Discovery of davemaoite, CaSiO <sub>3</sub> -perovskite, as a mineral from the lower mantle
Oliver Tschauner, Shichun Huang, Shuying Yang, M. Humayun, Wenjun Liu, Stephanie N. Gilbert Corder, Hans A. Bechtel, J. Z. Tischler, George R. Rossman
Abstract
Lower mantle “garbage can” Calcium silicate perovskite has finally been identified in a natural sample and now has the mineral name davemaoite. Tschauner et al . discovered the type mineral trapped at high pressure and temperature as a diamond inclusion (see the Perspective by Fei). Structural and chemical analysis of the mineral showed that it is able to host a wide variety of elements, not unlike fitting bulky objects into garbage can. Specifically, it has a large amount of trapped potassium. Davemaoite can thus host three of the major heat-producing elements (uranium and thorium were previously shown experimentally) affecting heat generation in Earth’s lower mantle. —BG