Hydrous silicate melt at high pressure

Nature
Mainak MookherjeeBijaya B Karki

Abstract

The structure and physical properties of hydrous silicate melts and the solubility of water in melts over most of the pressure regime of Earth's mantle (up to 136 GPa) remain unknown. At low pressure (up to a few gigapascals) the solubility of water increases rapidly with increasing pressure, and water has a large influence on the solidus temperature, density, viscosity and electrical conductivity. Here we report the results of first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of hydrous MgSiO3 melt. These show that pressure has a profound influence on speciation of the water component, which changes from being dominated by hydroxyls and water molecules at low pressure to extended structures at high pressure. We link this change in structure to our finding that the water-silicate system becomes increasingly ideal at high pressure: we find complete miscibility of water and silicate melt throughout almost the entire mantle pressure regime. On the basis of our results, we argue that a buoyantly stable melt at the base of the upper mantle would contain approximately 3 wt% water and have an electrical conductivity of 18 S m(-1), and should therefore be detectable by means of electromagnetic sounding.

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Citations

Aug 14, 2013·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Philip S Salmon, Anita Zeidler
Mar 26, 2014·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·A MocquetC Sotin
Jan 28, 2016·Scientific Reports·Hongbo WangJonathan Willams
Oct 10, 2015·Nature Communications·Suraj BajgainBijaya B Karki
Dec 12, 2017·Science Advances·Dipta B Ghosh, Bijaya B Karki
Nov 23, 2016·Reports on Progress in Physics·Guoyin Shen, Ho Kwang Mao
Apr 14, 2017·Scientific Reports·Dipta B GhoshBijaya B Karki
Mar 9, 2021·Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth·Natalia V Solomatova, Razvan Caracas
Nov 24, 2011·Physical Review Letters·Anita ZeidlerThomas E Markland
Sep 28, 2010·Physical Review Letters·Bijaya B Karki, Lars Stixrude
Sep 25, 2008·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B·Kelly E AndersonJ Ilja Siepmann
Sep 25, 2008·The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B·Kelly E AndersonJ Ilja Siepmann
May 21, 2021·Scientific Reports·Bijaya B KarkiShun-Ichiro Karato
Mar 13, 2009·Journal of Molecular Graphics & Modelling·Dipesh Bhattarai, Bijaya B Karki
Sep 21, 2021·Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal·James W E Drewitt

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