Search

We review the currently available results of laboratory experiments, geochemistry and MT observations and attempt to explain the conductivity structures in the oceanic asthenosphere by constructing mineral-physics models for the depleted mid-oceanic ridge basalt (MORB) mantle (DMM) and volatile-enriched plume mantle (EM) along the normal and plume geotherms. The hopping and ionic conductivity of olivine has a large temperature dependence, whereas the proton conductivity has a smaller dependence. The contribution of proton conduction is small in DMM. Melt conductivity is enhanced by the H 2 O and CO 2 components. The effects of incipient melts with high volatile components on bulk conductivity are significant. The low solidus temperatures of the hydrous carbonated peridotite produce incipient melts in the asthenosphere, which strongly increase conductivity around 100 km depth under older plates. DMM has a conductivity of 10 − 1.2 ~− 1.5 S/m at 100–300 km depth, regardless of the plate age. Plume mantle should have much higher conductivity than normal mantle, due to its high volatile content and high temperatures. The MT observations of the oceanic asthenosphere show a relatively uniform conductivity at 200–300 km depth, consistent with the mineral-physics model. On the other hand, the MT observations show large lateral variations in shallow parts of the asthenosphere despite similar tectonic settings and close locations. Such variations are difficult to explain with the mineral-physics model. High conductivity layers (HCL), which are associated with anisotropy in the direction of the plate motion, have only been observed in the asthenosphere under infant or young plates, but they are not ubiquitous in the oceanic asthenosphere. Although the general features of HCL imply their high-temperature melting origin, the mineral-physics model cannot explain them quantitatively. Much lower conductivity under hotspots, compared with the model plume-mantle conductivity suggests the extraction of volatiles from the plume mantle by the ocean island basalt (OIB) magmatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of a small fraction of basaltic melt is a potential explanation for mantle electrical conductivity anomalies detected near the top of the oceanic asthenosphere. The interpretation of magnetotelluric profiles in terms of the nature and proportion of melt, however, relies on mathematical models that have not been experimentally tested at realistically low melt fractions (<0.01). In order to address this, we have performed in situ electrical conductivity measurements on partially molten olivine aggregates. The obtained data suggest that the bulk conductivity follows the conventional Archie's law with the melt fraction exponents of 0.75 and 1.37 at melt fractions greater and smaller than 0.5 vol.% respectively at 1350 °C. Our results imply multiple conducting phases in melt-bearing olivine aggregate and a connectedness threshold at ∼0.5 vol.% of melt. The model predicts that the conductive oceanic upper asthenosphere contains 0.5 to 1 vol.% of melt, which is consistent with the durable presence of melt at depths over millions years while the oceanic plates spread apart at the mid-ocean ridge. Beneath ridges a minimum permeability may allow mid-ocean ridge basalts to rise out of the mantle, where our model indicates that melt is present in proportions of up to 4 vol.%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical conductivity of partially molten peridotite was measured during deformation in simple shear at 1 GPa in a DIA type apparatus with a uniaxial deformation facility. To detect development of electrical anisotropy during deformation of partially molten system, the electrical conductivity was measured simultaneously in two directions of three principal axes: parallel and normal to the shear direction on the shear plane, and perpendicular to the shear plane. Impedance spectroscopy measurement was performed at temperatures of 1523 K for Fe-bearing and 1723 K for Fe-free samples, respectively, in a frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz. The electrical conductivity of partially molten peridotite parallel to shear direction increased to more than one order of magnitude higher than those normal to shear direction on the shear plane. This conductivity difference is consistent with the magnitude of the conductivity anisotropy observed in the oceanic asthenosphere near the Eastern Pacific Rise. On the other hand, conductivity perpendicular to the shear plane decreased gradually after the initiation of shear and finally achieved a value close to that of olivine. The magnitude and development style of conductivity anisotropy was almost the same for both Fe-bearing and Fe-free melt-bearing systems, and also independent of shear strain. However, such conductivity anisotropy was not developed in melt-free samples during shear deformation, suggesting that the conductivity anisotropy requires a presence of partial melting under shear stress. Microstructural observations of deformed partially molten peridotite samples demonstrated that conductivity anisotropy was attributed to the elongation of melt pockets parallel to the shear direction. Horizontal electrical conductivity anisotropy revealed by magnetotelluric surveys in the oceanic asthenosphere can be well explained by the realignment of partial melt induced by shear stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]