This book presents a summary of high-pressure phase transitions of minerals and related inorganic compounds. The first part reviews the methods to investigate phase transitions by direct high-pressure and high-temperature experiments together with thermodynamic approaches that consist of calorimetric measurements and thermodynamic calculation. In the second part, phase relations and thermodynamic properties of olivine, pyroxene, garnet, spinel, perovskite, rutile, and related inorganic compounds with A2BO4, ABO3, AB2O4, and AO2 stoichiometries are described. Particular emphasis is placed on spinel- and perovskite-structured phases and their high-pressure polymorphs called post-spinel and post-perovskite phases. The last part of the book focuses on phase relations of mantle rocks and on natural high-pressure minerals from the Earth’s deep mantle and in shocked meteorites.
The vast experimental data on phase relationships in elements, oxides and silicates at high temperatures and pressures is collected in this volume together with an explanation of the basic principles governing these processes.
During the last thirty years profound developments in expe- rimental techniques to measure high temperature and pressu- res and thermodynamic properties of minerals have occurred. This technical development has been matched by an increased sophistication in applying theoretical methods to obtain new data or improve the quality of existing data. Using these newtechniques, Assessed Thermodynamic Data on Oxides and Silicates represents the successful attempt of the authors to develop an internally systematized data base which satis- fies the constraints of calorimetric measurements, phase equilibrium data, measured thermophysical properties of a phase, and heat capacities and entropies estimated from lat- tice vibrational models.
The ever-increasing importance of chemical reactions at high and superhigh temperatures in crystalline, amorphous, and semicrystalline SOlids, as well as the reactions of these solids with gases, prompted the authors of this book to examine critically the literature available in this field and to present a general review of the subject. In this monograph we discuss those chemical and physicochemical points which we consider to be most important for solving a series of problems in the preparation and use of new inorganic materials. We hope that this book will be of interest to the many specialists working on inorganic materials. N. A. Toropov PREFACE Modem technology demands ever more materials with high mechanical strength, heat and chemical re sistance, fire resistance, special electrical properties, particular behavior toward active radiations, etc. The search for such materials requires the study of various chemical compounds, metallic alloys, and other fused in organic systems, especially oxide systems. Materials based on oxides begin to assume increasing importance in many fields of the new technology. In this connection the investigation of oxides and systems consisting of two and more oxides is expanding greatly.
High-Pressure Research: Applications in Geophysics contains the papers presented during a U.S.-Japan joint seminar held in Honolulu, Hawaii, 6-9 July 1976. The seminar brought together scientists engaged in high pressure-high temperature research to exchange ideas on the latest state-of-the-art developments, their experimental results, and their latest interpretations with regard to the significance of these results to the geophysical sciences in general. Four formal sessions were held. Of the forty-two papers presented at the seminar, thirty-nine appear as contributed papers and three as abstracts in this volume. The papers in Session I examine the geophysics and geochemistry of the crust and upper mantle. The contributions in Session II focus on phase transitions related to Earth's deep interior. Session III is devoted equations of state and shock wave experiments while Session IV covers instrumentation, pressure calibration, and standardization.
A valuable resource for geologists, engineers, and students across multiple disciplines, this is the most comprehensive and in-depth study of the development of the Baltic Shield, its features as a representative of other similar areas around the world, and the implications for practical applications, such as oil and ore production. Like Sorokhtin's most recent book, The Origins of Natural Diamonds, also available from Wiley-Scrivener at www.wiley.com, this is not just the story of the origin and evolution of the Baltic Shield, but a story about the evolution of the Earth's geology in general. Important to geologists, geophysicists, and engineers across multiple disciplines, written by experts on the Earth's geological evolution, this volume represents the state-of-the-art in major Earth geological processes. Of particular importance to mining engineers and petroleum engineers, it is also a practical guide for those who work in the mining or petroleum industry. Before presenting the most in-depth discussion of the Baltic Shield available and its implications for study by geologists and various industries such as the petroleum industry, the authors present a theory for how the Earth, as we know it, came into existence and developed. They base this theory on scientific evidence and mathematical models, using this as a basis for further explanation of the Earth's geological evolution. Valuable as either a learning tool for the student or as a reference or refresher for the veteran scientist or engineer, the authors explain important geological processes, such as the Earth's origin, composition, and structure, the Earth's energy balance, continental drift, tectonic activity, the evolution of the Earth's crust, and others. It is within this geological framework that the authors offer practical guidance for engineers and scientists who work in industry or academia. It is a must-have for any geologist, geophysicist, or engineer working in mining or petroleum engineering.
Since the beginning of civilization, the origins of the Earth and Moon have been the subjects of continuing interest, speculation, and enquiry. These are also among the most challenging of all scientific problems. They are, perhaps to a unique degree, interdisciplinary, having attracted the attention of philosophers, astronomers, mathematicians, geologists, chemists, and physicists. A large and diverse literature has developed, far beyond the capacity of individuals to assimilate adequately. Consequently, most of those who attempt to present review-syntheses in the area tend to reflect the perspectives of their own particular disciplines. The present author's approach is that of a geochemist, strongly influenced by the basic phil osophy of Harold Urey. Whereas most astronomical phenomena are controlled by gravitational and magnetic fields, and by nuclear interactions, Urey (1952) emphasized that the formation of the solar system occurred in a pressure-temperature regime wherein the chemical properties of matter were at least as important as those of gravitational and magnetic fields. This was the principal theme of his 1952 book, "The Planets," which revolutionized our approach to this subject. In many subsequent papers, Urey strongly emphasized the importance of meteorites in providing critical evidence of chemical conditions in the primordial solar nebula, and of the chemical fractionation processes which occurred during formation of the terrestrial planets. This approach has been followed by most subsequent geochemists and cosmochemists.
