DOI: 10.1126/science.262.5133.553. Melting of (Mg, Fe)SiO <sub>3</sub> -Perovskite to 625 Kilobars: Indication of a High Melting Temperature in the Lower Mantle

Melting of (Mg, Fe)SiO 3 -Perovskite to 625 Kilobars: Indication of a High Melting Temperature in the Lower Mantle

10.1126/science.262.5133.553

Crossref journal-article

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Science (221)

Abstract

The melting curves of two compositions of (Mg,Fe)SiO 3 -perovskite, the likely dominant mineral phase in the lower mantle, have been measured in a CO 2 laser-heated diamond cell with direct temperature measurements and in situ detection of melting. At 625 kilobars, the melting temperature is 5000 ± 200 kelvin, independent of composition. Extrapolation to the core-mantle boundary pressure of 1.35 megabar with three different melting relations yields melting temperatures between 7000 and 8500 kelvin. Thus, the temperature at the base of the lower mantle, accepted to lie between 2550 and 2750 kelvin, is only at about one-third of the melting temperature. The large difference between mantle temperature and corresponding melting temperature has several important implications; particularly the temperature sensitivity of the viscosity is reduced thus allowing large lateral temperature variations inferred from seismic tomographic velocity anomalies and systematics found in measured velocity-density functions. Extensive melting of the lower mantle can be ruled out throughout the history of the Earth.

Bibliography

Zerr, A., & Boehier, R. (1993). Melting of (Mg, Fe)SiO 3 -Perovskite to 625 Kilobars: Indication of a High Melting Temperature in the Lower Mantle. Science, 262(5133), 553â555.

Authors 2

A. Zerr (first)
R. Boehier (additional)

References 19 Referenced 201

BOEHLER, R, MELTING OF THE FE-FEO AND THE FE-FES SYSTEMS AT HIGH-PRESSURE - CONSTRAINTS ON CORE TEMPERATURES, EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS 111: 217 (1992). (10.1016/0012-821X(92)90180-4) / EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS (1992)
BOEHLER, R, A NEW APPROACH TO LASER-HEATING IN HIGH-PRESSURE MINERAL PHYSICS, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 18: 1147 (1991). (10.1029/91GL01144) / GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS (1991)
BOEHLER, R, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH 85: 6996 (1980). (10.1029/JB085iB12p06996) / JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH (1980)
10.1038/363534a0
HEINZ, D. L., JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS 92: 11437 (1987). (10.1029/JB092iB11p11437) / JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS (1987)
Ito, E., High-Pressure Research: Application to Earth and Planetary Sciences: 315 (1992). / High-Pressure Research: Application to Earth and Planetary Sciences (1992)
KAPUSTA, B, MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS STUDY OF THE PEROVSKITE MGSIO3 AT HIGH-TEMPERATURE - STRUCTURAL, ELASTIC AND THERMODYNAMICAL PROPERTIES, PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS 75: 205 (1993). (10.1016/0031-9201(93)90002-Q) / PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS (1993)
KATO, T, GARNET PHASE OF MGSIO3 FILLING THE PYROXENE ILMENITE GAP AT VERY HIGH-TEMPERATURE, NATURE 316: 803 (1985). (10.1038/316803a0) / NATURE (1985)
KNITTLE, E, MELTING CURVE OF (MG,FE)SIO3 PEROVSKITE TO 96 GPA - EVIDENCE FOR A STRUCTURAL TRANSITION IN LOWER MANTLE MELTS, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 16: 421 (1989). (10.1029/GL016i005p00421) / GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS (1989)
KRAUT, E.A., NEW MELTING LAW AT HIGH PRESSURES, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 16: 608 (1966). (10.1103/PhysRevLett.16.608) / PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (1966)
LINDEMANN, F.A., The calculation of molecular natural frequencies, PHYSIKALISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT 11: 609 (1910). / PHYSIKALISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT (1910)
MATSUI, M, SIMULATION OF THE PRE-MELTING BEHAVIOR OF MGSIO3 PEROVSKITE AT HIGH-PRESSURES AND TEMPERATURES, NATURE 351: 735 (1991). (10.1038/351735a0) / NATURE (1991)
OHTANI, E, MELTING TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION AND FRACTIONATION IN THE LOWER MANTLE, PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS 33: 12 (1983). (10.1016/0031-9201(83)90003-1) / PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS (1983)
POIRIER, J.P., LINDEMANN LAW AND THE MELTING TEMPERATURE OF PEROVSKITES, PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS 54: 364 (1989). (10.1016/0031-9201(89)90253-7) / PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS (1989)
SIMON, F, Remarks on fusion pressure curve, ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANORGANISCHE UND ALLGEMEINE CHEMIE 178: 309 (1929). (10.1002/zaac.19291780123) / ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANORGANISCHE UND ALLGEMEINE CHEMIE (1929)
STIXRUDE, L, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS 95: 19311 (1990). (10.1029/JB095iB12p19311) / JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH AND PLANETS (1990)
SU, W.J., ON THE SCALE OF MANTLE HETEROGENEITY, PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS 74: 29 (1992). (10.1016/0031-9201(92)90066-5) / PHYSICS OF THE EARTH AND PLANETARY INTERIORS (1992)
SWEENEY, J.S., MELTING OF IRON-MAGNESIUM-SILICATE PEROVSKITE, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 20: 855 (1993). (10.1029/93GL00556) / GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS (1993)
YUEN, D.A., GEOPHYSICAL INFERENCES OF THERMAL-CHEMICAL STRUCTURES IN THE LOWER MANTLE, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 20: 899 (1993). (10.1029/93GL00867) / GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS (1993)

Dates

Type	When
Created	18 years, 10 months ago (Oct. 5, 2006, 7:05 p.m.)
Deposited	1 year, 7 months ago (Jan. 12, 2024, 6:07 p.m.)
Indexed	2 days, 22 hours ago (Sept. 2, 2025, 6:38 a.m.)
Issued	31 years, 10 months ago (Oct. 22, 1993)
Published	31 years, 10 months ago (Oct. 22, 1993)
Published Print	31 years, 10 months ago (Oct. 22, 1993)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Zerr_1993, title={Melting of (Mg, Fe)SiO 3 -Perovskite to 625 Kilobars: Indication of a High Melting Temperature in the Lower Mantle}, volume={262}, ISSN={1095-9203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.262.5133.553}, DOI={10.1126/science.262.5133.553}, number={5133}, journal={Science}, publisher={American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}, author={Zerr, A. and Boehier, R.}, year={1993}, month=oct, pages={553–555} }

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