Direct observations of transient weakening during phase transformations in quartz and olivine

Phase transformations are widely invoked as a source of rheological weakening during subduction, continental collision, mantle convection and various other geodynamic phenomena. However, despite more than half a century of research, the likelihood and magnitude of such weakening in nature remain poorly constrained. Here we use experiments performed on a synchrotron beamline to reveal transient weakening of up to three orders of magnitude during the polymorphic quartz to coesite (SiO₂) and olivine to ringwoodite (Fe₂SiO₄) phase transitions. Weakening becomes increasingly prominent as the transformation outpaces deformation. We suggest that this behaviour is broadly applicable among silicate minerals undergoing first-order phase transitions and examine the likelihood of weakening due to the olivine-spinel, (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄, transformation during subduction. Modelling suggests that cold, wet slabs are most susceptible to transformational weakening, consistent with geophysical observations of slab stagnation in the mantle transition zone beneath the western Pacific. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating transformational weakening into geodynamic simulations and provides a quantitative basis for doing so.