Descripción del proyecto
El movimiento de las sustancias volátiles en el manto terrestre
La variación cíclica de volátiles es un proceso clave que regula la habitabilidad en la Tierra. Grandes cantidades de elementos volátiles, tales como el carbono y el hidrógeno, se almacenan en las profundidades del manto. Los especialistas en ciencias de la Tierra se están centrando en comprender mejor el intercambio de carbono entre el manto y la exosfera. Sin embargo, no poseen los conocimientos necesarios sobre la movilidad y las tasas de migración del material fundido que contiene volátiles, un importante transportador de tales sustancias. Con la financiación concedida por la UE, el proyecto MoVEMENT aprovechará los nuevos métodos experimentales en fuentes de sincrotrón para adquirir datos sobre la densidad y viscosidad, en diversas condiciones, de material fundido que contenga carbono. Los datos experimentales se introducirán en modelos informáticos que permitirán una predicción precisa de la movilidad del material fundido con contenido de volátiles en un cierto rango de temperaturas y presiones.
Objetivo
Volatiles cycle plays a critical role in the humanity’s existence by defining the habitability conditions prevailing at the Earth’s surface. Mantle is a major actor of this cycle by hosting considerable proportions of carbon, and also hydrogen. Understanding the exchanges and fluxes of carbon (and water) between the upper mantle and exosphere remains a primary goal in the Earth sciences community, but critically prevented by the lack of fundamental constrains on the mobility and migration rates of volatile-bearing melts (i.e. CO2-H2O-bearing melts) that are important conveyors for the distribution of volatiles. Therefore, the aim of the MoVEMENT project is to combine fundamental constraints on the physical properties (density and viscosity) of volatile-bearing melts with complex modelling to gain a quantitative understanding of the deep volatile cycles and related geophysical processes inside the planet. The applicant will achieve these scientific breakthroughs by combining two novel approaches: first, he will capitalize on new experimental methods at synchrotron sources to acquire missing data on the density and viscosity of carbon-bearing melts at high pressure; second, he will integrate the novel data into rigorous and continuous computer models for the density and viscosity of volatile-bearing melts. The new models will allow predictions of the mobility of volatile-bearing melts in a range of pressure, temperature (20 GPa – 2500 °C ) and compositions, i.e. from carbonatites (CO2-rich melts) to basalts (SiO2-rich melts), that span the conditions for melts stabilized in the upper mantle. Specifically, the results will be applied to quantify volatile-mediated processes in the upper mantle, including the migration/ascent/emplacement of melts through the mantle, ultimately leading to a new understanding of volatile mobility and recycling in the deep Earth.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
48149 MUENSTER
Alemania