Impact of melt loss on crustal heat production and Earth geodynamics

该项目计划开发一套热力学工具，用于计算独居石中稀土元素、钍和铀的含量，并将其生长和放射性成因热收支与岩石演化联系起来。钍（Th）和铀(U)产生了地球大陆地壳83%的热量。来自地壳深部高温区域的大片高产热岩石，反驳了地壳在地球和地球上已经枯竭的说法。地壳深部高产热的原因尚不清楚。该项目将开发一套工具来计算矿物（如独居石、锆石）和硅酸盐熔体中Th和U的浓度随深度、温度和岩石成分的变化。该工具集将对地球科学社区更好地理解基本的地球动力学过程有很大的好处。

This project plans to develop a thermodynamic tool set to calculate the amounts of rare earth elements, thorium and uranium in monazite and link its growth and radiogenic heat budget to rock evolution. Thorium (Th) and uranium (U) produce 83 per cent of the heat in Earth’s continental crust. Vast tracts of high-heat-producing rock from hot, deep parts of the crust defy the notion that such crust is depleted in Th and U. The causes of high heat production in the deep crust remain unclear. This project will develop a tool set to calculate the Th and U concentration in minerals (eg monazite, zircon) and silicate melt as a function of depth, temperature and rock composition. This tool set would be of great benefit to the geoscience community for better understanding fundamental geodynamic processes.