Experimental Petrology of Lunar and Planetary Igneous Rocks

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The aim of this research is to reach an understanding of planetary differentiation through igneous processes. These processes include crust and core separation from the mantle through the generation of melts in a planetary interior, transport within the body (to the surface in some cases), and chemical differentiation. Igneous rocks are seen as a powerful tool for probing the internal constitutions and thermal histories of planets, or in the case of magmas differentiated near a planet's surface, as probes of the crust-forming process. Methods of study used include experimental petrology in the melting interval of planetary materials such as lunar samples, meteorites, terrestrial rocks, and synthetic compositions, petrographic and electron microprobe studies of experimental products and natural samples, as well as theoretical and numerical modelling of magmatic systems. Equipment development and studies of high-pressure phase equilibrium, element partitioning, textural relations, and steady-state thermal disequilibrium are proposed.