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Abstract As a major nominally anhydrous mineral (NAM) in the Earth’s upper mantle, orthopyroxene could host up to several hundred parts per million H2O in its crystal structure and transport the H2O to the deep Earth. To study the effect of structural H2O on the elasticity of orthopyroxene, we have measured the single-crystal elasticity of Mg1.991Al0.065Si1.951O6 with 842–900 ppm H2O and 1.64 ± 0.20 wt% Al2O3 at ambient conditions using Brillouin spectroscopy. The best-fit single-crystal elastic moduli (Cijs), bulk (KS0), and shear (G0) modulus of the hydrous Al-bearing orthopyroxene were determined as: C11 = 235(2) GPa, C22 = 173(2) GPa, C33 = 222(2) GPa, C44 = 86(1) GPa, C55 = 82(1) GPa, C66 = 82(1) GPa, C12 = 75(3) GPa, C13 = 67(2) GPa, and C23 = 49(2) GPa, KS0 = 111(2) GPa, and G0 = 78(1) GPa. Systematic analysis based on the results presented in this and previous studies suggests that the incorporation of 842–900 ppm H2O would increase C13 by 12.0(7)% and decrease C23 by 8.6(8)%. The effects on C11, C22, C33, C44, C66, KS0, and VP are subtle if not negligible when considering the uncertainties. The C55, C12, G0, and VS are not affected by the presence of structural H2O. Although laboratory experiments show that Fe,Al-bearing orthopyroxenes can host up to 0.8 wt% H2O in its structure, future high-pressure-temperature elasticity measurements on orthopyroxene with higher H2O content are needed to help better quantify this effect. 

A suite of hydrous orthoenstatite crystals were synthesized at 5–7 GPa and 1100–1300 °C, corresponding to the mid upper mantle conditions in continental regions. The synthetic crystals presented a clear, inclusion-free, and euhedral form with a size range from 100 to a few hundred microns. The Al- and water content of crystals were less than 2 wt. % and ranging from ~500 ppm to 1000 ppm, respectively, characterized by Raman and IR spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and SIMS. The analysis shows that the capability of water incorporation for this suite of hydrous orthoenstatite is correlated to the Al-content in the crystal structure. To understand how the detailed crystal structure reflects the influence of water and Al, single crystal X ray diffraction analysis was performed for this suite of hydrous orthoenstatite. By comparing the results obtained at ambient conditions, we find that for low-level of Al-content, <2 wt. %, the Al3+ cation tends to occupy one of tetrahedral sites (TB) only. Analysis of the X ray diffraction results under high pressure indicates that the elasticity of orthoenstatites is insensitive to the presence of low-level water and Al. We use this finding to evaluate the velocity profile at the mid upper mantle of continental regions to compare with seismic observation. The comparison indicates that the cause of the low velocity zone in continental regions originates from the geotherm profile rather than the effect of water on the elasticity of mantle phases.