Precise measurements of enthalpy of postspinel transition in Mg 2 SiO 4 and application to the phase boundary calculation

Drop solution enthalpies (Δ H ° d‐s ) of Mg 2 SiO 4 ringwoodite, Mg 2 SiO 4 forsterite, perovskite‐type MgSiO 3 (bridgmanite), and MgSiO 3 enstatite were measured using a single batch of 2PbO · B 2 O 3 solvent at 978 K. From the obtained Δ H ° d‐s values of Mg 2 SiO 4 ringwoodite, MgSiO 3 bridgmanite, and MgO, an enthalpy of the postspinel phase transition, Mg 2 SiO 4 ringwoodite = MgSiO 3 bridgmanite + MgO, was determined to be 78.54 ± 2.28 kJ/mol. Thermodynamic calculations using the obtained phase transition enthalpy and available thermochemical and thermoelastic data provided the phase transition pressure of 23.1 ± 1.4 GPa at 298 K. This value is comparable to those at about 2000 K determined by previous experimental and theoretical studies, implying a considerably gentle Clapeyron slope. Thermodynamic calculations of the postspinel boundary at high temperatures in the anhydrous condition by changing thermochemical and thermoelastic parameters within the uncertainties suggested that the postspinel transition pressure of Mg 2 SiO 4 at high temperature is lower than the pressure corresponding to the global average depth of the “660 km” seismic discontinuity in the Earth's mantle (~23.5 GPa) estimated from one‐dimensional reference Earth models and that a most likely Clapeyron slope is about −1 MPa/K. The postspinel transition in the hydrous condition with about 2 wt % H 2 O, which shows higher transition pressure and steeper Clapeyron slope than those in the anhydrous condition, gives a plausible explanation for seismic observations on the 660 km discontinuity, and therefore, hydrous mantle transition zone would be required.