Abstract
AbstractIn this study, we have measured the compressional and shear wave velocities of (Mg1.77Fe0.22Ca0.01)Si2O6 natural orthopyroxene up to 13.5 GPa and 873 K using ultrasonic interferometry in conjunction with in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and imaging techniques. Previous acoustic experiments on orthoenstatite (OEn) MgSiO3 indicated that both compressional and shear velocities (VP and VS) of OEn undergo continuous velocity softening above 9 GPa at room temperature, which has been attributed to the phase transition from OEn to the metastable, high-pressure clinoenstatite HPCEn2. For the first time, our results suggest that pressure-induced velocity softening can occur in natural orthopyroxene at high-temperature conditions relevant to the Earth's cold subduction zones. Estimates of the impedance and velocity contrasts between orthopyroxene (Opx) and high-pressure clinopyroxene (HPCpx) have been calculated, and the possibility of this phase transformation being a plausible candidate for seismic X-discontinuities at depth around 250–350 km is re-evaluated.
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