Seismic Properties of Anita Bay Dunite: an Exploratory Study of the Influence of Water

As a pilot study of the role of water in the attenuation ofseismic waves in the Earth's upper mantle, we have performeda series of seismic-frequency torsional forced-oscillation experimentson a natural (Anita Bay) dunite containing accessory hydrousphases, at high temperatures to 1300°C and confining pressure(P_c) of 200 MPa, within a gas-medium high-pressure apparatus.Both oven-dried and pre-fired specimens wrapped in Ni–Fefoil within the (poorly) vented assembly were recovered essentiallydry after 50–100 h of annealing at 1300°C followedby slow staged cooling. The results for those specimens indicatebroadly similar absorption-band viscoelastic behaviour, butwith systematic differences in the frequency dependence of strain-energydissipation Q^–1, attributed to differences in the smallvolume fraction of silicate melt and its spatial distribution.In contrast, it has been demonstrated that a new assembly involvinga welded Pt capsule retains aqueous fluid during prolonged exposureto high temperatures—allowing the first high-temperaturetorsional forced-oscillation measurements under high aqueousfluid pore pressure P_f. At temperatures >1000°C, a markedreduction in shear modulus, without concomitant increase inQ^–1, is attributed to the widespread wetting of grainboundaries resulting from grain-scale hydrofracturing and themaintenance of conditions of low differential pressure P_d =P_c – P_f . Staged cooling from 1000°C is accompaniedby decreasing P_f and progressive restoration of significantlypositive differential pressure resulting in a microstructuralregime in which the fluid on grain boundaries is increasinglyrestricted to arrays of pores. The more pronounced viscoelasticbehaviour observed within this regime for the Pt-encapsulatedspecimen compared with the essentially dry specimens may reflectboth water-enhanced solid-state relaxation and the direct influenceof the fluid phase. The scenario of overpressurized fluids andhydrofracturing in the Pt-encapsulated dunite specimen may havesome relevance to the high Q^–1 and low-velocity zonesobserved in subduction-zone environments. The outcomes of thisexploratory study indicate that the presence of water can havea significant effect on the seismic wave attenuation in theupper mantle and provide the foundation for more detailed studieson the role of water. KEY WORDS: seismic wave attenuation; water; dunite; hydrous mineral; shear modulus; viscoelasticity; olivine; grain-scale hydrofracturing