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Project Progress

We have synthesized hydrous peridotite-composition samples at 13GPa and 1400°C with co-existing coarse grains (~100 micrometer) of olivine, wadsleyite, clinoenstatite, and melt in a multi-anvil press. The olivine grains contain fine-scale lamellae of wadsleyite and clinoenstatite that likely resulted from small temperature fluctuations during the four-hour experiment. Major-element compositions were determined by electron microprobe and H contents by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The olivine is about Fo93 in composition and contains about 650 ppm by weight H₂O. The wadsleyite is about Fo87 in composition and contains about 1650 ppm H₂O. The clinoenstatite is about En93 in composition and about 440 ppm H₂O. High resolution transmission electron microscopy of the lamellae and host show that the olivine and wadsleyite share their close-packed oxygen planes so that the wadsleyite lamellae are nearly planar and perpendicular to the [1 0 0] of olivine. The wadsleyite lamellae thus have their [1 0 1] and [1 0 -1] directions parallel to the [1 0 0] of olivine. Additionally, a second orientation relation with the [001] of olivine parallel to [100] of wadsleyite is also found as are incoherent blebs of wadsleyite in olivine. The coexisting melt phase quenched to a feathery mass of mostly wadsleyite crystals. Neither a quenched glass phase nor a nominally hydrous phase was observed.