Abstract
Longitudinal wave velocities (V P ) in rocks were measured experimentally in dunite (olivinite) and serpentinite at a water pressure of 300 MPa and temperatures of 20–850°C. It is shown that the strong decrease in V P in dunite (by ~3 km/s) observed within the range of 400–800°C results from penetration of water into rock along microfractures and from the formation of hydrous minerals (mostly serpentine) along the boundaries of mineral grains as a result of water–olivine interaction. It is suggested that serpentinization or the formation of similar hydrous minerals in olivine-rich mantle rocks under the influence of deep fluids may result in the formation of zones of low-velocity elastic waves in the upper mantle at great depths (~100 km).
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Original Russian Text © E.B. Lebedev, N.I. Pavlenkova, O.A. Lukanin, 2017, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2017, Vol. 472, No. 1, pp. 85–88.
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Lebedev, E.B., Pavlenkova, N.I. & Lukanin, O.A. Experimental study of the influence of water on elastic wave velocities in dunite and serpentinite (on the nature of the low-velocity zone in the upper mantle of the Earth). Dokl. Earth Sc. 472, 49–52 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X1701007X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X1701007X