Experiments on Strength of the Earth

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The PI will provide new constraints on the strength and creep rheology of the Earth's mantle by carrying out experiments on crystalline and amorphous minerals at pressure-temperature conditions ranging up to 100 GPa and 5000K. Novel experimental techniques developed in this laboratory during the past few years now make such research possible. Results at room temperature already demonstrate that rheology is significantly affected by pressure and by pressure-induced transformations, both in crystalline and in metastable liquid (i.e., glassy) phases. The work would provide the first experimental constraints on global deformation processes, with far-reaching implications for our understanding of the thermal, chemical, and geodynamic evolution of the Earth.