Synthesis of inverse ringwoodite sheds light on the subduction history of Tibetan ophiolites

Tibetan ophiolites are shallow mantle material and crustal slabs that were subducted as deep as the mantle transition zone, a conclusion supported by the discovery of high-pressure phases like inverse ringwoodite in these sequences. Ringwoodite, Mg₂SiO₄, exhibits the normal spinel structure, with Mg in the octahedral A site and Si in the tetrahedral B site. Through A and B site-disorder, the inverse spinel has four-coordinated A cations and the six-coordinated site hosts a mixture of A and B cations. This process affects the density and impedance contrasts across the boundaries in the transition zone and seismic-wave velocities in this portion of the Earth. We report the first synthesis at high pressure (20 GPa) and high temperature (1600 °C) of a Cr-bearing ringwoodite with a completely inverse-spinel structure. Chemical, structural, and computational analysis confirm the stability of inverse ringwoodite and add further constraints to the subduction history of the Luobusa peridotite of the Tibetan ophiolites.