Understanding noble gas incorporation in mantle minerals: an atomistic study

Ab initio calculations in forsterite (Mg2 SiO4 ) are used to gain insight into the formation of point defects and incorporation of noble gases. We calculate the enthalpies of incorporation both at pre-existing vacancies in symmetrically non-equivalent sites, and at interstitial positions. At high pressure, most structural changes affect the MgO6 units and the enthalpies of point defects increase, with those involving Mg and Si vacancies increasing more than those involving O sites. At 15 GPa Si vacancies and Mg interstitials have become the predominant intrinsic defects. We use these calculated enthalpies to estimate the total uptake of noble gases into the bulk crystal as a function of temperature and pressure both in the presence and absence of other heterovalent trace elements. For He and Ne our calculated solubilities point to atoms occupying mainly interstitial sites in agreement with previous experimental work. In contrast, Ar most likely substitutes for Mg due to its larger size and the deformation it causes within the crystal. Incorporation energies, as well as atomic distances suggest that the incorporation mainly depend on the size mismatch between host and guest atoms. Polarization effects arising from the polarizability of the noble gas atom or the presence of charged defects are minimal and do not contribute significantly to the uptake. Finally, the discrepancies between our results and recent experiments suggest that there are other incorporation mechanisms such as adsorption at internal and external interfaces, voids and grain boundaries which must play a major role in noble gas storage and solubility.

Wide-angle seismic reflections reveal a lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary zone in the subducting Pacific Plate, New Zealand

New wide-angle seismic reflection data from offshore New Zealand show that the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is more structured than previously thought. Three distinct layers are interpreted within a 10- to 12-km-thick LAB zone beginning at a depth of ≈70 km: a 3 (±1)-km-thick layer at the bottom of the lithosphere with a P-wave (V_P) azimuthal anisotropy of 14 to 17% and fast azimuth subparallel to the direction of absolute plate motion and a 9 (±2)-km-thick, low V_P channel with a P-wave-to-S-wave velocity ratio (V_P/V_S) of >2.8 in the upper 7 km of the channel and 1.8 to 2.6 in the lower 2 km of the channel. The high V_P/V_S ratios indicate that this channel may contain 3 to 20% partial melt that facilitates decoupling of the lithosphere from the asthenosphere and reduces resistance for plate motion. Furthermore, the strong azimuthal anisotropy above the low-velocity layer suggests localization of strain due to melt accumulation.

A critical assessment of interatomic potentials for modelling lattice defects in forsterite Mg 2 SiO 4 from 0 to 12 GPa

Five different interatomic potentials designed for modelling forsterite Mg2 SiO4 are compared to ab initio and experimental data. The set of tested properties include lattice constants, material density, elastic wave velocity, elastic stiffness tensor, free surface energies, generalized stacking faults, neutral Frenkel and Schottky defects, in the pressure range 0 - 12  GPa relevant to the Earth's upper mantle. We conclude that all interatomic potentials are reliable and applicable to the study of point defects. Stacking faults are correctly described by the THB1 potential, and qualitatively by the Pedone2006 potential. Other rigid-ion potentials give a poor account of stacking fault energies, and should not be used to model planar defects or dislocations. These results constitute a database on the transferability of rigid-ion potentials, and provide strong physical ground for simulating diffusion, dislocations, or grain boundaries.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00269-021-01170-6.

The High-Pressure Structural Evolution of Olivine along the Forsterite–Fayalite Join

Structural refinements from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data are reported for olivine with a composition of Fo100 (forsterite Mg2SiO4, synthetic), Fo80 and Fo62 (~Mg1.6Fe0.4SiO4 and ~Mg1.24Fe0.76SiO4, both natural) at room temperature and high pressure to ~8 GPa. The new results, along with data from the literature on Fo0 (fayalite Fe2SiO4), were used to investigate the previously reported structural mechanisms which caused small variations of olivine bulk modulus with increasing Fe content. For all the investigated compositions, the M2 crystallographic site, with its bonding configuration and its larger polyhedral volume, was observed to control the compression mechanisms in olivine. From Fo100 to Fo0, the compression rates for M2–O and M1–O bond lengths were observed to control the relative polyhedral volumes, resulting in a less-compressible M1O6 polyhedral volume, likely causing the slight increase in bulk modulus with increasing Fe content.

A Metastable Fo-III Wedge in Cold Slabs Subducted to the Lower Part of the Mantle Transition Zone: A Hypothesis Based on First-Principles Simulations

The metastable olivine (Ol) wedge hypothesis assumes that Ol may exist as a metastable phase at the P conditions of the mantle transition zone (MTZ) and even deeper regions due to inhibition of the phase transitions from Ol to wadsleyite and ringwoodite caused by low T in the cold subducting slabs. It is commonly invoked to account for the stagnation of the descending slabs, deep focus earthquakes and other geophysical observations. In the last few years, several new structures with the forsterite (Fo) composition, namely Fo-II, Fo-III and Fo-IV, were either experimentally observed or theoretically predicted at very low T conditions. They may have important impacts on the metastable Ol wedge hypothesis. By performing first-principles calculations, we have systematically examined their crystallographic characteristics, elastic properties and dynamic stabilities from 0 to 100 GPa, and identified the Fo-III phase as the most likely metastable phase to occur in the cold slabs subducted to the depths equivalent to the lower part of the MTZ (below the ~600 km depth) and even the lower mantle. As disclosed by our theoretical simulations, the Fo-III phase is a post-spinel phase (space group Cmc21), has all cations in sixfold coordination at P < ~60 GPa, and shows dynamic stability for the entire P range from 0 to 100 GPa. Further, our static enthalpy calculations have suggested that the Fo-III phase may directly form from the Fo material at ~22 GPa (0 K), and our high-T phase relation calculations have located the Fo/Fo-III phase boundary at ~23.75 GPa (room T) with an averaged Clapeyron slope of ~−1.1 MPa/K for the T interval from 300 to 1800 K. All these calculated phase transition pressures are likely overestimated by ~3 GPa because of the GGA method used in this study. The discrepancy between our predicted phase transition P and the experimental observation (~58 GPa at 300 K) can be explained by slow reaction rate and short experimental durations. Taking into account the P-T conditions in the cold downgoing slabs, we therefore propose that the Fo-III phase, rather than the Ol, highly possibly occurs as the metastable phase in the cold slabs subducted to the P conditions of the lower part of the MTZ (below the ~600 km depth) and even the lower mantle. In addition, our calculation has showed that the Fo-III phase has higher bulk seismic velocity, and thus may make important contributions to the high seismic speeds observed in the cold slabs stagnated near the upper mantle-lower mantle boundary. Future seismic studies may discriminate the effects of the Fo-III phase and the low T. Surprisingly, the Fo-III phase will speed up, rather than slow down, the subducting process of the cold slabs, if it metastably forms from the Ol. In general, the Fo-III phase has a higher density than the warm MTZ, but has a lower density than the lower mantle, as suggested by our calculations.

Dehydration-driven stress transfer triggers intermediate-depth earthquakes

Intermediate-depth earthquakes (30–300 km) have been extensively documented within subducting oceanic slabs, but their mechanics remains enigmatic. Here we decipher the mechanism of these earthquakes by performing deformation experiments on dehydrating serpentinized peridotites (synthetic antigorite-olivine aggregates, minerals representative of subduction zones lithologies) at upper mantle conditions. At a pressure of 1.1 gigapascals, dehydration of deforming samples containing only 5 vol% of antigorite suffices to trigger acoustic emissions, a laboratory-scale analogue of earthquakes. At 3.5 gigapascals, acoustic emissions are recorded from samples with up to 50 vol% of antigorite. Experimentally produced faults, observed post-mortem, are sealed by fluid-bearing micro-pseudotachylytes. Microstructural observations demonstrate that antigorite dehydration triggered dynamic shear failure of the olivine load-bearing network. These laboratory analogues of intermediate-depth earthquakes demonstrate that little dehydration is required to trigger embrittlement. We propose an alternative model to dehydration-embrittlement in which dehydration-driven stress transfer, rather than fluid overpressure, causes embrittlement.

Intermediate-depth earthquakes (30-300 km) occur in subducting oceanic slabs, but their generation mechanism remains enigmatic. Here, the authors show through high-pressure and dehydration experiments of antigorite that dehydration-driven stress transfer triggers intermediate-depth earthquakes.

Deep-focus earthquake analogs recorded at high pressure and temperature in the laboratory

Phase transformations of metastable olivine might trigger deep-focus earthquakes (400 to 700 kilometers) in cold subducting lithosphere. To explore the feasibility of this mechanism, we performed laboratory deformation experiments on germanium olivine (Mg2GeO4) under differential stress at high pressure (P = 2 to 5 gigapascals) and within a narrow temperature range (T = 1000 to 1250 kelvin). We found that fractures nucleate at the onset of the olivine-to-spinel transition. These fractures propagate dynamically (at a nonnegligible fraction of the shear wave velocity) so that intense acoustic emissions are generated. Similar to deep-focus earthquakes, these acoustic emissions arise from pure shear sources and obey the Gutenberg-Richter law without following Omori's law. Microstructural observations prove that dynamic weakening likely involves superplasticity of the nanocrystalline spinel reaction product at seismic strain rates.

In situquantitative analysis of stress and texture development in forsterite aggregates deformed at 6 GPa and 1373 K

The investigation of materials plastic properties at high pressure is a fast-growing field, owing to the coupling of high-pressure deformation apparatuses with X-ray synchrotron radiation. In such devices, materials strain and strain rate are measured by time-resolved radiography, while differential stress is deduced from the elastic response of thedspacing of the crystallographic planes as measured by X-ray diffraction. Here a new protocol is presented, which allows thein situmeasurement of stress and texture development in aggregates deformed at high pressure for experiments carried out with the recently installed ten-element energy-dispersive detector at the X17B2 beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA). Cycling deformation of a forsterite specimen was carried out at a pressure of ∼6 GPa and a temperature of ∼1373 K, using a deformation-DIA apparatus. Diffraction peak energies are analysed in terms of differential stress and principal stress direction, while the intensities of peaks obtained at different azimuths are analysed in terms of lattice preferred orientation (LPO). The development and evolution of a marked LPO, with the (010) plane perpendicular to the compression axis, is observedin situduring the run and is confirmed by electron backscatter diffraction measurements on the run product.

Elasticity of MgO and a primary pressure scale to 55 GPa

We have studied the elasticity and pressure-density equation of state of MgO in diamond cells to 55 GPa and have doubled the previous pressure limit of accurate elasticity determinations for crystals. Integrating single-crystal velocity data from Brillouin scattering measurements and density data from polycrystalline x-ray diffraction, we obtained the three principal elastic tensor elements (C(11), C(12), and C(44)) and various secondary elasticity parameters, including single-crystal elastic anisotropy, Cauchy relation, aggregate sound velocities, and Poisson's ratio, as functions of pressure. The present study also provides a direct determination of pressure without recourse to any prior pressure standard, thus creating a primary pressure scale. The commonly used ruby fluorescence pressure scale has thus been improved to 1% accuracy by the new MgO scale.

APPLICATIONS OF IMPULSIVE STIMULATED SCATTERING IN THE EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES

▪ Abstract  The elastic, thermodynamic, and transport properties of crystals and fluids at high temperature and pressure play a central role in the earth and planetary sciences as well as in a variety of technologies. These properties also constitute a principal experimental constraint on the description of intermolecular interactions at short distances. Aspects of “impulsive stimulated scattering,” when adapted to measurements in the diamond-anvil high-pressure cell, provide an approach to the determination of a subset of equilibrium and dynamic properties at high density.

Elastic moduli of wadsleyite (beta-Mg2SiO4) to 7 gigapascals and 873 kelvin

Simultaneous sound velocity measurements and x-ray diffraction studies were made on wadsleyite (beta-Mg2SiO4) to 7 gigapascals and 873 kelvin. The calculated adiabatic bulk (K) and shear (G) moduli yield K (at room conditions) = 172(2) gigapascals, dK/dP = 4.2(1), and dK/dT = -0.012(1) gigapascals per kelvin, and G (at room conditions) = 113(1) gigapascals, dG/dP = 1.5(1), and dG/dT = -0. 017(1) gigapascals per kelvin, respectively. The data imply that the P and S wave velocity contrasts between olivine and wadsleyite require an olivine amount of 38 to 39 percent in the upper mantle to satisfy the observed 410-kilometer discontinuity, but 55 to 60 percent to account for the velocity increase through the transition zone.