Event details

Dr. Natalia Solomatova CNRS, ENS de Lyon will discuss the chemical evolution of Earth and other terrestrial planets dictates their present-day mineralogy, structure and dynamic processes. Despite the obstacle of directly accessing the deep interior of Earth, the combination of mineral physics, seismology, geodynamics and geochemistry has provided significant insight into the planet’s interior structure and chemistry. In my work, I use mineral physics experiments and calculations to determine the physical and thermodynamic properties of planetary materials, exploring conditions ranging from those of the early magma ocean to the present day. In this talk, I will present some of my results from ab initio atomistic simulations of iron-bearing silicate melts and synchrotron diamond cell experiments on iron-bearing lower mantle phases. I describe the complex carbon-iron chemistry in the Earth’s early global magma ocean with implications for the global carbon cycle, followed by an exploration of present-day chemical heterogeneities of Earth’s mantle, characterizing the effect of iron on spin and phase transitions. The results of these studies improve our models of the chemical evolution of the planet and help us understand present-day seismically observable features of the lower mantle. With these findings in mind, I lay out my future objectives in the field of planetary mineral physics.