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Science 12 March 1999:
Vol. 283. no. 5408, pp. 1699 - 1706
DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5408.1699
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Research Articles

Mantle Values of Thermal Conductivity and the Geotherm from Phonon Lifetimes

A. M. Hofmeister

A model for thermal conductivity kappa , based on phonon lifetimes obtained from infrared reflectivity, replicates experimental data at ambient conditions. The pressure and absolute temperature dependences of transport properties are accurately obtained from the Grüneisen parameter gamma Th, bulk modulus KT, and thermal expansivity alpha : The lattice contribution kappa lat equals kappa 298(298/T)a exp[-(4gamma Th + 1/3) int 298Talpha (theta )dtheta ] with a = 0.33 for silicates (or 0.9 for MgO), and partial [ln(kappa lat)]/partial P = (1/3 + 4gamma Th)/KT. The smaller, pressure-independent radiative contribution kappa rad equals 0.0175 - 0.0001037T + (2.245T2/107) - (3.407T3/1011), in units of watts per meter-kelvin, if Fe2+ is present. The resulting lithospheric geotherm is steep. Consequently, the mantle geotherm is hot if the low-velocity zone is anhydrous, but cold if hydrated.

Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA. E-mail: hofmeist{at}levee.wustl.edu

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