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Creators/Authors contains: "Sun, Heping"

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  1. The cratonic lithosphere is a vast host for deep recycled carbon, trapping up to several weight percent CO2 at depths overlapping the seismic mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs). However, the role of carbonates, especially for the latest discovered amorphous calcium carbonate (CaCO3), is underestimated in the formation of MLDs. Using the pulse-echo-overlap method in a Paris-Edinburgh press coupled with synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we explored the acoustic velocities of CaCO3 under high pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions relevant to the cratonic lithosphere. Two anomalous velocity drops were observed associated with the phase transition from aragonite to amorphous phase and with the pressure-induced velocity drop in the amorphous phase around 3 GPa, respectively. Both drops are comparable with approximately 35% and 52% reductions for compressional (VP) and shear (VS) wave velocities, respectively. The VP and VS values of the amorphous CaCO3 above 3 GPa are about 1/2 and 1/3 of those of the major upper-mantle minerals, respectively. These velocity reductions caused by the presence of CaCO3 would readily cause MLDs at depths of 70–120 km dependent on the geotherm even if only 1–2 vol.% CaCO3 is present in the cratonic lithosphere. 
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