Bg grains are crystallized to make the mushy mantle viscous at any mantle depth. Previous article in issu

Stockage des éléments alcalins et devenir de la croûte océanique dans le manteau inférieur

PARIS7-Bibliothèque centrale (751132105) / SudocSudocFranceF

Mantle rain toward the Earth's surface: A model for the internal cycle of water

International audienceThe internal or deep water cycle controls the volume of the oceans at the surface of the Earth. The advent of subduction 2–3 billion years ago initiated the transport of water back to the Earth's interior. With one ocean mass injected into the deep mantle over the last 2–3 billion years, some mantle regions must have become saturated and thus turned into a deep source of water. The mantle transition zone (MTZ) between 410 and 660 km depths is unlikely to be a source of hydrous melt, because its minerals can integrate several thousand ppm of water. On the contrary, the low-velocity layer (LVL) lying above the 410 km-discontinuity is one such source. As proposed by the “Transition-Zone-Water-Filter Model”, the LVL is ubiquitously formed by the global uplift of the hydrous MTZ as a counter flow of subduction of slabs into deeper regions. The seismic signature of the LVL is compatible with the presence of 0.5–1% melt. This melt is produced by dehydration melting during upwelling of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) containing 2200(300) ppm wt H2O, which corresponds to 0.6 ocean mass stored today in the MTZ. Hydrous silicate melt can be gravitationally stable just above the 410 km discontinuity. We propose, here, that at the upper limit of the LVL it becomes buoyant, especially where the mantle is particularly hot and/or hydrous. Once it becomes buoyant, the melt can percolate rapidly upwards through the mantle. As a consequence, the olivine-bearing mantle (OBM) could be almost saturated in water, due to the presence of upwelling hydrous melt. On its path, the melt may be responsible for the seismic low-velocity zones at mantle depths of between 80 and 150 km. It could also be a source for refertilisation of the lithospheric mantle. Based on this model, there should be ~1.0 oceanic mass (OM) stored in the upper mantle today. Secular cooling of the mantle implies an increased capacity of the OBM minerals to store water. The related decrease of oceans' mass at the Earth's surface is estimated to ~20% per one billion years

Disproportionation of Fe2+ in Al-free silicate perovskite in the laser heated diamond anvil cell as recorded by electron probe microanalysis of oxygen

International audienc

X-ray diffraction from stishovite under nonhydrostatic compression to 70 GPa: Strength and elasticity across the tetragonal - orthorhombic transition

The tetragonal phase of silica (stishovite) was synthesized at high pressure and temperature in a laser heated diamond anvil cell. Nonhydrostatic pressure condition was produced by pressurizing the sample without any pressure transmitting medium. The tetragonal?orthorhombic transition could be detected from the X-ray diffraction patterns at �40 GPa. In contrast, the orthorhombic phase has been reported to occur only above �60 GPa in an earlier experiments under hydrostatic pressure. However, the transition pressures derived from the square of the symmetry-breaking strain versus pressure data in the two cases differ only marginally, the values being 44(8) GPa and 49(2) GPa under nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic compressions, respectively. We combine the d-spacings measured under nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic compressions to derive a parameter Q(hkl) that contains the information on differential stress t (a measure of compressive strength) and single-crystal elasticity. The compressive strengths derived from the average value of Q(hkl) and line-width analysis agree well. It increases from �4 GPa at 20 GPa to �8 GPa at 40 GPa and decreases as the transition pressure is approached. In the orthorhombic phase, t increases with pressure monotonically. The mean crystallite size of the sample decreases from �5000 Å to �1000 Å as the pressure is increased from 20 GPa to 45 GPa and remains nearly unchanged between 45 GPa and 70 GPa. The single-crystal elastic moduli derived from the X-ray diffraction data indicate that ðC11 � C12Þ decreases rapidly as the transition pressure is approached. Line-width analysis of the diffraction lines suggests that near-hydrostatic pressure condition is achieved by laser annealing of the compressed sample

On the cooling of a deep terrestrial magma ocean

International audienceSeveral episodes of complete melting have probably occurred during the first stages of the Earth's evolution. We have developed a numerical model to monitor the thermal and melt fraction evolutions of a cooling and crystallizing magma ocean from an initially fully molten mantle. For this purpose, we numerically solve the heat equation in 1D spherical geometry, accounting for turbulent heat transfer, and integrating recent and strong experimental constraints from mineral physics. We have explored different initial magma ocean viscosities, compositions, thermal boundary layer thicknesses and initial core temperatures.We show that the cooling of a thick terrestrial magma ocean is a fast process, with the entire mantle becoming significantly more viscous within 20 kyr. Due to the slope difference between the adiabats and the melting curves, the solidification of the molten mantle occurs from the bottom up. In the meantime, a crust forms due to the high surface radiative heat flow, the last drop of fully molten silicate is restricted to the upper mantle. Among the studied parameters, the magma ocean lifetime is primarily governed by its viscosity. Depending on the thermal boundary layer thickness at the core–mantle boundary, the thermal coupling between the core and magma ocean can either insulate the core during the magma ocean solidification and favor a hot core or drain the heat out of the core simultaneously with the cooling of the magma ocean. Reasonable thickness for the thermal boundary layer, however, suggests rapid core cooling until the core–mantle boundary temperature results in a sluggish lowermost mantle. Once the crystallization of the lowermost mantle becomes significant, the efficiency of the core heat loss decreases. Since a hotter liquidus favors crystallization at hotter temperatures, a hotter deep mantle liquidus favors heat retention within the core. In the context of an initially fully molten mantle, it is difficult to envision the formation of a basal magma ocean or to prevent a major heat depletion of the core. As a consequence, an Earth's geodynamo sustained only by core cooling during 4 Gyr seems unlikely and other sources of motion need to be invoked

The mechanism of solution of aluminum oxide in MgSiO<SUB>3</SUB> perovskite

International audienceWe report 27Al and 29Si Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra, collected at magnetic fields of 14.1 and 18.8 Tesla on samples as small as 1 mg, for Al-bearing MgSiO3 perovskite synthesized at 26-28 GPa. For Al, we find a 1∶1 ratio of two types of sites: a symmetrical, octahedral site and a low symmetry, distorted site that is most likely to be Al in modifications of normally eight-coordinated Mg sites. A charge coupled substitution of 2 Al for one Si and one Mg cation is strongly supported as the predominant mechanism in this pressure range