Thermal Conduction of Materials in the Upper Mantle and the Transition Zone

Abstract

Measurements of thermal conduction for materials in the Earth's upper mantle and the transition zone under high pressure have been developed by using a Kawai-type apparatus, with a one-dimensional plane pulse-heating method. This method is a predominant one for study in mantle materials under pressure because it requires comparatively small amount of sample and is applicable to materials with anisotropy in thermal conduction. Thermal conductivities and thermal diffusivities of olivine, garnet, pyroxenes, serpentine and talc were measured under high-pressure using this method.