Phase Transformations in Pyrolite and Subducted Crust Compositions down to a Depth of 800 km in the Lower Mantle

Recent developments in multianvil high-pressure technology have made it possible to investigate the phase transformations in mantle materials under the conditions corresponding to the upper part of the Earth's lower mantle. The author reports here the results of such experimental studies on a pyrolite composition and those of subduded oceanic and continental crust compositions, with some implications for the mineralogy of the mantle and the dynamics of the subducted crust lithologies.