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The water content in modified spinel, synthesized at 15.5 GPa under hydrous conditions, has been measured by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMSrpar;. We found that the modified spinel crystals contain up to 3.1±0.4 wt % H2O, which is consistent with the amounts estimated from the deficits in the oxide totals of the microprobe analysis. X‐ray diffraction analyses for a single crystal showed that the sample containing 2.5±0.3 wt % H2O is of the modified spinel structure with the lattice parameters a=5.663(1), b=11.546(2), c=8.247(4)Å and V=539.2(5)ų. The present results suggest that a considerable amount of H2O may exist as hydrous modified spinel in the mantle transition zone, which could have important implications for the constitution and dynamics of the mantle.

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