In situ determination of crystal structure and chemistry of minerals at Earth's deep lower mantle conditions

Recent advances in experimental techniques and data processing allow in situ determination of mineral crystal structure and chemistry up to Mbar pressures in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell(DAC),providing the fundamental information of the mineralogical constitution of our Earth's interior.This work highlights several recent breakthroughs in the field of high-pressure mineral crystallography,including the stability of bridgmanite,the single-crystal structure studies of post-perovskite and H-phase as well as the identification of hydrous minerals and iron oxides in the deep lower mantle.The future development of high-pressure crystallography is also discussed.

Aluminum solubility in bridgmanite up to 3000 K at the top lower mantle

The temperature dependence of the Al2O3 solubility in bridgmanite has been determined in the system MgSiO3–Al_(2)O_(3)at temperatures of 2750–3000 K under a constant pressure of 27 GPa using a multi-anvil apparatus.Bridgmanite becomes more aluminous with increasing temperatures.A LiNbO3-type phase with a pyrope composition(Mg_(3)Al_(2)Si_(3)O_(12))forms at 2850 K,which is regarded as to be transformed from bridgmanite upon decompression.This phase contains 30 mol%Al_(2)O_(3)at 3000 K.The MgSiO3 solubility in corundum also increases with temperatures,reaching 52 mol%at 3000 K.Molar volumes of the hypothetical Al_(2)O_(3)bridgmanite and MgSiO_(3)corundum are constrained to be 25.950.05 and 26.24±0.06 cm^(3)/mol,respectively,and interaction parameters of non-ideality for these two phases are 5.6±0.5 and 2.2±0.5 KJ/mol,respectively.The increases in Al^(2)O^(3)and MgSiO^(3)contents,respectively,in bridgmanite and corundum are caused by a larger entropy of Al_(2)O_(3)bridgmanite plus MgSiO_(3)corundum than that of MgSiO_(3)bridgmanite plus Al_(2)O_(3)corundum with temperature,in addition to the configuration entropy.Our study may help explain dynamics of the top lower mantle and constrain pressure and temperature conditions of shocked meteorites.

A helium stratified and ingassed lower mantle: resolving the helium paradoxes

It is generally believed a variation of 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the mantle is due to only the decay of U and Th,which produces4 He as well as heat.Here we show that not only3He/4He isotopic ratios but also helium contents can be fractionated by thermal diffusion in the lower mantle.The driving force for that fractionation is the adiabatic or convective temperature gradient,which always produces elemental and isotopic fractionation along temperature gradient by thermal diffusion with higher light/heavy isotopic ratio in the hot end.Our theoretical model and calculations indicate that the lower mantle is helium stratified,caused by thermal diffusion due to*400℃temperature contrast across the lower mantle.The highest3He/4He isotopic ratios and lowest He contents are in the lowermost mantle,which is a consequence of thermaldiffusion fractionation rather than the lower mantle is a primordial and undegassed reservoir.Therefore,oceanicisland basalts derived from the deepest lower mantle with high3He/4He isotopic ratios and less He contents—the long-standing helium paradox,is solved by our model.Because vigorous convection in the upper mantle had resulted in disordered or disorganized thermal-diffusion effects in He,Mid-ocean ridge basalts unaffected by mantle plume have a relatively homogenous and lower!3He/4He isotopic compositions.Our model also predicts that 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the deepest lower mantle of early Earth could be even higher than that of Jupiter,the initial He isotopic ratio in our solar system,because the temperature contrast across the lower mantle in the early Earth is the largest and less4 He had been produced by the decay of U and Th.Moreover,the early helium-stratified lower mantle owned the lowest He contents due to over-degassing caused by the largest temperature contrast.Consequently,succeeding evolution of the lower mantle is a He ingassed process due to secular cooling of the deepest mantle.This explains why significant amount of He produced by the decay of U and Th in the lower mantle were not released,another long-standing heat–helium paradox.

Cold Thermal Anomalous Structure within Lower Mantle and Its Geodynamic Implications

The lateral temperature anomalous structure of the lower mantle is reconstructed from the seismic tomographical model and high temperature and high pressure laboratory results. A significant correlation between the distribution of the cold anomaly and the location of past subduction belts shows that the shallower anomaly corresponds to the younger subduction sites, while the deeper anomaly to the older ones. This correlation also suggests that the cold anomaly may have come from the subduction slabs and the scale of mantle convection may have been completed. The coldest and largest anomaly is concentrated near the core mantle boundary (CMB). Few cold anomalies float in the shallower and middle parts of the lower mantle, suggesting that the downward migration of the subduction slabs, discontinuous and step like, may be divided into the following three stages: subduction, stagnation at the 670 km discontinuity due to the phase transition, and disintegration when the size exceeds the critical point.

The role of fluids in the lower crust and upper mantle:A tribute to Jacques Touret

This special issue of Geoscience Frontiers is a tribute volume honoring the life and career of Jacques Touret. A set of research papers has been assembled, which broadly reflect his research interests over his 50 plus year career. These papers Focus on the role that fluids play during the Formation and evolution of the Earth＇s crust. Below I provide a brief summary of the life of Jacques Touret, along with a select bibliography of his more important papers. This is then followed by a brief introduction to the papers assembled for this special issue.

Deep mantle hydrogen in the pyrite-type FeO_(2)–FeO_(2)H system

The pyrite-type FeO_(2)and FeO_(2)H were synthesized at the pressure-temperature conditions relevant to Earth’s deep lower mantle.Through the water-iron reaction,the pyrite-phase is a good candidate to explain the chemical heterogeneities and seismological anomalies at the bottom of the mantle.The solid solution of pyrite-type FeO_(2)and FeO_(2)H,namely the FeO_(2)Hx(0≤x≤1),is particularly interesting and introduces puzzling chemical states for both the O and H atoms in the deep mantle.While the role of H in the FeO_(2)–FeO_(2)H system has been primarily investigated,discrepancies remain.In this work,we summarize recent progress on the pyrite-phase,including FeO_(2),FeO_(2)H,and FeO_(2)Hx,which is critical for understanding the water cycling,redox equilibria,and compositional heterogenicities in the deep lower mantle.

Sulphide melt evolution in upper mantle to upper crust magmas,Tongling, China

Sulphide inclusions, which represent melts trapped in the minerals of magmatic rocks and xenoliths, provide important clues to the behaviour of immiscible sulphide liquids during the evolution of magmas and the formation of NieCueFe deposits. We describe sulphide inclusions from unique ultramafic clots within mafic xenoliths, from the mafic xenoliths themselves, and from the three silica-rich host plutons in Tongling, China. For the first time, we are able to propose a general framework model for the evolution of sulphide melts during the evolution of mafic to felsic magmas from the upper mantle to the upper crust. The model improves our understanding of the sulphide melt evolution in upper mantle to upper crust magmas, and provides insight into the formation of stratabound skarn-type FeeCu polymetallic deposits associated with felsic magmatism, thus promising to play an important role during prospecting for such deposits.

Solubility of water in bridgmanite

Water in Earth's mantle plays a critical role in both geodynamic and surficial habitability.Water in the upper mantle and transition zone is widely discussed,but less is known about the water in the lower mantle despite it constituting over half of Earth's mass.Understanding the water storage in Earth's lower mantle relies on comprehending the water solubility of bridgmanite,which is the most abundant mineral both in the lower mantle and throughout Earth.Nevertheless,due to limited access to the lower mantle,our understanding of water in bridgmanite mainly comes from laboratory experiments and theoretical calculations,and a huge controversy still exists.In this paper,we provide a review of the commonly employed research methods and current findings concerning the solubility of water in bridgmanite.Potential factors,such as pressure,temperature,compositions,etc.,that influence the water solubility of bridgmanite will be discussed,along with insights into future research directions.

First-Principles Study of Orthorhombic Perovskites MgSiO3 up to 120 GPa and Its Geophysical Implications

High-pressure behaviour of orthorhombic MgSiO3 perovskite crystal is simulated by using the density functional theory and plane-wave pseudopotentials approach up to 120 GPa pressure at zero temperature. The lattice constants and mass density of the MgSiO3 crystal as functions of pressure are computed, and the corresponding bulk modulus and bulk velocity are evaluated. Our theoretical results agree well with the high-pressure experimental data. A thermodynamic method is introduced to correct the temperature effect on the O-K first-principles results of bulk wave velocity, bulk modulus and mass density in lower mantle PIT range. Taking into account the temperature corrections, the corrected mass density, bulk modulus and bulk wave velocity of MgSiO3-perovskite are estimated from the first-principles results to be 2%, 4%, and 1% lower than the preliminary reference Earth model （PREM） profile, respectively, supporting the possibility of a pure perovskite lower mantle model.

Influences of Lower-Mantle Properties on the Formation of Asthenosphere in Oceanic Upper Mantle

Asthenosphere is a venerable concept based on geological intuition of Reginald Daly nearly 100 years ago. There have been various explanations for the existence of the asthenosphere. The concept of a plume-fed asthenosphere has been around for a few years due to the ideas put forth by Yamamoto et al.. Using a two-dimensional Cartesian code based on finite-volume method, we have investigated the influences of lower-mantle physical properties on the formation of a low-viscosity zone in the oceanic upper mantle in regions close to a large mantle upwelUng. The rheological law is Newtonian and depends on both temperature and depth. An extended-Boussinesq model is assumed for the energetics and the olivine to spinel, the spinel to perovskite and perovskite to post-perovskite （ppv） phase transitions are considered. We have compared the differences in the behavior of hot upweilings passing through the transition zone in the mid-mantle for a variety of models, starting with constant physical properties in the lower-mantle and culminating with complex models which have the post-perovskite phase transition and depth-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity. We found that the formation of the asthenosphere in the upper mantle in the vicinity of large upwellings is facilitated in models where both depth-dependent thermal expansivity and conductivity are included. Models with constant thermal expansivity and thermal conductivity do not produce a hot low-viscosity zone, resembling the asthenosphere. We have also studied the influences of a cylindrical model and found similar results as the Cartesian model with the important difference that upper-mantle temperatures were much cooler than the Cartesian model by about 600 to 700 K. Our findings argue for the potentially important role played by lower-mantle material properties on the development of a plume-fed asthenosphere in the oceanic upper mantle.

The Deep Earth Engine Driving Major Surface Events

During Earth’s 4.6 billion-year history,its surface has experienced environmental changes that drastically impacted habitability.The changes have been mostly attributed to near-surface processes or astronomical events with little consideration of Earth’s deep interior.Recent progresses in high-pressure geochemistry and geophysics,however,indicate that deep Earth processes may have played a dominant role in the surface(Mao and Mao,2020).