Electrical conductivity in texturally equilibrated fluid-bearing
forsterite aggregates at 800 ºC and 1 GPa: implications for the high
electrical conductivity anomalies in mantle wedges
Abstract
Aqueous fluids are one of the principal agents of chemical transport in
Earth´s interior. The precise determination of fluid fractions is
essential to understand bulk physical properties, such as rheology and
permeability, and the geophysical state of the mantle. Laboratory-based
electrical conductivity measurements are an effective method for
estimating the fluid distribution and fraction in a fluid-bearing rock.
In this study, the electrical conductivity of texturally equilibrated
fluid-bearing forsterite aggregates was measured for the first time with
various fluid fractions at a constant salinity of 5.0 wt.% NaCl at 1
GPa and 800 °C. We found that the electrical conductivity nonlinearly
increases with increasing fluid fraction, and the data can be well
reproduced by the modified Archie’s law. The three-dimensional (3-D)
microstructure of the interstitial pores visualized by the
high-resolution synchrotron X-ray computed micro-tomography (CT) shows a
change in fluid distribution from isolated pockets at a fluid fraction
of 0.51 vol.% to interconnected networks at fluid fractions of 2.14
vol.% and above due to grain anisotropy and grain size differences,
accounting for the nonlinear increase in electrical conductivity. The
rapid increase in conductivity indicates that there is a threshold fluid
fraction between 0.51 and 2.14 vol.% for forming interconnected fluid
networks, which is consistent with the 3-D images. Our results provide
direct evidence that the presence of > 1.0 vol.% aqueous
fluid with 5.0 wt.% NaCl is required to explain the high conductivity
anomalies above 0.01 S/m detected in deep fore-arc mantle wedges.