Electrical conductivity of a spinel lherzolite and a garnet peridotite to 1550°C: relevance to the effects of partial melting

Electrical conductivity σ of two ultramafic rocks (a spinel lherzolite and a garnet peridotite) has been investigated to melting temperature at 1 bar under known oxygen fugacity environment. The electrical conductivity of the two rocks is found to increase with degree of partial melting and an ～ 15% melt fraction is necessary for the electrical conductivity to increase by ～ 1 order of magnitude. For a given melt fraction electrical conductivity of a spinel lherzolite is lower than that of a garnet peridotite and may be attributed to the differences in the composition of the melts formed.