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Magnesite formation from MgO and CO2 at the pressures and temperatures of Earth’s mantle

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Published/Copyright: March 7, 2015
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 98 Issue 7

Abstract

Magnesite (MgCO3) is an important phase for the carbon cycle in and out of the Earth’s mantle. Its comparably large P-T stability has been inferred for several years based on the absence of its decomposition in experiments. Here we report the first experimental evidence for synthesis of magnesite out of its oxide components (MgO and CO2) at P-T conditions relevant to the Earth’s mantle.

Magnesite formation was observed in situ using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, coupled with laserheated diamond-anvil cells (DACs), at pressures and temperatures of Earth’s mantle. Despite the existence of multiple high-pressure CO2 polymorphs, the magnesite-forming reaction was observed to proceed at pressures ranging from 5 to 40 GPa and temperatures between 1400 and 1800 K. No other pressure-quenchable materials were observed to form via the MgO + CO2 = MgCO3 reaction. This work further strengthens the notion that magnesite may indeed be the primary host phase for oxidized carbon in the deep Earth

Keywords: Deep carbon; magnesite; carbon dioxide; polymorphism
Received: 2012-6-6
Accepted: 2013-3-22
Published Online: 2015-3-7
Published in Print: 2013-7-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2013.4260
Keywords for this article
Deep carbon; magnesite; carbon dioxide; polymorphism

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  1. Highlights and Breakthroughs. A step closer to predicting the bonding geometry of crystals
  2. Minerals in the Human. Body Crystal chemistry of cement-asbestos
  3. Versatile monazite: Resolving geological records and solving challenges in materials science. Microprobe analysis and dating of monazite from the Potsdam Formation, New York: A progressive record of chemical reaction and fluid interaction
  4. A study of ruby (corundum) compositions from the Mogok Belt, Myanmar: Searching for chemical fingerprints
  5. The dehydroxylation of chrysotile: A combined in situ micro-Raman and micro-FTIR study
  6. Synchrotron Mössbauer study of Fe-bearing pyrope at high pressures and temperatures
  7. In situ Raman spectroscopic study of transient polyhedral distortions during cesium ion exchange into sitinakite
  8. A micro-reflectance IR spectroscopy method for analyzing volatile species in basaltic, andesitic, phonolitic, and rhyolitic glasses
  9. Fundamental Mössbauer parameters of synthetic Ca-Mg-Fe pyroxenes
  10. Iron oxidation state in phyllosilicate single crystals using Fe-K pre-edge and XANES spectroscopy: Effects of the linear polarization of the synchrotron X-ray beam
  11. Effect of particle size on phase transitions in metastable alumina nanoparticles: A view from high-resolution solid-state 27Al NMR study
  12. Magnesite formation from MgO and CO2 at the pressures and temperatures of Earth’s mantle
  13. Investigation of the hydrozincite structure by infrared and solid-state NMR spectroscopy
  14. Local structure in C2/c clinopyroxenes on the hedenbergite (CaFeSi2O6)-ferrosilite (Fe2Si2O6) join: A new interpretation for the Mössbauer spectra of Ca-rich C2/c clinopyroxenes and implications for pyroxene exsolution
  15. On the effect of carbonate on barite growth at elevated temperatures
  16. The structure of (Ca,Co)CoSi2O6 pyroxenes and the Ca-M2+ substitution in (Ca,M2+)M2+Si2O6 pyroxenes (M2+ = Co, Fe, Mg)
  17. Structure of mixed-layer corrensite-chlorite revealed by high-resolution transmission electron microcopy (HRTEM)
  18. In situ dehydration behavior of veszelyite (Cu,Zn)2Zn(PO4)(OH)3-2H2O: A single-crystal X-ray study
  19. Ab-initio determination of high-pressure and high-temperature thermoelastic and thermodynamic properties of low-spin (Mg1–xFex)O ferropericlase with x in the range [0.06, 0.59]
  20. The composite modulated structure of cupropearceite and cupropolybasite and its behavior toward low temperature
  21. Oxidation in CSPV experiments involving H2O-bearing mafic magmas: Quantification and mitigation
  22. Coexisting hydroxyl groups and H2O molecules in minerals: A single-crystal neutron diffraction study of eosphorite, MnAlPO4(OH)2·H2O
  23. Rapidcreekite in the sulfuric acid weathering environment of Diana Cave, Romania
  24. Terrywallaceite, AgPb(Sb,Bi)3S6, isotypic with gustavite, a new mineral from Mina Herminia, Julcani Mining District, Huancavelica, Peru
  25. Lead-tellurium oxysalts from Otto Mountain near Baker, California: X. Bairdite, Pb2Cu42+Te26+O10(OH)2(SO4)(H2O), a new mineral with thick HCP layers
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  27. Fe-rich and As-bearing vesuvianite and wiluite from Kozlov, Czech Republic
  28. WinPyrox: A Windows program for pyroxene calculation classification and thermobarometry
  29. Further work on experimental plagioclase equilibria and the Skaergaard liquidus temperature
  30. Leter. Discovery of dmisteinbergite (hexagonal CaAl2Si2O8) in the Allende meteorite: A new member of refractory silicates formed in the solar nebula
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