Composition and Structure of

Earth’s Interior
A Perspective from Mineral
Physics

12/09/21 CIDER/ITP Short Course

 Mineral Physics Program
Fundamentals of mineralogy, petrology, phase equilibria
• Lecture 1. Composition and Structure of Earth’s Interior (Lars)
• Lecture 2. Mineralogy and Crystal Chemistry (Abby)
• Lecture 3. Introduction to Thermodynamics (Lars)
Fundamentals of physical properties of earth materials
• Lecture 4. Elasticity and Equations of State (Abby)
• Lecture 5. Lattice dynamics and Statistical Mechanics (Lars)
• Lecture 6. Transport Properties (Abby)
Frontiers
• Lecture 7. Experimental Methods and Challenges (Abby)
• Lecture 8. Electronic Structure and Ab Initio Theory (Lars)
• Lecture 9. Building a Terrestrial Planet (Lars/Abby)
Tutorials
• Constructing Earth Models (Lars)
• Constructing and Interpreting Phase Diagrams (Abby)
• Interpreting Lateral Heterogeneity (Abby)
• Molecular dynamics (Lars)
• Earth as a material
Outline
– What is Earth made of?
– What are the conditions?
– How does it respond?
– How do we find out?
• Structure and Composition
– Pressure, Temperature, Composition
– Phases
– Radial Structure
• Origins of Mantle Heterogeneity
– Phase
– Temperature
– Composition
 What is Earth made of?
• Atoms
– Contrast plasma ...
– All processes governed by
• Atomic arrangement (structure)
• Atomic dynamics (bonding)
• F = kx
– F : Change in energy, stress
– x : Change in temperature,
phase, deformation
– k : Material property
• Beyond continuua
– Measure k
– Understanding
 What is Earth made of?
• Condensed Matter
– Potential Energy, i.e. bonds,
are important
– No simple theory (contrast
ideal gas)
• Pressure Scale
– Sufficient to alter bonding,
structure
– Not fundamental state
– Pbond~eV/Å3=160 GPa~Pmantle
 What is Earth made of?
• Solid (mostly)
– Response to stress
depends on time scale
– Maxwell relaxation time
η viscosity
τM =
G
shear modulus
 M ~1000 years
• Crystalline
€ – Multi-phase
– Anisotropic
 How does it respond?
• To changes in energy
– Change in temperature
• Heat Capacity CP, CV
– Change in Density
• Thermal expansivity, 
– Phase Transformations
• Gibbs Free Energy, G
• Influence all responses
in general
 How does it respond?
• To hydrostatic stress
– Compression
• Bulk modulus, KS, KT
– Adiabatic heating
• Grüneisen parameter
• =KS/cP
– Phase Transformations
• Gibbs Free Energy
• To deviatoric stress
– Elastic deformation
• Elastic constants, cijkl
– Flow
• Viscosity, ijkl
– Failure
 How does it respond?
• Rates of Transport of
– Mass: chemical diffusivity
– Energy: thermal
diffusivity
– Momentum: viscosity
– Electrons: electrical
conductivity
• Other Non-equilibrium
properties
– Attenuation (Q)
– …
 How do we find out?
• How does interior differ from laboratory?
– The significance of the differences depends
on the property to be probed
• Equilibrium thermodynamic properties
– Depend on Pressure, Temperature, Major
Element Composition.
– So: Control them and measure desired
property in the laboratory! Or compute
theoretically
• Non-equilibrium properties
– Some also depend on minor element
composition, and history
– These are more difficult to control and
replicate
 How do we find out?
• Experiment 1.08

• Production of high 1.07

q0±1

pressure and/or
γ0±0.1
1.06
0

temperature
1.05

Relative Volume,1.04
V/V

• Probing of sample in
Bouhifd et al.
(1996)
1.03

situ 1.02

1.01 Forsterite
0 GPa
1.00
400 800 1200 1600 2000

Temperature (K)
 How do we find out?
• Theory 35
-1
)

• Solve Kohn-Sham 30
MgSiO3 Perovskite
2500 K

Equations (QM) Oganov et al.

25 (2002)

• Approximations
Temperature Derivative of G, -dG/dT
ηS=ηS0

Marton (MPa K
& Cohen ηS~γ
(2002)
20
ηS~q
Wentzcovitch et al.
15 (2004)
ηS~γq

10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Pressure (GPa)
 Pressure, Temperature,
Composition
• P/T themselves depend on
material properties
• Pressure: Self-gravitation
modified significantly by
compression
• Temperature: Self-
compression, energy,
momentum transport
• Composition
– Heterogeneous
– Crust/Mantle/Core
– Within Mantle?
Pressure, Temperature,
Composition
 Pressure
∂P
= ρ(r)g(r)
∂r
350
• Combine PREM
∂P K 300
=
€ ∂ρ ρ 250
Upper Lower
MantleZone
Transition
200 Mantle
• K=bulk modulus Pressure (GPa)
150
• Must account for phase Outer Inner
€ transformations… 100 Core Core

50

0
0 2000 4000 6000
Depth (km)
 Temperature
• Constraints: near surface
– Heat flow
– Magma source
– Geothermobarometry 2800

• Constraints: interior 2600

– Phase transformations
– Grüneisen parameter 2400

– Physical properties 2200

Temperature (K)
• Properties of Isentrope
2000
 T≈1000 K
– Verhoogen effect 1800
• Questions 1600
– Boundary layers?
0 1000 2000 3000
– Non-adiabaticity?
Depth (km)
• Constraints: extraterrestrial
Composition
– Nucleosynthesis
– Meteorites
• Constraints: near surface
– Xenoliths
– Magma source
• Constraints: Interior
– Physical properties
• Fractionation important
– Earth-hydrosphere-space
– Crust-mantle-core
• Mantle homogeneous because well-
mixed?
– Not in trace elements
– Major elements?

Pyrolite/Lherzolite/Peridotite/…
 Phases
• Upper mantle
– Olivine, orthopyroxene,
clinopyroxene,
plagspinelgarnet
• Transition Zone
– OlivineWadsleyiteRingwoodite
– Pyroxenes dissolve into garnet
• Lower mantle
– Two perovksites + oxide
• What else?
– Most of interior still relatively little
explored
 Radial Structure
• Influenced by 6.5
– Pressure )
-1
capv pv

6.0 ak
– Phase mw
5.5 ri

transformation sp
wa
5.0 C2/c
– Temperature Shear Wave Velocity (km
gt s
mj ol
4.5 opx cpx

4.0

3.5 plg
0 200 400 600
Depth (km)
 Radial Structure of Pyrolitic
Mantle
• Lower mantle
• Questions 5.5

– Homogeneous in 5.0
)
composition, phase? -3

• Problems 4.5
Density (g cm
– Physical properties at 4.0
lower mantle conditions
Pyrolite
– Phase transformations 3.5 100 Ma
within lower mantle?
0 1000 2000 3000
Depth (km)
 Radial Structure of Pyrolitic
Mantle
• Upper Mantle and
4.6
Transition Zone
4.4
• Shallow discontinuities
) 4.2
• Local minimum -3

4.0
• 410, 520,660 Density (g cm
3.8
• High gradient zone at 3.6
top of lower mantle 3.4 Pyrolite
100 Ma
• Questions 3.2
0 200 400 600 800 1000
– Role of anisotropy Depth (km)
– Role of attenuation
 Radial Structure of Pyrolitic
Mantle
• “Discontinuities” 4.4

• Questions: 4.3

– Structure as )
-3 4.2
f(composition)
4.1
Density (g cm
– How well do we know
4.0
phase equilibria?
3.9

3.8
600 620 640 660 680 700
Depth (km)
Origin of Mantle Heterogeneity
 Mantle Heterogeneity
Temperature
• Most physical properties
depend on temperature 350

C11
• Elastic constants mostly 300

decrease with increasing 250

T 200 Anderson &

Isaak (1995)
• Rate varies considerably Elastic Modulus (GPa) C44
150
with P, T, composition,
phase 100
C12

• Few measurements, 50 Periclase

calculations at high P/T P=0
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
• Dynamics: thermal Temperature (K)
expansion drives
 Mantle Heterogeneity
Phase
• Mantle phase Depth (km)

transformations are 1.0

150
opx
300 450 600 750
Ca-pv
ubiquitous 0.8
cpx
C2/c

• Phase proportions gt
il

depend on T: vary 0.6

Atomic Fraction
pv

laterally 0.4
ol wa ri
• Different phases have 0.2
Pyrolite
different properties Stacey Geotherm mw
0.0
• Dynamics: heat, volume 5 10 15 20 25 30

of transformation Pressure (GPa)

modifies
 Mantle Heterogeneity
Composition
• Physical properties
depend on composition
• Phase proportions
depend on composition
• Major element
heterogeneity is
dynamically active
Origin of Lateral Heterogeneity
Radioactivity

Temperature Composition
Differentiation

Latent
Entropy Heat Chemical
Potential

Phase