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Majorite is a mineral found in the mantle of the Earth. Its chemical formula is Mg3(MgSi)(SiO4)3. It is a type of garnet, distinguished from other garnets in having silicon in octahedral as well as tetrahedral coordination. Majorite was first described in 1970 from the Coorara Meteorite of Western Australia and has been reported from various other in which majorite is thought to result from an extraterrestrial high pressure shock event. Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineral Data Publishing Majorite on MinDat Mantle-derived containing majorite have been reported from potassic ultramafic on Malaita Island on the Ontong Java Plateau in the southwest Pacific Ocean.Kenneth D. Collerson, et al., Rocks from the Mantle Transition Zone: Majorite-Bearing Xenoliths from Malaita, Southwest Pacific, Science 19 May 2000: Vol. 288. no. 5469, pp. 1215–1223 Abstract
All of the minerals of the Earth's mantle are made of oxygen as the principal anion. It has been reported that a significant property of majorite is that under conditions of high pressure and temperature as exist in the mantle the mineral tends to absorb and store oxygen. However, when the temperature and pressure decrease as would occur when the majorite is drawn up toward the surface of the Earth by convection currents the mineral breaks down and releases the oxygen. Research has suggested that the total amount of oxygen stored in majorite in the mantle is likely quite large and may in fact contribute to keeping the Earth's surface moist and habitable.Bryner, Jeanna: Huge Stockpile of Oxygen Found Deep Inside Earth, LiveScience, 1 October 2007 08:38 am ET [4]
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