地震学家测量了从地球液核到下地幔的热流

科学家们已经直接测量了从地核液体金属到地幔底部区域的热流量,该过程有助于了解驱动浅部板块的运动和产生地球磁场的地球发电机。最近发表于《Science》杂志上的研究指出,新的温度测量是通过关联地震观测与最近发现的矿物转换获得的,该矿物转换发生于核-幔边界附近的超高压和超高温度条件。论文第一作者加利福尼亚大学地球与行星科学系Thorne Lay教授认为,这是首次拥有“温度计”,它能告诉我们地球深处的温度。如果我们的解释是正确的,那么它给我们提供了两种不同深度处正确的温度,因此我们不仅得到了绝对温度,还得到了温度随深度变化的…     

核－幔边界的动力学背景

根据传播矩阵方法,并把由联合反演得到的同时满足长波地形起伏、板块运动速度、重力位异常资料以及地震层析先验知识的全地幔三维异常密度作为载荷,以求取核－幔边界的动力学背景．计算结果显示：１．所求的核－幔边界起伏图像与Ｈａｇｅｒ等根据格林函数方法所求得的核－幔边界的起伏在全球范围内基本相符．２．核－幔边界处的环型场仅在数量上降为地表处的环型场的１／８左右,而极型场较地表处的极型场的流动图像有显著变化,数值也增为地表处极型场的３倍左右．     

核－幔边界的动力学背景

根据传播矩阵方法，并把由联合反演得到的同时满足长波地形起伏、板块运动速度、重力位异常资料以及地震层析先验知识的全地幔三维异常密度作为载荷，以求取核－幔边界的动力学背景．计算结果显示：１．所求的核－幔边界起伏图像与Ｈａｇｅｒ等根据格林函数方法所求得的核－幔边界的起伏在全球范围内基本相符．２．核－幔边界处的环型场仅在数量上降为地表处的环型场的１／８左右，而极型场较地表处的极型场的流动图像有显著变化，数值也增为地表处极型场的３倍左右．     

核－幔边界的动力学背景

根据传播矩阵方法，并把由联合反演得到的同时满足长波地形起伏、板块运动速度、重力位异常资料以及地震层析先验知识的全地幔三维异常密度作为载荷，以求取核－幔边界的动力学背景．计算结果显示：１．所求的核－幔边界起伏图像与Ｈａｇｅｒ等根据格林函数方法所求得的核－幔边界的起伏在全球范围内基本相符．２．核－幔边界处的环型场仅在数量上降为地表处的环型场的１／８左右，而极型场较地表处的极型场的流动图像有显著变化，数值也增为地表处极型场的３倍左右．     

核幔边界反射P波对接收函数影响的研究

远震P波接收函数是探测壳幔结构的有效方法,它采用平面波入射假定,将入射波视为具有相同射线参数的单一震相.然而,在一定震中距时,核幔边界反射P波(如PcP震相)会进入接收函数提取窗口,其射线参数与直达P波相差较大,可能导致提取的接收函数存在偏差.本文理论测试了不同震源机制,震中距以及震源深度等情况下核幔边界反射P波对远震P波接收函数的影响,并结合实际观测资料进行对比分析.测试结果显示,与走滑断层产生的PcP震相对接收函数影响较小不同,倾滑断层产生的PcP震相会使接收函数出现虚假震相并降低直达P波及后续震相的振幅,从而干扰壳幔间断面(如410 km和660 km间断面)的识别,并导致反演的台站下方S波速度降低达到5%.进一步分析倾滑型地震对接收函数波形影响发现,当震源深度小于300 km时,PcP震相导致接收函数直达P波振幅要低于4%.在震源深度在300～450 km、震中距为50°～60°、断层倾角在大约30°～60°,以及震源深度大于450 km、震中距为50°～60°、断层倾角大约25°～65°情况下影响可达20%.接收函数叠加方法可以有效压制结果中PcP震相导致的虚假信号,但是仍然无法完全去除PcP对接收函数振幅的影响,叠加后直达P波振幅降低仍然能够达到4%.本文结果表明,在计算接收函数时,剔除掉产生较强PcP的特定震源机制、震中距和震源深度的地震事件有助于反演精确的壳幔结构.     

Theoretical models and experimental determination methods for equations of state of silicate melts: A review

Silicate melts are very active in the interior of the Earth and other terrestrial planets, and are important carriers for the transport of material and energy. The determination of the equation of state(EOS) for silicate melts and the acquisition of a precise quantitative relationship between molar volume(or density) and temperature, pressure, and composition is essential for simulating the generation, migration, and eruption processes of magmas and the evolution of the magma ocean stage during the early formation of the Earth and other terrestrial planets, for calculating and modeling the phase equilibria involving silicate melts, and for revealing the variation of the microstructure of silicate melts with pressure. However, it is experimentally challenging to determine the volumetric properties of silicate melts and the accumulated density data at high pressure are still very limited due to a series of problems such as: the high liquidus temperature of silicate rocks; proneness for silicate melts to react with sample capsules to change the melt composition; and proneness for melts to flow and leak during the high pressure and high temperature experiments. In recent years, there is rapid progress in the high pressure and high temperature experimental techniques, in terms of not only the extension of temperature and pressure ranges but also the improvement on the accuracy of measurements, and the emergence of new methods for in-situ measurements. Here, we review the widely-used theoretical models of ambient-pressure and high-pressure EOS for silicate melts, and illustrate some problems that need to be solved urgently:(1) the room pressure EOS for iron-and titanium-bearing silicate melts needs to be improved;(2) the partial molar properties of the H2 O and CO2 components in silicate melts containing volatile components may vary markedly with the melt composition, which need to be addressed in high-pressure EOS;(3) how the formulation and applicable range of EOS correspond to changes in melt structure and compression mechanism requires further study. We highlight the basic principle and applicable range of various methods for determining the EOS for silicate melts, and compare the advantages and disadvantages of doublebob Archimedes method, fusion curve analysis, shock compression experiments, sink-float method, X-ray absorption, X-ray diffraction and ultrasonic interferometry. Future trends in this field are to develop experimental techniques for in situ measurements on melt density or sound velocity at high temperature and high pressure and to accumulate more experimental data,and on the other hand, to improve the theoretical models of the EOS for silicate melts by a combination of research on the microstructure and compression mechanisms of silicate melts.     

Thermal equation of state of magnesite to 32 GPa and 2073 K

Pressure–volume–temperature relations have been measured to 32 GPa and 2073 K for natural magnesite (Mg_0.975Fe_0.015Mn_0.006Ca_0.004CO₃) using synchrotron X-ray diffraction with a multianvil apparatus at the SPring-8 facility. A least-squares fit of the room-temperature compression data to a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state (EOS) yielded K₀ = 97.1 ± 0.5 GPa and K′ = 5.44 ± 0.07, with fixed V₀ = 279.55 ± 0.02 Å³. Further analysis of the high-temperature compression data yielded the temperature derivative of the bulk modulus (∂K_T/∂T)_P = −0.013 ± 0.001 GPa/K and zero-pressure thermal expansion α = a₀ + a₁T with a₀ = 4.03 (7) × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ and a₁ = 0.49 (10) × 10⁻⁸ K⁻². The Anderson–Grüneisen parameter is estimated to be δ_T = 3.3. The analysis of axial compressibility and thermal expansivity indicates that the c-axis is over three times more compressible (K_Tc = 47 ± 1 GPa) than the a-axis (K_Tc = 157 ± 1 GPa), whereas the thermal expansion of the c-axis (a₀ = 6.8 (2) × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ and a₁ = 2.2 (4) × 10⁻⁸ K⁻²) is greater than that of the a-axis (a₀ = 2.7 (4) × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ and a₁ = −0.2 (2) × 10⁻⁸ K⁻²). The present thermal EOS enables us to accurately calculate the density of magnesite to the deep mantle conditions. Decarbonation of a subducting oceanic crust containing 2 wt.% magnesite would result in a 0.6% density reduction at 30 GPa and 1273 K. Using the new EOS parameters we performed thermodynamic calculations for magnesite decarbonation reactions at pressures to 20 GPa. We also estimated stability of magnesite-bearing assemblages in the lower mantle.     

Volume-temperature relationship for iron at 330 GPa and the Earth's core density deficit

Estimates of core density deficit (cdd) of the Earth's outer core recently reported by Anderson and Isaak [Another look at the core density deficit of Earth's outer core, Phys. Earth Planet Int. 131 (2002) 19-27] are questionable in view of the serious errors in the pressure-volume and bulk modulus data due to an inadequacy in the calibration process used by Mao et al. [Static compression of iron to 300 GPa and Fe_0.8Ni_0.2 alloy to 200 GPa: implications for the core, J. Geophys. Res. 94 (1990) 21737-21742]. The data used by Anderson and Isaak deviate significantly from the corresponding values derived from seismology. In the present study we have used the input data on density, isothermal bulk modulus and its pressure derivative from Stacey and Davis [High pressure equations of state with application to lower mantle and core, Phys. Earth Planet Int. 142 (2004) 137-184] which are consistent with the seismological data. Volumes of hexagonal close-packed iron have been calculated at different temperatures under isobaric conditions at P = 330 GPa, the inner core boundary (ICB) pressure using the relationship between thermal pressure and volume expansion based on the lattice potential theory originally due to Born and Huang [Dynamical Theory of Crystal Lattices, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954, p. 50]. The formulation for thermal pressure used by Anderson and Isaak has been modified by taking into account the variations of thermal expansivity α and isothermal bulk modulus K_T with temperature. Values of cdd are then estimated corresponding to different temperatures ranging from 4000 to 8000 K. The results for cdd at different temperatures obtained in the present study are significantly higher than those estimated by Anderson and Isaak suggesting that the cdd for the Earth's outer core is nearly 10%. The effects of nickel when an Fe-Ni alloy replaces Fe are estimated and found to be insignificant.     

Prediction of siderophile element metal-silicate partition coefficients to 20 GPa and 2800°C: the effects of pressure, temperature, oxygen fugacity, and silicate and metallic melt compositions

We report new metal-silicate partition coefficients for Ni, Co and P at 7.0 GPa (1650–1750°C), and Ni, Co, Mo, W and P at 0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 GPa (1300–1400°C). Guided by thermodynamics, all available metal-silicate partition coefficients, D(i), where i is Ni, Co, P, Mo and W, are regressed against 1/T, P/T, lnf(O₂), ln(1 − X_s) (X_S is mole fraction of S in metallic liquid) and nbo/t (non-bridging oxygen/tetrahedral cation ratio, a silicate melt compositional-structural parameter) to derive equations of the following form: ln D(i) = aln f(O₂) + (b/T) + (cP/T) + d(nbo/t) + eln(1 − X_S) + f. Expressions for solid metal-liquid silicate and liquid metal-liquid silicate partition coefficients are derived for S-free and S-bearing systems.

We investigate whether Earth's upper-mantle siderophile element abundances can be reconciled with simple metal-silicate equilibrium. Sulfur-free metallic compositions do not allow a good fit. However, Ni, Co, Mo, W and P abundances in the upper mantle are consistent with simple metal-silicate equilibrium at mantle pressures and temperatures (27 GPa, 2200 K, ΔIW(iron-wüstite) = −0.15, nbo/t = 2.7; X_S = 0.15). Although these conditions are near the anhydrous peridotite solidus, they are well above the hydrous solidus and probably closer to the liquidus. A hydrous magma ocean and early mantle are consistent with predicted planetary accretion models. These results suggest that siderophile element abundances in Earth's upper mantle were established by liquid metal-liquid silicate equilibrium near the upper-mantle-lower-mantle boundary.     

A comparative method for various approaches to the isothermal equation of state

Various three-parameter approximations of the isothermal equation of state of matter can be systematized and, in consequence, mutually compared by using the uniquely associated relationships between first and second pressure derivatives of the bulk modulus of any substance at zero pressure. Thus quantitative or, at least qualitative information on the capability of such approximations for volumetric contractions down to about 0.5 can be obtained directly. This comparative method will be discussed with the aid of 19 approximations considered in high-pressure physics and geophysics. Its application to the Grüneisen parameter analysis yields a number of additional practical approximations.     

Melting of β-quartz up to 2.0 GPa and thermodynamic optimization of the silica liquidus up to 6.0 GPa

Melting relations of β-quartz were experimentally determined at 1.0 GPa (1900±20 °C), 1.5 GPa (2033±20 °C), and 2.0 GPa (2145±20 °C) using a new high-pressure assembly in a piston–cylinder apparatus and substantial differences were found with data previously reported. The new melting data of β-quartz were combined and optimized with all available thermodynamic, volumetric, and phase equilibria data for β-cristobalite, β-quartz and coesite to produce a P–T liquidus diagram for silica valid up to 6.0 GPa. Using the new optimized thermodynamic parameters, the invariant point β-cristobalite+β-quartz+liquid and β-quartz+coesite+liquid were determined to lie at 1687±17 °C and 0.457 GPa, and 2425±25 °C and 5.00 GPa, respectively.     

Cooling rates in the shock veins of chondrites: constraints on the (Mg, Fe)2SiO4 polymorph transformations

The occurrence of γ-phase, a high-pressure polymorph of olivine (α-phase), in the shock veins of Sixiangkou chondrite was due to a greater cooling rate (> 10 000°C·s^-1) in the veins. Because γ-phase partially reverted to β-phase and no back-transformation from β-phase to α-phase took place, the shock veins of Peace River chondrite with a cooling rate of 1 000–2 000δC·s^-1 contain a great amount of β-phase. In the shock veins of Mbale chondrite with a cooling rate of <500°C·s^-1, the majority of γ-phase reverted to α-phase. The heat dissipation in shock veins took place after a stage of shock compression of chondrite parent body, and the parent body was broken into fragmental pieces. Cooling rate in the shock veins constrained the back-transformations of (Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄ high-pressure polymorphs. Project of Chen and Xie supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 496720981, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 960500), and the Science Foundation of Academia Sinica for the returned scholars.     

Mechanisms and kinetics of the post-spinel transformation in Mg2SiO4

Mechanisms and kinetics of the post-spinel transformation in Mg₂SiO₄ were examined at 22.7–28.2 GPa and 860–1200 °C by in situ X-ray diffraction experiments using synchrotron radiation combined with microstructural observations of the recovered samples. The post-spinel phases nucleated on spinel grain boundaries and grew with a lamellar texture. Under large overpressure conditions, reaction rims were formed along spinel grain boundaries at the initial stage of the transformation, whereas under small overpressure conditions, the transformation proceeded without formation of reaction rims. Mg₂SiO₄ spinel metastably dissociated into MgSiO₃ ilmenite and periclase, and stishovite and periclase as intermediate steps in the transformation into the stable assemblage of MgSiO₃ perovskite and periclase. Topotactic relationships were found in the transformation from spinel into ilmenite and periclase. Kinetic parameters in the Avrami rate equation, time taken to 10% completion, and the growth rate were estimated by analysis of the kinetic data obtained by in situ X-ray observations. The empirical activation energy for 10% transformation decreases with increasing pressure because the activation energy for nucleation becomes smaller at larger overpressure conditions. Extrapolations of the 10% transformation to ∼700 °C, which is the lowest temperature expected for the cold slabs at ∼700 km depth, suggest that overpressure of more than ∼1 GPa is needed for the transformation. Because the growth rate is estimated to be large even at low-temperatures of ∼700 °C and overpressures of 1 GPa, the depth of the post-spinel transformation in the cold slabs is possibly controlled by nucleation kinetics.     

Enhancing the Sustainability of Household Fe0/Sand Filters by Using Bimetallics and MnO2

Filtration systems containing metallic iron as reactive medium (Fe⁰ beds) have been intensively used for water treatment during the last two decades. The sustainability of Fe⁰ beds is severely confined by two major factors: (i) reactivity loss as result of the formation of an oxide scale on Fe⁰ and (ii) permeability loss due to pore filling by generated iron corrosion products. Both factors are inherent to iron corrosion at pH > 4.5 and are common during the lifespan of a Fe⁰ bed. It is of great practical significance to improve the performance of Fe⁰ beds by properly addressing these key factors. Recent studies have shown that both reactivity loss and permeability loss could be addressed by mixing Fe⁰ and inert materials. For a non‐porous additive like quartz, the threshold value for the Fe⁰ volumetric proportion is 51%. Using the Fe⁰/quartz system as reference, this study theoretically discusses the possibility of (i) replacing Fe⁰ by bimetallic systems (e.g., Fe⁰/Cu⁰), or (ii) partially replacing quartz by a reactive metal oxide (MnO₂ or TiO₂) to improve the efficiency of Fe⁰ beds. Results confirmed the suitability of both tools for sustaining Fe⁰ bed performance. It is shown that using a Fe⁰:MnO₂ system with the volumetric proportion 51:49 will yield a filter with 40% residual porosity at Fe⁰ depletion (MnO₂ porosity 62%). This study improves Fe⁰ bed design and can be considered as a basis for further refinement and detailed research for efficient Fe⁰ filters.     

Characteristics of melt inclusions in skarn minerals from Fe,Cu(Au) and Au(Cu) ore deposits in the region from Daye to Jiujiang

The skarns and skarn deposits are widely distributed at home and abroad. The skarn deposits include many kinds of ores and higher ore grade. Some of them are broad in scale. Scientists of ore deposits from different countries have paid and are paying grea…