Sound velocity measurement in liquid water up to 25 GPa and 900 K: Implications for densities of water at lower mantle conditions

We extended the pressure range of sound velocity measurements for liquid water to 25 GPa and 900 K along the melting curve using a laser heated diamond anvil cell with a combined system of Brillouin scattering and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Experimental pressure and temperature were obtained by solving simultaneous equations: the melting curve of ice and the equation of state for gold. The sound velocities obtained in liquid water at high pressures and melting temperatures were converted to density using Murnaghan's equation of state by fitting a parameter of the pressure derivative of bulk modulus at I GPa. The results are in good agreement with the values predicted by a previously reported equation of state for water based on sound velocity measurements. The equation of state for water obtained in this study could be applicable to water released by dehydration reactions of dense hydrous magnesium silicate phases in cold subducting slabs at lower mantle conditions, although the validity of Murnaghan's equation of state for water should be evaluated in a wider pressure and temperature ranges. The present velocity data provides the basis for future improvement of the accurate thermodynamic model for water at high pressures. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.