Interdiffusion of Mg–Fe in olivine at 1,400–1,600 °C and 1 atm total pressure

Abstract

The interdiffusion coefficient of Mg–Fe in olivine (D Mg–Fe) was obtained at 1,400–1,600 °C at the atmospheric pressure with the oxygen fugacity of 10−3.5–10−2 Pa using a diffusion couple technique. The D Mg–Fe shows the anisotropy (largest along the [001] direction and smallest along the [100] direction), and its activation energy (280–320 kJ/mol) is ~80–120 kJ/mol higher than that estimated at lower temperatures. The D Mg–Fe at temperatures of >1,400 °C can be explained by the cation-vacancy chemistry determined both by the Fe3+/Fe2+ equilibrium and by the intrinsic point defect formation with the formation enthalpy of 220–270 kJ/mol depending on the thermodynamical model for the Fe3+/Fe2+ equilibrium in olivine. The formation enthalpy of 220–270 kJ/mol for the point defect (cation vacancy) in olivine is consistent with that estimated from the Mg self-diffusion in Fe-free forsterite. The increase in the activation energy of D Mg–Fe at >1,400 °C is thus interpreted as the result of the transition of diffusion mechanism from the transition metal extrinsic domain to the intrinsic domain at the atmospheric pressure.