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The electrical conductivity of eclogite in Tibet and its geophysical implications

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Abstract

The electrical conductivity of Tibetan eclogite was investigated at pressures of 1.5–3.5 GPa and temperatures of 500–803 K using impedance spectroscopy within a frequency range of 10−1–106 Hz. The electrical conductivity of eclogite increases with increasing temperature (which can be approximated by the Arrhenius equation), and is weakly affected by pressure. At each tested pressure, the electrical conductivity is weakly temperature dependent below ∼650 K and more strongly temperature dependent above ∼650 K. The calculated activation energies and volumes are 44±1 kJ/mol and −0.6±0.1 cm3/mol for low temperatures and 97±3 kJ/mol and −1.2±0.2 cm3/mol for high temperatures, respectively. When applied to the depth range of 45–100 km in Tibet, the laboratory data give conductivities on the order of 10−1.5–10−4.5 S/m, within the range of geophysical conductivity profiles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    YingXing Guo, DuoJun Wang & YaoLin Shi

  2. The State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing, 100029, China

    YongSheng Zhou

  3. College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130061, China

    YongSheng Dong & Cai Li

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  1. YingXing Guo
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  2. DuoJun Wang
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  6. Cai Li
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Correspondence to DuoJun Wang.

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Guo, Y., Wang, D., Shi, Y. et al. The electrical conductivity of eclogite in Tibet and its geophysical implications. Sci. China Earth Sci. 57, 2071–2078 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-014-4876-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-014-4876-6

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