Velocity and density jumps across the 410-km seismic discontinuity generally indicate olivine contents of similar to 30 to 50 vol.% on the basis of the elastic properties of anhydrous olivine and wadsleyite, which is considerably less than the similar to 60% olivine in the widely accepted pyrolite model for the upper mantle. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that water dissolved in olivine and wadsleyite affects their elastic properties in ways that can reconcile the pyrolitic model with seismic observations. In order to more fully constrain the olivine content of the upper mantle near the 410-km discontinuity, and to place constraints on the mantle water content at this depth, we determined the full elasticity of hydrous wadsleyite at the P-T conditions of the discontinuity based on density functional theory calculations. Together with previous determinations for the effect of water on olivine elasticity, we simultaneously modeled the density and seismic velocity jumps (Delta(rho), Delta V-p, Delta V-S) across the olivine-wadsleyite transition. Our models allow for several scenarios that can well reproduce the density and seismic velocity jumps across the 410-km discontinuity when compared to globally averaged seismic models. When the water content of olivine and wadsleyite is assumed to be equal as in a simple binary system, our modeling indicates a best fit for low water contents (<0.1 wt.%) with an olivine proportion of similar to 50%, suggesting a relatively dry, non-pyrolitic mantle at depths of the 410-km discontinuity. However, our modeling can be reconciled with a pyrolitic mantle if the water content in wadsleyite is similar to 0.9 wt.% and that in olivine is at its storage capacity of similar to 500-1500 ppm. The result would be consistent with a hydrous melt phase produced at depths just above the phase transition. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The distribution and transportation of water in Earth's interior depends on the stability of water-bearing phases. The transition zone in Earth's mantle is generally accepted as an important potential water reservoir because its main constituents, wadsleyite and ringwoodite, can incorporate weight percent levels of H2O in their structures at mantle temperatures. The extent to which water can be transported beyond the transition zone deeper into the mantle depends on the water carrying capacity of minerals stable in sub-ducted lithosphere. Stishovite is one of the major mineral components in subducting oceanic crust, yet the capacity of stishovite to incorporate water beyond at lower mantle conditions remains speculative. In this study, we combine in situ laser heating with synchrotron X-ray diffraction to show that the unit cell volume of stishovite synthesized under hydrous conditions is similar to 2.3 to 5.0% greater than that of anhydrous stishovite at pressures of similar to 27 to 58 GPa and temperatures of 1,240 to 1,835 K. Our results indicate that stishovite, even at temperatures along a mantle geotherm, can potentially incorporate weight percent levels of H2O in its crystal structure and has the potential to be a key phase for transporting and storing water in the lower mantle.

Diamonds are unrivalled in their ability to record the mantle carbon cycle and mantle fO(2) over a vast portion of Earth's history. Diamonds' inertness and antiquity means their carbon isotopic characteristics directly reflect their growth environment within the mantle as far back as similar to 3.5 Ga. This paper reports the results of a thorough secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration study, carried out on fragments of 144 diamond samples from various locations, from similar to 3.5 to 1.4 Ga for P [peridotitic]-type diamonds and 3.0 to 1.0 Ga for E [eclogitic]-type diamonds. The majority of the studied samples were from diamonds used to establish formation ages and thus provide a direct connection between the carbon isotope values, nitrogen contents and the formation ages. In total, 908 carbon isotope and nitrogen concentration measurements were obtained. The total delta C-13 data range from -17.1 to -1.9 parts per thousand (P = -8.4 to -1.9 parts per thousand; E = -17.1 to -2.1 parts per thousand) and N contents range from 0 to 3073 at. ppm (P 0 to 3073 at. ppm; E = 1 to 2661 at. ppm). In general, there is no systematic variation with time in the mantle carbon isotope record since > 3 Ga. The mode in delta C-13 of peridotitic diamonds has been at similar to 5 (+/- 2) parts per thousand since the earliest diamond growth similar to 3.5 Ga, and this mode is also observed in the eclogitic diamond record since similar to 3 Ga. The skewness of eclogitic diamonds' delta C-13 distributions to more negative values, which the data establishes began around 3 Ga, is also consistent through time, with no global trends apparent.

A new diamond-anvil cell apparatus for in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements of liquids and glasses, at pressures from ambient to 5 GPa and temperatures from ambient to 1300 K, is reported. This portable setup enables in situ monitoring of the melting of complex compounds and the determination of the structure and properties of melts under moderately high pressure and high temperature conditions relevant to industrial processes and magmatic processes in the Earth's crust and shallow mantle. The device was constructed according to a modified Bassett-type hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell design with a large angular opening (theta = 95 degrees). This paper reports the successful application of this device to record in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction of liquid Ga and synthetic PbSiO3 glass to 1100 K and 3 GPa.

We present a theoretical model of the stability and migration of carbonate-rich melts to test whether they can explain seismic low-velocity layers (LVLs) observed above stalled slabs in several convergent tectonic settings. The LVLs, located atop the mantle transition zone, contain small (similar to 1 vol%) amounts of partial melt, possibly derived from melting of subducted carbonate-bearing oceanic crust. Petrological and geochemical evidence from inclusions in superdeep diamonds supports the existence of slab-derived carbonate melt, which may potentially explain the origin of the observed melt in the LVL. However, the presumptive reducing nature of the ambient mantle can be an impediment to the stability of carbonated melt. To reconcile this apparent contradiction, we test the stability and migration rates of carbonate-rich melts atop a stalled slab as a function of melt percolation, redox freezing, amount of carbon supplied by subduction, and the metallic Fe concentration in the mantle. Our results demonstrate that carbonaterich melts in the LVL can potentially survive redox freezing over long geological time scales. We also show that the amount of subducted carbon exerts a stronger influence on the stability of carbonate melt than does the mantle redox condition. Concentration dependent melt density leads to rapid melt propagation through channels while a constant melt density causes melt to migrate as a planar front. Our calculations suggest that the LVLs can sequester significant fractions of carbon transported to the mantle by subduction. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The day and nightside temperatures of hot Jupiters are diagnostics of heat transport processes in their atmospheres. Recent observations have shown that the nightsides of hot Jupiters are a nearly constant 1100 K for a wide range of equilibrium temperatures (T (eq)), lower than those predicted by 3D global circulation models. Here we investigate the impact of nightside clouds on the observed nightside temperatures of hot Jupiters using an aerosol microphysics model. We find that silicates dominate the cloud composition, forming an optically thick cloud deck on the nightsides of all hot Jupiters with T (eq) <= 2100 K. The observed nightside temperature is thus controlled by the optical depth profile of the silicate cloud with respect to the temperature-pressure profile. As nightside temperatures increase with T (eq), the silicate cloud is pushed upward, forcing observations to probe cooler altitudes. The cloud vertical extent remains fairly constant due to competing impacts of increasing vertical mixing strength with T (eq) and higher rates of sedimentation at higher altitudes. These effects, combined with the intrinsically subtle increase of the nightside temperature with T (eq) due to decreasing radiative timescale at higher instellation levels, lead to low, constant nightside photospheric temperatures consistent with observations. Our results suggest a drastic reduction in the day-night temperature contrast when nightside clouds dissipate, with the nightside emission spectra transitioning from featureless to feature-rich. We also predict that cloud absorption features in the nightside emission spectra of hot Jupiters should reach >= 100 ppm, potentially observable with the James Webb Space Telescope.

The "wet" silicate solidus of mantle peridotite defines the initial melting temperature of Earth's mantle under water-saturated conditions and the second critical endpoint (SCEP) marks the high P-T end of the wet solidus. However, the location of the wet solidus has remained an outstanding issue for over 50 years and the position of the SCEP is hotly debated. Published wet solidi show a difference of 200-600 degrees C at a given pressure while reported SCEPs range from <4 to >6 GPa. Using a large-volume multianvil apparatus, we investigated the water-saturated melting behavior of a fertile peridotite at 3-6 GPa, 950-1200 degrees C, and obtained well-preserved quenched materials. On the basis of textures and compositions of the quenched materials, we bracket the wet solidus to between 950 degrees C and 1000 degrees C at 3 GPa and the SCEP between 3 and 4 GPa. Combining our experimental results with seismologic and petrologic observations, we propose that the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary in subduction zones should be constrained by the wet solidus and emphasize the role of a deep hydrous partial-melting zone (DHPMZ) on magma genesis within the mantle wedge. We suggest that the DHPMZ is a source of hydrous melts to the primary melting zone in the mantle wedge and that the position of the volcanic front and its magma production rate may largely be controlled by melting and melt segregation processes within the DHPMZ. Our experimental results also suggest that high-magnesian magmas (e.g., boninite, picrite, and komatiite) could be formed at conditions representative of subduction zones.