CAREER: Experimental Studies of Mantle Melting

这个职业生涯的建议包括一个高压实验计划，旨在了解地幔熔融的关键方面和课程开发项目，将使用MELTS算法介绍本科地质学，地球物理学和地质工程专业的学生，作为一种研究和教育工具的前向建模。 这些实验包括研究石榴辉石岩的部分熔体在低熔体分数下是否相互连接，改进对干橄榄岩和在角闪石和名义上无水硅酸盐中含有H2O的橄榄岩的固相线的温度-压力位置的测定，研究了水逸度与水中溶解H_2O的关系，不饱和镁铁质岩浆通过测量在压力高达5 GPa的硅酸盐液体平衡的橄榄石的H含量。 所有这三项研究都力求提高我们对洋脊和岛弧下熔融的地球动力学和地球化学后果的认识，并将提高对地幔成分变化对熔融过程的影响的认识。 该计划的教育部分包括为岩石学高级课程开发教程和实验室练习，并使用岩石学相平衡程序MELTS。 这些练习将构成UM实验室的两周单元，并将强调作为科学工具的正演建模和假设检验，以及帮助更深入地理解讲座中讨论的岩石学主题。 此外，教程和资源共享将有助于传播这些课程的发展，教师在邻近的学院和大学教授岩石学和地球科学界在广大。

This CAREER proposal consists of a program of high pressure experiments aimed at understanding key aspects of mantle melting and a curriculum development project that will use the MELTS algorithm to introduce undergraduate geology, geophysics, and geological engineering majors to forward modeling as a research and educational tool. The experiments include investigation of whether partial melts of garnet pyroxenite interconnect at low melt fraction, improved determinations of the temperature-pressure location of the solidus for dry peridotite and for peridotite with H2O contained within amphibole and within nominally anhydrous silicates, and a study of the relationship between water fugacity and dissolved H2O in water-undersaturated mafic magmas by measuring the H content of olivine equilibrated with silicate liquids at pressures up to 5 GPa. All three studies seek to improve our understanding of the geodynamic and geochemical consequences of melting beneath oceanic ridges and beneath island arcs, and will improve understanding of the effects of variable mantle composition on melting processes. The education portion of the plan involves development of a tutorial and laboratory exercises for an upper division course in petrology and using the petrologic phase equilibria program, MELTS. The exercises will constitute a two week unit of laboratories at UM and wil emphasize forward modeling and hypothesis testing as scientific tools as well as aid in a deeper understanding of petrologic topics discussed in lectures. Additionally, tutorials and resource-sharing will aid dissemination of these curricular developments to faculty teaching petrology at neighboring colleges and universities and to the geoscience community at large.