Acquisition of a Walker-style multi-anvil device for high pressure-temperature petrology and geochemistry research.

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This award will fund the acquisition of a new multi-anvil apparatus for high pressure (P) - temperature (T) experimental research in the Earth Science Department of Rice University. The newly acquired device will serve as a centerpiece of activities for the experimental petrology group at Rice. The multi-anvil device, which currently serves as the workhorse of high-research in the field of deep planetary petrology-geochemistry and mineral physics with achievable pressure range of 3-26 GPa and temperature to ~3000 °C, will also serve as a window to the deep Earth processes and properties for the other academic institutions in the Gulf area including University of Houston, Texas A&M University, and University of Texas at Austin. The NSF funded research themes that will immediately be addressed through multi-anvil experiments include, but not limited to, (1) partial melting of mantle lithologies (pyroxenite, eclogite, and peridotite) with application to generation of intraplate basalts, (2) devolatilization and sediment recycling in subduction zones, (3) storage and transport of volatiles such as carbon dioxide, water, and halogens in the Earth's mantle and the effects of volatiles on mantle melting and magma crystallization, and (4) experimental trace element partitioning with application to igneous petrogenesis. The newly acquired multi-anvil device will add a significant "depth" to the repertoire of devices available to the experimental petrology research group at Rice. The leader of the experimental petrology group at Rice, Dasgupta, is an early-career scientist, thus the proposed addition of a multi-anvil will significantly advance his scientific career and his ability to tackle first order problems on deep Earth processes. Several NSF-funded and NSF-driven science projects on deep Earth processes would directly benefit from the multi-anvil device and the multi-anvil will immediately be used for many student research projects. A full-time technician of the new multi-anvil facility will enable smooth and efficient installation, calibration, documentation, user training, and operation of the instrument.