9305451 Karato This award provides partial funding for the upgrade of the high-pressure rock deformation laboratory in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota. The funds are to be used to construct equipment for triaxial deformation studies under conditions of up to 2 GPa and 1700K (a so-called Griggs apparatus) and a piston-cylinder unit for studies up to 6 GPa and 2500K. The University of Minnesota is committed to providing the remaining funds needed for this equipment construction project. Specific research topics that will be carried out with the new facilities include the rheological properties of minerals at high temperature and pressure, the solubility and diffusivity of water in minerals and its effect on physical properties, the partitioning of elements between silicates and iron alloys, the wetting relationships between molten iron alloys and solid silicates, and the kinetics of microstructure developments in minerals found in ultradeep xenoliths. All of these studies bear significantly on understanding the structure and evolution of the Earth's dynamic interior. ***
