Abstract
In this study, the electrical conductivity of synthetic and natural orthopyroxene single crystals containing various amounts of hydrogen and cation impurities (i.e., Al, Fe) was investigated using impedance spectroscopy. A new cell was developed to measure conductivities of submillimeter-sized oriented single crystals with impedances up to 1010 Ohm. In contrast to previous studies on olivine and orthopyroxene, results from this study do not show a simple correlation of the concentration of protons and the electrical conductivity. Instead, the electrical conductivity appears to be a complex function of iron content, hydrogen content, crystal orientation and concentration of other impurity cations and shows similar activation energies to hydrogen diffusion. Model calculations considering proton conduction rather exclude than suggest orthopyroxene as responsible phase for high-conductivity regions in the Earth’s upper mantle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dai L, Karato S (2009a) Electrical conductivity of orthopyroxene: implications for the water content of the asthenosphere. Proc Jpn Acad Ser B 85:466–475
Dai L, Karato S (2009b) Electrical conductivity of wadsleyite at high temperatures and high pressures. Earth Planet Sci Lett 287:277–283
Duba A, Heard C, Schock RN (1976) Electrical conductivity of orthopyroxene to 1,400 °C and the resulting selenotherm. Proc 7th Lunar Sci Conf, 3173–3181
Duba A, Dennison M, Irving AJ, Thornber CR, Huebner JS (1979) Electrical conductivity of aluminous orthopyroxene. Abstracts of the tenth lunar and planetary science conference, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas. pp 318–319
Gaillard F, Malki M, Iacono-Marziano G, Pichavant M, Scaillet B (2008) Carbonatite melts and electrical conductivity in the asthenosphere. Science 322:1363–1365
Glover PWJ (1996) Graphite and electrical conductivity in the lower continental crust: a review. Phys Chem Earth 21:279–287
Grant K, Ingrin J, Lorand JP, Dumas P (2007) Water partitioning between mantle minerals from peridotite xenoliths. Contrib Mineral Petrol 154:15–34
Hiraga T, Anderson IM, Kohlstedt DL (2003) Chemistry of grain boundaries in mantle rocks. Am Mineral 88:1015–1019
Hirth G, Evans RL, Chave AD (2000) Comparison of continental and oceanic mantle electrical conductivity: is the Archean lithosphere dry? Geochem Geophys Geosyst 1:1030. doi:10.1029/2000GC000048
Huebner JS, Voigt DE (1988) Electrical conductivity of diopside: evidence for oxygen vacancies. Am Mineral 73:1235–1254
Ichiki M, Uyeshima M, Utada H, Guoze Z, Ji T, Mingzhi M (2001) Upper mantle conductivity structure of the back-arc region beneath northeastern China. Geophys Res Lett 28:3773–3776
Ingrin J, Hercule S, Charton T (1995) Diffusion of hydrogen in diopside: results of dehydration experiments. J Geophys Res 100:15489–15499
Karato S (1990) The role of hydrogen in the electrical conductivity of the upper mantle. Nature 347:272–273
Libowitzky E, Rossmann GR (1997) An IR absorption calibration for water in minerals. Am Mineral 82:1111–1115
Lizzaralde D, Chave A, Hirth G, Schultz A (1995) Northeastern Pacific mantle conductivity profile from long-period magnetotelluric sounding using Hawaii-to-California submarine cable data. J Geophys Res 100:17837–17854
Mackwell SJ, Kohlstedt DL (1990) Diffusion of hydrogen in olivine: implications for water in the mantle. J Geophys Res 95:5079–5088
Manthilake MAGM, Matsusaki T, Yoshino T, Yamashita S, Ito E, Katsura T (2009) Electrical conductivity of wadsleyite as a function of temperature and water content. Phys Earth Planet Inter 174:10–18
Mareschal M, Kellet RL, Kurtz RD, Ludden JN, Ji S, Bailey RC (1995) Archaean cratonic roots, mantle shear zones and deep electrical anisotropy. Nature 375:134–137
Mierdel K, Keppler H, Langenhorst F (2007) Water solubility in aluminous orthopyroxene and the origin of Earth’s asthenosphere. Science 315:364–367
Özkan O, Moulson A (1970) The electrical conductivity of single crystal and polycrystal aluminum oxide. J Phys D Appl Phys 3:983–987
Peslier AH (2010) A review of water contents of nominally anhydrous natural minerals in the mantles of Earth, Mars and the Moon. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 197:239–258
Simpson F (2002) Intensity and direction of lattice-preferred orientation of olivine: are electrical and seismic anisotropies of the Australian mantle reconcilable? Earth Planet. Sci Lett 203:535–547
Simpson F, Tommasi A (2005) Hydrogen diffusivity and electrical conductivity of a peridotite mantle. Geophys J Int 160:1092–1102
Sommer H, Regenauer-Lieb K, Gasharova B, Siret D (2008) Grain boundaries: a possible water reservoir in the Earth’s mantle? Mineral Petrol 94:1–8
Stalder R (2002) Synthesis of enstatite single crystals at high pressure. Eur J Mineral 14:637–640
Stalder R (2004) Influence of Fe, Cr and Al on hydrogen incorporation in orthopyroxene. Eur J Mineral 16:703–711
Stalder R, Behrens H (2006) D/H exchange in pure and Cr-doped enstatite: implications for hydrogen diffusivity. Phys Chem Miner 33:601–611
Stalder R, Skogby H (2003) Hydrogen diffusion in synthetic and natural orthopyroxene. Phys Chem Miner 30:12–19
Stalder R, Skogby H (2007) Dehydration mechanisms in synthetic Fe-bearing enstatite. Eur J Mineral 19:201–216
Stalder R, Purwin H, Skogby H (2007) Influence of Fe on hydrogen diffusivity in orthopyroxene. Eur J Mineral 19:899–903
Stocker RL (1978) Variation of electrical conductivity in enstatite with oxygen partial pressure: Comparison of observed and predicted behavior. Phys Earth Planet Inter 17:34–40
ten Grotenhuis SM, Drury MR, Peach CJ, Spiers CJ (2004) Electrical properties of fine-grained olivine: evidence for grain boundary transport. J Geophys Res 109:B06203
ten Grotenhuis SM, Drury MR, Spiers CJ, Peach CJ (2005) Melt distribution in olivine rocks based on electrical conductivity measurements. J Geophys Res 110:B12201
Vinnek LP, Makeyeva LI, Milev A, Usenko AY (1992) Global patterns of azimuthal anisotropy and deformations in the continental mantle. Geophys J Int 111:433–447
Voigt R, Seifert KF, Will G (1979) Die elektrische Leitfähigkeit von Pyroxenen der Reihe MgSiO3-FeSiO3 bei 10 und 20 kbar unter definierten thermodynamischen Bedingungen. N Jb Miner Mh 7:296–308
Wang Z, Ji S, Dresen G (1999) Hydrogen-enhanced electrical conductivity of diopside crystals. Geophys Res Lett 26:799–802
Wang D, Mookherjee M, Xu Y, Karato S (2006) The effect of water on the electrical conductivity of olivine. Nature 443:977–980
Watson HC, Roberts JJ, Tyburczy JA (2010) Effect of conductive impurities on electrical conductivity in polycrystalline olivine. Geophys Res Lett 37:L02302
Will G, Cemic L, Hinze E, Seifert K-F, Voigt R (1979) Electrical conductivity measurements on olivines and pyroxenes under defined thermodynamic activities as a function of temperature and pressure. Phys Chem Miner 4:189–197
Xu Y, Shankland TJ (1999) Electrical conductivity of orthopyroxene and its high pressure phases. Geophys Res Lett 26:2645–2648
Yoshino T, Matsuzaki T, Yamashita S, Katsura T (2006) Hydrous olivine unable to account for conductivity anomaly at the top of the asthenosphere. Nature 443:973–976
Yoshino T, Manthilake G, Matsuzaki T, Katsura T (2008) Dry manle transition zone inferred from the conductivity of wadsleyite and ringwoodite. Nature 451:326–329
Yoshino T, Matsuzaki T, Shatskiy A, Katsura T (2009) The effect of water on the electrical conductivity of olivine aggregates and its implications for the electrical structure of the upper mantle. Earth Planet Sci Lett 288:291–300
Acknowledgments
The project was funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG grants STA645/4-1,2 und BE1720/18-1,2).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schlechter, E., Stalder, R. & Behrens, H. Electrical conductivity of H-bearing orthopyroxene single crystals measured with impedance spectroscopy. Phys Chem Minerals 39, 531–541 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-012-0509-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-012-0509-9