Water in the deep Earth. Water has profound influence on many deep Earth processes ranging from melting to plate movements. Water in deep Earth is replenished by subduction. A significant part of water can be stored in nominally anhydrous minerals, such as olivine, pyroxene and garnet that result from the breakdown of hydrous phases within the subducted lithosphere. The project proposes a combined experimental and analytical project to determine how much water is transported to the deeper mantle ....Water in the deep Earth. Water has profound influence on many deep Earth processes ranging from melting to plate movements. Water in deep Earth is replenished by subduction. A significant part of water can be stored in nominally anhydrous minerals, such as olivine, pyroxene and garnet that result from the breakdown of hydrous phases within the subducted lithosphere. The project proposes a combined experimental and analytical project to determine how much water is transported to the deeper mantle in these minerals. This project aims to determine the incorporation mechanisms of water into these key minerals and to establish an Australian facility for water determination in minerals that has the sensitivity needed for studying deep Earth materials.Read moreRead less
Experimental investigation of the fractionation of non-traditional stable isotopes by planetary processes. New analytical methods enable small differences in the isotopic ratios of many metals to be measured, but our understanding of the causes is rudimentary. This project will determine experimentally what geological processes would change the isotopic ratios of some common metals.