REE Diffusion in Olivine

Diffusion of rare earth elements has been characterized in synthetic forsterite and natural olivine (Fo90) under dry conditions. The source of diffusant was a mixture of REE aluminate garnet powder and synthetic forsterite powder in 3:1 proportions. Experiments were prepared by enclosing source material and polished forsterite in platinum capsules, which were crimped shut. For experiments on natural olivine, samples were placed with the source in AgPd capsules, which were sealed under vacuum in silica glass ampoules with a solid buffer to buffer at NNO. Prepared capsules were then annealed in 1 atm furnaces for times ranging from an hour to several weeks, at temperatures from 850 to 1300°C. REE distributions in the olivine were profiled by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). The following Arrhenius relation is obtained for Dy diffusion in forsterite: D = 2.3x10-10 exp(-273 kJ mol-1/RT) m2sec-1. Diffusivities of Yb and La in forsterite appear similar, and preliminary results for Dy diffusion in natural olivine also suggest similar diffusivities. REE diffusivities in forsterite are about an order of magnitude faster than those of REE+3 in enstatite (Cherniak and Liang, 2007). However, if the Arrhenius relation above is extrapolated up to 1450C, it yields diffusivities about three orders of magnitude smaller than those determined for REE diffusion in olivine by Spandler et al. (2007). Work is currently underway in further characterizing diffusion in Fe-bearing olivine. If an Arrhenius relation similar to that for forsterite is found to apply, timescales for preservation of REE signatures in olivine-hosted melt inclusions may be relatively long. Cherniak and Liang (2007) GCA 71, 1324-1340; Spandler et al. (2007) Nature 447, 303-306.