Solubility of water in pyrope-rich garnet at high pressures and temperature

[1] The water solubility in pyrope-rich garnet was determined between pressures of 5–9 GPa and temperatures of 1373– 1473 K under silica activity and oxygen fugacity similar to those expected in the Earth’s upper mantle. We found that pyrope-rich garnet has substantial water solubility up to 0.1 wt% under these conditions. In addition, the water content in garnet varied as a function of chemical conditions. In particular, the variation in water fugacity (and Mg#) caused a variation in water partitioning with olivine (DH2O ). The substantial water solubility in pyrope-rich garnet under deep upper mantle conditions might have significant influence on physical and transport properties. Citation: Mookherjee, M., and S. Karato (2010), Solubility of water in pyrope-rich garnet at high pressures and temperature, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L03310, doi:10.1029/2009GL041289.