Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities

Mingqiang Hou; Ming Hao; Jin Liu; Xiaowan Su; Wen-Yi Zhou; Xiaoming Cui; Rostislav Hrubiak; Heping Sun; Jin Shelley Zhang

doi:10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100098

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Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities

1.
State Key Laboratory of Geodesy and Earth's Dynamics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, CAS, Wuhan 430077, China
2.
Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington 20015, USA
3.
Center for High Pressure Science, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
4.
State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100029, China
5.
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A & M University, College Station 77843, USA
6.
HPCAT, Advanced Phonon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne 60439, USA
7.
These authors contributed equally

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Corresponding authors: Jinzhang@tamu.edu (J. Z.); jinliu@ysu.edu.cn(J. L.);
Received Date: 17 June 2024

Accepted Date: 10 October 2024

Published Online: 17 October 2024

The Innovation Geoscience https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100098 | Cite this article

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

PUBLIC SUMMARY

PUBLIC SUMMARY
1. We measured the acoustic velocity of CaCO₃ under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions.
  
  Distinct velocity drops were observed in amorphous CaCO₃ around 3 GPa.
  
  The presence of 1–2 vol.% CaCO₃ in the craton would form the seismic mid-lithospheric discontinuities.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

The cratonic lithosphere is a vast host for deep recycled carbon, trapping up to several weight percent CO₂ at depths overlapping the seismic mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs). However, the role of carbonates, especially for the latest discovered amorphous calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), is underestimated in the formation of MLDs. Using the pulse-echo-overlap method in a Paris-Edinburgh press coupled with synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we explored the acoustic velocities of CaCO₃ under high pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions relevant to the cratonic lithosphere. Two anomalous velocity drops were observed associated with the phase transition from aragonite to amorphous phase and with the pressure-induced velocity drop in the amorphous phase around 3 GPa, respectively. Both drops are comparable with approximately 35% and 52% reductions for compressional (V_P) and shear (V_S) wave velocities, respectively. The V_P and V_S values of the amorphous CaCO₃ above 3 GPa are about 1/2 and 1/3 of those of the major upper-mantle minerals, respectively. These velocity reductions caused by the presence of CaCO₃ would readily cause MLDs at depths of 70–120 km dependent on the geotherm even if only 1–2 vol.% CaCO₃ is present in the cratonic lithosphere.
- mid-lithospheric discontinuity /
- acoustic velocity /
- carbon cycle /
- craton

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Hou M., Hao M., Liu J., et al., (2024). Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities. The Innovation Geoscience 2(4): 100098. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100098

Hou M., Hao M., Liu J., et al., (2024). Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities. The Innovation Geoscience 2(4): 100098. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100098

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Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities

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Evidence for amorphous calcium carbonate originated mid-lithospheric discontinuities

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