Mantle Composition and Temperature of Western North America Revealed from Direct P and S Wave Velocities of KLB-1 Peridotite to the Condition of Transition Zone

Comparing the elasticity of candidate compositional models with seismic profiles (e.g., PREM and AK135) is one of the most important geophysical approaches to constrain the mineralogical composition of the mantle. However in such averaging schemes (e.g., Voigt-Reuss-Hill), it is difficult to take into account all of the mineralogical and chemical complexities; we therefore undertook elasticity study of a natural mantle rock sample at high pressures and temperatures. In this study, a series of polycrystalline aggregates of peridotite KLB-1 (from Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico) were hot-pressed at pressures of 3-15 GPa and temperatures of 1200-1400°C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Electron Microprobe Analysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the texture, grain size, and composition of these well-sintered specimens. For the first time in history, the P and S wave velocities of a pyrolitic multiphase aggregate were directly measured at mantle transition zone pressures and temperatures using ultrasonic interferometry. Based on the phase fractions from EPMA and the P and S wave velocities from in situ measurement at high pressure and high temperature, the velocities of the KLB-1 peridotite along 1200-1400 oC adiabatic mantle geotherms were obtained and compare well with the seismic models of western North America, the region where these peridotite KLB-1 samples were collected. The comparison with regional seismic models of western North America (e.g., GCA and TNA/TNA2) as well as global seismic models (PREM and AK135) place unprecedented constraints on the composition, temperature and density profiles for the upper mantle in this region, which can help us understand the nature of thermal and tectonic processes of the Rio Grande Rift.