Slab-Related and Volatile-Bearing Materials and the Core's Light Alloying Component

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Knittle EAR-0087540 The investigators plan to conduct a suite of experiments oriented toward constraining the behavior of volatile elements (especially hydrogen and carbon) within planet Earth. They will assess the elastic and structural behavior of ternary iron-carbon and iron-hydrogen bearing systems at high pressures and temperatures, with the goal of determining whether such compositions could be abundant within Earth's core. With respect to Earth's mantle, they will examine the phase behavior and elasticity of likely Archean volcanic rock compositions, in order to constrain the behavior of subducted material through Earth history. The goal with these studies is to understand whether the processes driving subduction early in Earth history are similar to those that operate today. Finally, the investigators will probe the properties of subduction-related hydrous and carbonated phases at high pressures, focusing on minerals that are either known to be stable in basalt- or oceanic sediment-derived assemblages at high pressure, or those that have actually been observed to occur in mantle-derived xenoliths. The approach is designed to provide an integrative data set to constrain how elements abundant in Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere are cycled into, retained within, and degassed from Earth's deep interior.