U.S.-Germany Cooperative Research in Experimental Geochemistry at High Pressures and Temperatures

该奖项支持亚利桑那大学迈克尔·德雷克教授的两名研究生伊丽莎白·麦克法兰和瓦莱丽·希尔格伦，前往德国，利用拜罗伊特大学独特的设施和人员组合进行实验地球化学研究。1991年，德雷克教授对那里的地质研究所进行了长期访问。现在，他已经安排他的学生在拜罗伊特大学的主要合作者大卫·鲁比博士的指导下进行进一步的相关工作。除了与鲁比博士和地质研究所的其他专家进行了富有成效的互动外，学生们将受益于两种非常先进和非常罕见的设备：一台多砧板压力机和一台x射线显微衍射仪。这两种装置在进行超高压微量元素在各种金属和硅酸盐相对之间的分配实验中都是非常有价值的。他们的实验结果将用于了解地球和火星的早期热史和分化，以及月球的起源。德雷克教授的主要研究计划包括在高压和高温下对固体硅酸盐、氧化物和金属相以及硅酸盐和金属熔体之间元素分配的实验研究。这些分配系数的知识对于解释地幔和地幔衍生物质中的元素系统学是必不可少的。这特别涉及地球的形成和早期分化的问题，以及与之密切相关的月球起源问题。

This award supports Elisabeth McFarlane and Valerie Hillgren, two graduate students of Professor Michael Drake, University of Arizona, to travel to Germany to take advantage of an unique combination of facilities and personnel at the University of Bayreuth to carry out experimental geochemistry research. Professor Drake made an extended visit to the Geological Institute there in 1991. Now he has arranged for further related work to be carried out by his students under the guidance of his principal collaborator at Bayreuth, Dr. David Rubie. In addition to fruitful interactions with Dr. Rubie and other experts at the Geological Institute, the students will benefit from the availability of two highly advanced and very rare pieces of equipment: a multi-anvil press and an x-ray microdiffractometer. Both of these apparatus are invaluable in conducting ultrahigh pressure trace element partitioning experiments between various metal and silicate phase pairs. The results of their experiments will be applied to understanding the early thermal history and differentiation of the Earth and Mars, and the origin of the Moon. The principal research program of Professor Drake involves experimental studies of elemental partitioning among solid silicate, oxide, and metal phases and silicate and metallic melts at high pressures and temperatures. Knowledge of these partition coefficients is essential to the interpretation of elemental systematics in the mantle and mantle-derived materials. This bears specifically on the question of the formation and early differentiation of the Earth and the intimately associated problem of the origin of the moon.