Effect of high-pressures on the electrical resistivity of natural zeolites from Deccan Trap, Maharashtra, India

We report here the electrical resistivity measurements on two natural zeolites–natrolite and scolecite (from the Killari borehole, Maharashtra, India) as a function of pressure up to 8 GPa at room temperature. High-pressure electrical resistivity studies on hydrous alumino-silicate minerals are very helpful in understanding the role of water in deep crustal conductivities obtained from geophysical models. The results obtained by magneto-telluric (MT) soundings and direct current resistivity surveys, along with the laboratory data on the electrical resistivity of minerals and rocks at high-pressure–temperature are used to determine the electrical conductivity distribution in continental lithosphere. The electrical resistivity of natural natrolite decreases continuously from 2.9 × 10⁹ Ω cm at ambient condition to 7.64 × 10² Ω cm at 8 GPa, at room temperature. There is no pressure-induced first order structural phase transitions in natrolite, when it is compressed in non-penetrating pressure transmitting medium up to 8 GPa. On the other hand scolecite exhibits a pressure-induced transition, with a discontinuous decrease of the electrical resistivity from 2.6 × 10⁶ to 4.79 × 10⁵ Ω cm at 4.2 to 4.3 GPa. The observed phase transition in scolecite is found to be irreversible. Vibrational spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction studies confirm the amorphous nature of the high-pressure phase. The results of the present high-pressure studies on scolecite are in good agreement with the high-pressure Raman spectroscopic data on scolecite. The thermo gravimetric studies on the pressure-quenched samples show that the samples underwent a pressure-induced partial dehydration. Such a pressure-induced partial dehydration, which has been observed in natural scolecite could explain the presence of high conductive layers in the earth's deep-crust.