Collaborative Research: GLOW: Iron Redox Reactions in Magma Oceans and Differentiation of Rocky Planets

地幔的氧化程度远远超过其组成部分。地幔的氧化对我们星球的可居住性有很大的影响。由于氧化作用，我们的大气中含有足够的氧气来维持生命。一种理论认为，地幔氧化发生在地球历史的“岩浆海洋”阶段。当早期的地球还在熔融和形成时，它被一个炽热而深邃的岩浆海洋所覆盖。研究氧化过程对于了解岩浆海洋在使地球宜居方面的作用非常重要。科学家们还想知道这一过程如何适用于其他行星和系外行星。该研究项目将汇集地球科学家和天文学家，研究行星如何通过地幔氧化变得适合居住。该项目还将创建教育材料，并回答有关地质学与生命之间关系的问题。该奖项将使研究人员能够在与地球和类地行星岩浆海洋中的硅酸盐金属反应直接相关的压力，温度和成分下进行实验。实验将使用在悬浮炉中合成的橄榄岩玻璃起始材料。这些样品将在激光加热金刚石对顶砧单元中经受高达140 GPa和6000 K的压力和温度。将使用同步加速器穆斯堡尔谱仪分析产品的三价铁和二价铁比率。实验结果将被纳入一个热力学模型，该模型将允许预测行星地幔的氧化及其可居住性，这取决于行星的大小和其核心的形成条件。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Earth’s mantle is far more oxidized than its building blocks. The oxidation of the mantle has a large effect on our planet’s habitability. Because of the oxidation, our atmosphere contains enough oxygen to support life. One theory suggests that mantle oxidation occurred during the “magma ocean” stage of Earth’s history. When early Earth was still molten and forming, it was covered by a hot and deep ocean of magma. Studying the oxidation process is important for understanding the role of the magma ocean in making Earth habitable. Scientists also want to know how this process applies to other planets and exoplanets. This research project will bring together geoscientists and astronomers to study how planets become habitable through mantle oxidation. The project will also create educational materials and answer questions about the relationship between geology and life. This Geoscience Lessons for and from Other Worlds (GLOW) award will enable researchers to conduct experiments at pressures, temperatures, and compositions directly relevant to silicate-metal reactions in magma oceans of Earth and Earth-like planets. The experiments will use peridotite glass starting materials synthesized in a levitation furnace. The samples will be subjected to pressures and temperatures up to 140 GPa and 6000 K in laser-heated diamond anvil cells. The products will be analyzed for their ferric and ferrous iron ratio using synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The experimental results will be incorporated into a thermodynamic model that will allow prediction of the oxidation of a planetary mantle and its habitability, depending on the size of the planet and the conditions of formation of its core.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.