Hydrostatic Dehydration Fabrics of Antigorite at High Pressure and High Temperature: Implications for Trench Parallel Seismic Anisotropy at Convergent Plate Boundaries

Abstract

AbstractAntigorite dehydration is well known as a key process at convergent boundaries for the genesis of mantle wedge partial melting and intermediate‐depth earthquakes. However, the crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) of prograde minerals from antigorite dehydration and their effects on the seismic anisotropy of subducting slabs remain ambiguous and controversial. Here we report antigorite dehydration experiments on a foliated serpentinized peridotite at pressures of 0.3–6 GPa and temperatures of 700–900°C. Our results show that olivine CPO evolves from a fiber‐[100] type in fine grains to a type‐C like in coarse grains. We propose that the fiber‐[100] olivine CPO is developed by topotactic growth during incipient hydrostatic dehydration, while the orthorhombic type‐C like olivine CPO is developed by anisotropic growth resulting from an anisotropic fluid flow during later dehydration. The type‐C like olivine CPO in the antigorite‐rich layers after antigorite dehydration could contribute to the trench parallel fast shear wave seismic anisotropy at convergent plate boundaries.