Radiative heat transfer in dense media and its magnitude in olivines and some other ferromagnesian minerals under typical upper mantle conditions

Abstract

A general review is given of the process of radiative heat transfer in dense media. The use of continuum electrodynamics and the problem of extracting relevant information from optical experiments is discussed. The existing treatment of scattering is reviewed and it is concluded that its effect on radiative transfer has probably been over-estimated. The results of the previous paper are combined with those of Fukao et al. (1968) to derive radiative thermal conductivities of olivine under typical conditions of burial in the upper mantle. Arguments are given for believing that radiative conductivity is probably much smaller in the mantle medium than the phonon thermal conductivity.