Showing posts with label olivine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label olivine. Show all posts

19.1.10

Spinel

Spinel (MgAl2O4) At about 400 km, the olivine structure is no longer stable. It changes spontaneously from the olivine structure to a spinel-type structure, which takes up 8% less space; the composition remains the same (though we now call it beta-Mg2SiO4). This causes seismic discontinuity at about 300-400 km depth that is the boundary tranistion zone.

from: Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy (2008) Dyar, M. and Gunther, M.; Mineralogical Society of America.