Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Redox-influenced seismic properties of upper-mantle olivine

Nature volume 555, pages 355–358 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Lateral variations of seismic wave speeds and attenuation (dissipation of strain energy) in the Earth’s upper mantle have the potential to map key characteristics such as temperature, major-element composition, melt fraction and water content1,2,3. The inversion of these data into meaningful representations of physical properties requires a robust understanding of the micromechanical processes that affect the propagation of seismic waves2,3. Structurally bound water (hydroxyl) is believed to affect seismic properties2,3 but this has yet to be experimentally quantified. Here we present a comprehensive low-frequency forced-oscillation assessment of the seismic properties of olivine as a function of water content within the under-saturated regime that is relevant to the Earth’s interior. Our results demonstrate that wave speeds and attenuation are in fact strikingly insensitive to water content. Rather, the redox conditions imposed by the choice of metal sleeving, and the associated defect chemistry, appear to have a substantial influence on the seismic properties. These findings suggest that elevated water contents are not responsible for low-velocity or high-attenuation structures in the upper mantle. Instead, the high attenuation observed in hydrous and oxidized regions of the upper mantle (such as above subduction zones) may reflect the prevailing oxygen fugacity. In addition, these data provide no support for the hypothesis whereby a sharp lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary is explained by enhanced grain boundary sliding in the presence of water.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Seismic properties of all specimens.
Figure 2: Dissipation Q−1 measured at representative conditions of 1,100 °C and 1,000 s oscillation period.
Figure 3: Dissipation data at 1,100 °C plotted as a function of for different capsule materials and several representative oscillation periods.
Figure 4: Values of log(τM) from the refined Burgers model of each Fo90 olivine specimen plotted as a function of.
Figure 5: Dominant influences on anelastic relaxation responsible for the reduced seismic shear-wave velocities and attenuation of seismic waves.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Romanowicz, B. A. & Mitchell, B. J. in Treatise on Geophysics 2nd edn, 789–827 (Elsevier, 2015)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Karato, S. Mapping water content in upper mantle. In Inside the Subduction Factory Vol. 138, 135–152 (Geophysical Monograph Series, AGU, 2003)

  3. Abers, G . et al. Reconciling mantle attenuation-temperature relationships from seismology, petrology, and laboratory measurements. Geochem. Geophys. 15, 3521–3542 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jacobsen, S. D . et al. Effects of hydration on the elastic properties of olivine. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L14303 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jackson, I. in Treatise on Geophysics 2nd edn, 539–571 (Elsevier, 2015)

  6. Farla, R. J ., Jackson, I ., Fitz Gerald, J. D ., Faul, U. H. & Zimmerman, M. E. Dislocation damping and anisotropic seismic wave attenuation in Earth’s upper mantle. Science 336, 332–335 (2012)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bai, Q ., Mackwell, S. J. & Kohlstedt, D. L. High-temperature creep of olivine single crystals 1. Mechanical results for buffered samples. J. Geophys. Res. 96, 2441 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Karato, S.-I. & Jung, H. Effects of pressure on high-temperature dislocation creep in olivine. Phil. Mag. 83, 401–414 (2003)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mei, S. & Kohlstedt, D. Influence of water on plastic deformation of olivine aggregates. 2. Diffusion creep regime. J. Geophys. Res. 105, 21457–21469 (2000)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Karato, S.-I. On the origin of the asthenosphere. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 321/322, 95–103 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Olugboji, T. M ., Karato, S-I . & Park, J. Structures of the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary: mineral-physics modeling and seismological signatures. Geochem. Geophys. 14, 880–901 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Aizawa, Y . et al. Seismic properties of Anita Bay dunite: an exploratory study of the influence of water. J. Petrol. 49, 841–855 (2008)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Faul, U. H., Cline, C. J. II, David, E. C., Berry, A. J. & Jackson, I. Titanium-hydroxyl defect-controlled rheology of the Earth’s upper mantle. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 452, 227–237 (2016)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Berry, A. J ., Hermann, J ., O’Neill, H. S. C. & Foran, G. J. Fingerprinting the water site in mantle olivine. Geology 33, 869 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Walker, A. M ., Hermann, J ., Berry, A. J. & O’Neill, H. S. C. Three water sites in upper mantle olivine and the role of titanium in the water weakening mechanism. J. Geophys. Res. 112, B05211 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kovács, I ., O’Neill, H. S. C ., Hermann, J. & Hauri, H. Site-specific infrared OH absorption coefficients for water substitution into olivine. Am. Mineral. 95, 292–299 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Jackson, I . & Faul, U. H. Grainsize-sensitive viscoelastic relaxation in olivine: Towards a robust laboratory-based model for seismological application. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 183, 151–163 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. De Hoog, J ., Gail, L . & Cornell, D. Trace-element geochemistry of mantle olivine and application to mantle petrogenesis and geothermobarometry. Chem. Geol. 270, 196–215 (2010)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Nakamura, A. & Schmalzried, H. On the nonstoichiometry and point defects of olivine. Phys. Chem. Mineral. 10, 27–37 (1983)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Dohmen, R. & Chakraborty, S. Fe–Mg diffusion in olivine II: point defect chemistry, change of diffusion mechanisms and a model for calculation of diffusion coefficients in natural olivine. Phys. Chem. Mineral. 34, 409–430 (2007)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lin, P.-Y. P . et al. High-resolution seismic constraints on flow dynamics in the oceanic asthenosphere. Nature 535, 538–541 (2016)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Shimizu, K . et al. Two-component mantle melting-mixing model for the generation of mid-ocean ridge basalts: implications for the volatile content of the Pacific upper mantle. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 176, 44–80 (2016)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Hirth, G. & Kohlstedt, D. L. Water in the oceanic upper mantle: implications for rheology, melt extraction and the evolution of the lithosphere. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 144, 93–108 (1996)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Tenner, T. J ., Hirschmann, M. M ., Withers, A. C. & Ardia, P. H2O storage capacity of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene from 10 to 13 GPa: consequences for dehydration melting above the transition zone. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 163, 297–316 (2012)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Sarafian, E . et al. The electrical structure of the central Pacific upper mantle constrained by the NoMelt experiment. Geochem. Geophys. 16, 1115–1132 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Stachnik, J. C ., Abers, G. A. & Christensen, D. H. Seismic attenuation and mantle wedge temperatures in the Alaska subduction zone. J. Geophys. Res. 109, B10304 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Kelley, K. A. & Cottrell, E. Water and the oxidation state of subduction zone magmas. Science 325, 605–607 (2009)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Brounce, M. N ., Kelley, K. A. & Cottrell, E. Variations in Fe3+/ΣFe of Mariana arc basalts and mantle wedge fO2 . J. Petrol. 55, 2513–2536 (2014)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. McCammon, C. A . et al. Oxidation state of iron in hydrous mantle phases: implications for subduction and mantle oxygen fugacity. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 143–144, 157–169 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Faul, U. H., Cline, C. J. II, Berry, A., Jackson, I. & Garapić, G. Constraints on oxygen fugacity within metal capsules. Phys. Chem. Mineral. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-017-0937-7 (2017)

  31. Jackson, I. et al. Grain-size-sensitive seismic wave attenuation in polycrystalline olivine. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 2360 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Tan, B. H., Jackson, I. & Fitz Gerald, J. D. High-temperature viscoelasticity of fine-grained polycrystalline olivine. Phys. Chem. Miner. 28, 641–664 (2001)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Jackson, I. & Paterson, M. S. A high pressure, high temperature apparatus for studies of seismic wave dispersion and attenuation. Pure Appl. Geophys. 141, 445–466 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Jackson, I., Barnhoorn, A., Aizawa, Y. & Saint, C. Improved procedures for the laboratory study of high-temperature viscoelastic relaxation. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 172, 104–115 (2009)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Engi, M. & Lindsley, D. H. Stability of titanian clinohumite: Experiments and thermodynamic analysis. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 72, 415–424 (1980)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Kessel, R., Beckett, J. R. & Stolper, E. M. Thermodynamic properties of the Pt-Fe system. Am. Mineral. 86, 1003–1014 (2001)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Rubie, D. C., Karato, S., Yan, H. & O’Neill, H. S. C. Low differential stress and controlled chemical environment in multianvil high-pressure experiments. Phys. Chem. Mineral. 20, 315–322 (1993)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Heald, E. Thermodynamics of iron-platinum alloys. Trans. Metal. Soc. AIME 239, 1337–1340 (1967)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Paterson, M. The thermodynamics of water in quartz. Phys. Chem. Mineral. 13, 245–255 (1986)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank H. Kokkonen and H. Miller for technical support with sample preparation and operation of the Australian National University rock physics laboratory, H. Chen for assistance with electron backscatter diffraction, and S. Karato of Yale University for suggestions that improved the manuscript. This work was supported by grant DP130103848 from the Australian Research Council to I.J., A.J.B., U.H.F. and S. Karato. U.H.F. acknowledges support from NSF grant EAR 1321889. C.J.C. gratefully acknowledges funding by an Australian National University International PhD Research Scholarship.

Author information

Author notes

  1. E. C. David

    Present address: Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    C. J. Cline II, E. C. David, A. J. Berry & I. Jackson

  2. Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    U. H. Faul

Authors
  1. C. J. Cline II
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. U. H. Faul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. C. David
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. J. Berry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. I. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

C.J.C. conducted the forced-oscillation measurements (with contributions from E.C.D.). C.J.C. obtained the microstructural and spectroscopic data, subsequently interpreted by U.H.F., E.C.D., I.J., A.J.B. and C.J.C. and Fe3+ calculations were performed by U.H.F. The manuscript was written by C.J.C. with contributing revisions and discussion from all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. J. Cline II.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Reviewer Information Nature thanks G. Abers and T. Irifune for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Figure 1 Electron back-scatter diffraction map of sample 1623 (0.5[Ti]) after mechanical testing, coloured to indicate different crystallographic orientations.

A near-‘foam’ microstructure is present, with apparent grain-boundary serrations being an artefact of the post-processing grain boundary reconstruction using MTEX software (http://mtex-toolbox.github.io/).

Extended Data Table 1 Summary of sample characteristics
Full size table

PowerPoint slides

Source data

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cline II, C., Faul, U., David, E. et al. Redox-influenced seismic properties of upper-mantle olivine. Nature 555, 355–358 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25764

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25764

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing