Garnet pyroxenites explain high electrical conductivity in the East African deep lithosphere

Thomas P. Ferrand

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arXiv · 2112.11559

Garnet pyroxenites explain high electrical conductivity in the East African deep lithosphere

Thomas P. Ferrand

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Abstract

A large contrast in electrical conductivity has been observed within the lithospheric mantle between the Tanzanian craton and the Mozambique belt at depths > 70 km. Such contrasts are typically attributed to changes in volatiles and/or melt content, with changes in mineralogy deemed insufficient to impact conductivity. To test this assumption, electrical conductivity measurements were conducted at pressure-temperature conditions relevant to the Tanzanian lithosphere (1.5 and 3 GPa; from 400 to > 1500{\deg}C) on xenoliths from Engorora, Northern Tanzania. I observe that, once garnet becomes stable in fertile mantle rocks (> 60 km, 1.7 GPa), it nucleates at grain boundaries and forms the backbone of a conductive network. At 3 GPa, the presence of garnet-rich networks increases conductivity by a factor of 100 regardless of temperature. Numerical models demonstrate that low (< 10^{-2} Sm^{-1}) and high (> 10^{-1} Sm^{-1}) conductivities in the Tanzanian lithospheric mantle are best explained by low and high degrees of garnet connectivity, respectively. Such high electrical conductivities in cratonic roots can be explained by the presence of connected garnet clusters, suggesting mantle refertilization. I suggest that the garnet network represents the result of plume triggered metasomatism due to plume impingement, and may represent an unstable structure that will eventually lead to loss of cratonic lithosphere.

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Thomas P. Ferrand. 2021-12-21. Garnet pyroxenites explain high electrical conductivity in the East African deep lithosphere. https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.11559

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