Abstract
Grain-scale pore geometry primarily controls the fluid distribution in
rocks, affecting material transport and geophysical response. The
dihedral angle (Θ) in the olivine–fluid system is a key parameter
determining the pore fluid geometry in mantle wedges. Both curved and
faceted olivine–fluid interfaces define Θ in the system, generating the
faceted–faceted (FF), faceted–curved (FC), and curved–curved (CC)
angles. However, the effect of faceting on Θ under various pressure and
temperature (P–T) conditions and fluid compositions have not been
constrained, and its mineralogical understanding is unresolved. This
study evaluates the facet-bearing Θ and their proportions in
olivine–multicomponent aqueous fluid systems. Our results show that 1/3
of olivine–fluid Θ are facet-bearing angles irrelative to the P–T
conditions and fluid compositions. Faceting produces larger dihedral
angles than the CC angles. The grain boundary plane (GBP) distribution
reveals that the GBPs of faceted interfaces at triple junctions were
subjected to low Miller Index faces ((100), (010), and (101)). Moreover,
calculating the FF angles from two adjacent low Miller index planes
highly reproduces measured angle values based on the olivine crystal
habit. Therefore, our study suggests that the FF angle is strongly
affected by olivine crystallography. The presence of faceting increases
Θ and critical fluid fraction (Φc) for percolation, thus decreases the
permeability. In the mantle wedge, where olivine crystallographic
preferred orientation (CPO) is expected, increasing the FF angle
proportion with associated changes in fluid pore morphology will lead to
the permeability anisotropy and consequent geophysical anomalies.