The effect of nitrogen on the compressibility and conductivity of iron at high pressure

Although nitrogen in the Earth’s interior has attracted significant attention recently,it remains the most enigmatic of the light elements in the Earth’s core.In this work,synchrotron X-ray diffraction(XRD)and electrical conductivity experiments were conducted on iron nitrides(Fe_(2)N and Fe_(4)N)in diamond anvil cells(DACs)up to about 70 GPa at ambient temperature.These results show that iron nitrides are stable up to at least 70 GPa.From the equation of state(EOS)parameters,iron nitrides are more compressible than iron carbides.Moreover,using the van der Pauw method and Wiedemann-Franz law,the electrical and thermal conductivity of samples were determined to be much lower than that of iron carbides.The conductivities of Fe_(2)N and Fe_(4)N were similar at 20–70 GPa,suggesting no evident effects by varying the N stoichiometries in iron nitrides.Iron nitrides are less dense and conductive but more compressible than carbides at 0–70 GPa.This study indicates that less nitrogen than carbon can explain geophysical phenomena in the deep Earth,such as the density deficit.

Mid-mantle water transportation implied by the electrical and seismic properties ofε-FeOOH

Water in the mantle transition zone and the core-mantle boundary plays a key role in Earth’s stratification,volatile cycling,and core formation.If water transportation is actively running between the aforementioned layers,the lower mantle should contain water channels with distinctive seismic and/or electromagnetic signatures.Here,we investigated the electrical conductivity and sound velocity ofε-FeOOH up to 71 GPa and 1800 K and compared them with global tomography data.An abrupt threeorder jump of electrical conductivity was observed above 50 GPa,reaching 1.24(12)×10^(3)S/m at 61 GPa.Meanwhile,the longitudinal sound velocity dropped by 16.8%in response to the high-to-low spin transition of Fe^(3+).The high-conductivity and low-sound velocity ofε-FeOOH match the features of heterogenous scatterers in the mid-lower mantle.Such unique properties of hydrousε-FeOOH,or possibly other Fe-enriched phases can be detected as evidence of active water transportation in the mid-lower mantle.