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Discovery of davemaoite, CaSiO3-perovskite, as a mineral from the lower mantle
Oliver Tschauner1, Shichun Huang1, Shuying Yang2
1Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA.
Abstract:
Calcium silicate perovskite, CaSiO3, is arguably the most geochemically important phase in the lower mantle, because it concentrates elements that are incompatible in the upper mantle, including the heat-generating elements thorium and uranium, which have half-lives longer than the geologic history of Earth. We report CaSiO3-perovskite as an approved mineral (IMA2020-012a) with the name davemaoite. The natural specimen of davemaoite proves the existence of compositional heterogeneity within the lower mantle. Our observations indicate that davemaoite also hosts potassium in addition to uranium and thorium in its structure. Hence, the regional and global abundances of davemaoite influence the heat budget of the deep mantle, where the mineral is thermodynamically stable.
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