CAREER: High Pressure Melting and Phase Transitions in Model Compositions of Earth's Core

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Many of the geological processes that are observed on the surface of the Earth are manifestations of processes occurring at great depth in the planet. Consequently it is important to understand the constitution and dynamics of the deep interior, as well as the evolution of these processes over time. It is known that the Earth?s innermost region, its core, is mostly iron, but the remaining 10% or so of its constitution is uncertain. Identifying this component of the core is key to answering a number of geophysical and geochemical questions about the origin, evolution, and dynamics of our planet?s interior; for example, the extent of oxidation/reduction and loss of volatiles during Earth formation, and the energetics of the processes generating the Earth?s magnetic field, are linked to the composition of the core. This project will allow us to better understand the Earth's core through experiments designed to measure the properties of iron-rich alloys at high pressures and high temperatures, comparable to the conditions that exist in the planet's deep interior. Specifically, in these experiments we will measure the temperatures of melting in candidate alloy compositions that represent proposed compositions of the core, and also determine the composition and structure of the solid phase(s) that coexist with the melt at high pressures. These data will allow us to test the plausibility of the candidate compositions of Earth's core. Diamond anvil cells, with infrared laser heating, are used to generate the high pressures (100 GPa) and temperatures (3000 K) necessary for the experiments. In the investigator's home laboratory, optical methods, including a newly developed method of measuring temperature distributions in the experiment, will be used to determine the temperatures at which melting and other phase transitions occur. Further characterization of these transitions will be performed using synchrotron X-ray sources to probe the structure of the samples in their high pressure, high temperature state. As part of their research training, students will benefit from participating in the development of improved techniques specific to these experiments. The greater educational aim of this CAREER project is to integrate this research, and teaching mineral physics, into a broad effort to expand the opportunities for geophysics education at the University of Maryland.