This $265,048 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) will support research at the University of Texas at Austin to investigate the behavior of hydrated silica minerals in the Earth's deep mantle. The project aims to develop instrumentation and datasets that will advance the understanding of plate tectonics processes and the global water cycle occurring in the deep mantle. Key activities include measuring the sound velocities, water solubility, and phase transitions of stishovite and post-stishovite silica minerals under high pressure-temperature conditions in the laboratory using techniques like laser spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The experimental data will be compared to seismic wave models to better understand the geophysical and geodynamic consequences of hydrated silica in the lower mantle. This project also provides research and career development opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as educational outreach activities for K-12 and non-science major students.
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