Experimental Studies of Earth and Planetary Materials at Extreme Conditions of Pressure and Temperature

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Large scale processes of heat and mass movement deep in the interior of planets control much of what happens on the surface. The focus of Dr. Secco's research program is to bring the inaccessible deep interior of planets into the lab by measuring physical properties of core and mantle materials under simultaneous extreme pressure (0-23GPa) and temperature (220-2300K) conditions in four large volume presses one of which is the largest capacity research press in North America. Novel techniques have been developed and will be employed at high pressures to measure electrical conductivity of terrestrial planetary core mimetic Fe-S-Si solids and liquids at high temperatures as well as NH3-H2O fluids at the low temperatures of subsurface oceans of outer planetary satellites. These studies will provide critical data to address the new controversies in models of thermal convection in fluid outer cores, inner core age, geodynamo, and magnetic induction in subsurface oceans of icy satellites. Using a technique recently developed in our lab, the enigmatic origin of deep focus earthquakes will be investigated by measuring acoustic emission in phase transforming mantle olivines (Mg1-xFex)2SiO4 (0.1