Vp of muscovite-biotite gneiss up to 950℃ at 400 MPa: Constraints on the origin of abnormal seismic layers in continental crust  

作　　者：YANG XiaoSong ZHOU Ping MING YueHong 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China [2]Development and Research Centre of China Geological Survey, Beijing 100083, China [3]Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, China

出　　处：《Chinese Science Bulletin》2007年第24期3397-3402,共6页

基　　金：Supported by Key Foundational Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2004CB418405) ;the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40472113)

摘　　要：Here we present experimental results of compressional wave velocity (Vp) of muscovite-biotite gneiss from Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) at the temperature up to 950℃ and the pressure of 0.1―400 MPa. At 400 MPa, when the temperature is lower than 600℃, Vp decreases linearly with increasing temperature at the rate of (Vp/T)p -4.43×10-4 km/s ℃. In the temperature range of 600―800℃, Vp drops significantly and the signal is degraded gradually due to the dehydration of muscovite and α-quartz softening. When the temperature rises from 800℃ to 875℃, Vp increases and the signals become clear again as a result of the temperature going through the β-quartz range. The experiments indicate that the duration has great influence on the experimental results when temperature is above the dehydration point of biotite. During the first 30 h at 950℃, the Vp decreases substantially from 5.9 to 5.4 km/s and the signal amplitude is attenuated by more than 80%. After the 30-h transition, the Vp and the amplitude of ultrasonic wave signals become steady. The decrease of Vp and attenuation of the signals at 950℃ are associated with the breakdown reactions of biotite. The experiments suggest that the breakdown of muscovite and/or quartz softening can contribute to the low seismic wave velocity in thickened quartz-rich felsic-crust such as what is beneath southern Tibet. Additionally, α-β quartz transition generates a measurable high seismic velocity zone, which provides a possibility of precisely constraining the temperature in the upper-middle continental crust. Our study also demonstrates that duration is a key factor to obtain credible experimental results.Here we present experimental results of compressional wave velocity （Vp） of muscovite-biotite gneiss from Higher Himalayan Crystallines （HHC） at the temperature up to 950℃ and the pressure of 0.1 --400 MPa. At 400 MPa, when the temperature is lower than 600℃, Vp decreases linearly with increasing temperature at the rate of （a）Vp/aT）p = -4.43×10^-4 km/s ℃. In the temperature range of 600--800℃, Vp drops significantly and the signal is degraded gradually due to the dehydration of muscovite and α-quartz softening. When the temperature rises from 800℃ to 875℃, Vp increases and the signals become clear again as a result of the temperature going through the β-quartz range. The experiments indicate that the duration has great influence on the experimental results when temperature is above the dehydration point of biotite. During the first 30 h at 950℃, the Vp decreases substantially from 5.9 to 5.4 km/s and the signal amplitude is attenuated by more than 80%. After the 30-h transition, the Vp and the amplitude of ultrasonic wave signals become steady. The decrease of Vp and attenuation of the signals at 950℃ are associated with the breakdown reactions of biotite. The experiments suggest that the breakdown of muscovite and/or quartz softening can contribute to the low seismic wave velocity in thickened quartz-rich felsic-crust such as what is beneath southern Tibet. Additionally, α-β quartz transition generates a measurable high seismic velocity zone, which provides a possibility of precisely constraining the temperature in the upper-middle continental crust. Our study also demonstrates that duration is a key factor to obtain credible experimental results.

关 键 词：α-β石英转换 脱水 云母 高温高压试验 温度梯度 片麻岩 

分 类 号：P578.959[天文地球—矿物学]