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3.1 b. Electrical conductivity of perovskite-(Mg,Fe)O assemblages (A.G. Duba, Y. Xu and B.T. Poe, in collaboration with J. Peyronneau/Paris)

The electrical conductivity of silicate perovskite, prepared using pyroxene as the starting material, has recently been measured in multianvil experiments both at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut and in Japan. However, because the lower mantle likely consists of a mixture of silicate perovskite and (Mg,Fe)O, it is important to measure the electrical properties of mixtures of these phases. Objectives are to determine if there is an effect of the presence of (Mg,Fe)O on the electrical conductivity and to compare the effect of different iron contents in the perovskite on the electrical conductivity. We are using San Carlos olivine with 12 and 16 wt% iron as starting materials to produce polycrystalline material for the study of the electrical conductivity of perovskite/(Mg,Fe)O assemblages. Currently, starting materials are being synthesized and the electrical measurements will be performed early in 1999.

Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universität Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Deutschland
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