Thermal conductivity of ferropericlase in the Earth's lower mantle

Abstract

(Mg, Fe)O ferropericlase (Fp) is one of the important minerals comprising Earth's lower mantle, and its thermal conductivity could be strongly influenced by the iron content and its spin state. We examined the lattice thermal conductivity of (Mg, Fe)O Fp containing 19 mol% iron up to 111 GPa and 300 K by means of the pulsed light heating thermoreflectance technique in a diamond anvil cell. We confirmed a strong reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity of Fp due to iron substitution as reported in previous studies. Our results also show that iron spin crossover in Fp reduces its lattice thermal conductivity as well as its radiative conduction. We also measured the electrical conductivity of an identical Fp sample up to 140 GPa and 2730 K, and found that Fp remained an insulator throughout the experimental conditions, indicating the electronic thermal conduction in Fp is negligible. Because of the effects of strong iron impurity scattering and spin crossover, the total thermal conductivity of Fp at the core–mantle boundary conditions is much smaller than that of bridgmanite (Bdg). Our findings indicate that Bdg (and post-perovskite) is the best heat conductor in the Earth's lower mantle, and distribution of iron and its valence state among the lower mantle minerals are key factors to control the lower mantle thermal conductivity.