HR: 08:30h
AN: MR11A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Static Compression of Hydrous Komatiite Liquid
AU: * Agee, C B
EM: agee@unm.edu
AF: Institute of Meteoritics, MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 United States
AB: High pressure sink/float experiments have been performed on komatiite with 3 and 10 wt% added H2O in order to investigate the effect of water on magma density at high pressure and to determine if density crossovers between equilibrium olivine and hydrous komatiite can exist in the upper mantle. The starting composition komatiite, from Munro Township, with MgO=28 wt%, has been previously studied using sink/float experiments under anhydrous conditions up to 9.3 GPa (Agee and Walker, 1988, 1993). In the present study the starting material mechanical mixtures consisted of powdered komatiite, brucite, fayalite, and reagent oxides of SiO2, Al203, and CaO. Samples were contained in compression-sealed molybdenum capsules. Sink/float marker spheres implemented were gem quality synthetic forsterite (Fo100) and San Carlos olivine (Fo90). Experimental run times were 30 seconds, thus minimizing sphere-liquid reactions and liquid reaction with capsule and pressure media. All experiments were carried out in a Walker multi-anvil apparatus at the Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico. The komatiite + 3 wt% H2O liquid density was bracketed at 1900-1950°C by a float of Fo100 at 7 GPa and a sink at 6 GPa. Neutral buoyancy of Fo100 was observed at 6.4 GPa. An additional neutral buoyancy of Fo90 was observed at 9 GPa. These preliminary results suggest that a density crossover between equilibrium olivine (Fo93) and hydrous komatiite with up to 3 wt% H2O can exist in the mantle, thus lending support to the water filter hypothesis for the region above the 410 km discontinuity (Bercovici and Karato, 2003). Our results for static compression of komatiite + 3 wt% H2O are in good agreement with diamond sink/float observations by Sakamaki et al.(2005) on MORB + 2 wt% H2O. Our komatiite + 10 wt% H2O liquid density measurements are still in progress; however, flotation of Fo100 has not been observed in these experiments up to 9.2 GPa.
DE: 3630 Experimental mineralogy and petrology
DE: 3924 High-pressure behavior
DE: 8147 Planetary interiors (5430, 5724, 6024)
SC: Mineral and Rock Physics [MR]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005