This volume was edited by Russell I. Hemley in preparation for a short course by the same title, organized together with Ho-kwang Mao and sponsored by the Mineralogical Society of America, December 4-6, 1998 on the campus of the University of California at Davis. This is number 37 in the Reviews in Mineralogy series, begun in 1974 and continuing with vigor, at least into the near future, with volumes on "Uranium Mineralogy and Geochemistry," on "Sulfate Mineralogy," and on "Natural Zeolites" planned for 1999 and 2000. Volume 36 (1056 pagesl), "Planetary Materials," edited by 1.1. Papike, appeared earlier this year, and it is certainly not unrelated to the subject of this volume on the physics and chemistry of the deep interior of one of the planets. Rus Hemley has highlighted Reviews in Mineralogy Volumes 14, 18, 20 and 29 as particularly relevant to the subject matter of "Ultrahigh-Pressure Mineralogy."

Part I: T hermal Strucure of Deep Earth 1

1 Melting of Fe Alloys and the Thermal Structure of the Core

2 Temperature of the Lower Mantle and Core Based on Ab Initio Mineral Physics Data

3 Heat Transfer in the Core and Mantle

4 Thermal State and Evolution of the Earth Core and Deep Mantle

Part II: S tructures, Anisotropy, and Plasticity of Deep Earth Materials 

5 Crystal Structures of Core Materials

In the foreword of the volume Mantle Metasomatism by Menzies & Hawkesworth (1987), Boettcher stated that the concept of mantle metasomatism has been of immense heuristic value for Earth scientists. At that time, metasomatism was still strongly related to allochemical metamorphism, where chemical composition of the rock is changed by the additional or removal of material.

Our knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field has developed over many centuries, originating from some of the earliest scientific investigations. The first scientific treatise ever written is generally recognized as being the geomagnetic text Epistola de Magnete written by Petrus Peregrinus in 1269. This was followed more than three centuries later by the classical work De Magnete by William Gilbert in 1600.

Монография посвящена проблемам петрологии высокомагнезиальных мантийных расплавов, ключевых для геологии раннего докембрия. Она базируется на результатах экспериментальных работ и данных, полученных изотопногеохимическими, инструментальным нейтронно-активационным, рентгено-флюоресцентным, микрозондовым и другими методами.

Решение комплексной геохимической проблемы эволюции глубинного вещества в условиях мантийной динамики является чрезвычайно важным направлением в комплексе общегеологических задач по реконструкции состава и строения глубинных оболочек Земли [Agee, 1998 и др.]. Так как вещество мантии (в особенности, переходной зоны и нижней мантии) доступно для прямого изучения в ограниченном объеме (минералы мантийных ксенолитов и включения в природных алмазах), то в основе существующих представлений о высокобарных фазовых ассоциациях [Пущаровский, Пущаровский, 2010] лежат результаты геофизических [Dziewonski, Anderson, 1981] и экспериментальных [Akaogi, 2007] исследований.

The Earth’s deep interior, being physically inaccessible, is difficult to study directly. The necessarily indirect methods used in its study are best pursued collaboratively in order to bring all possible sources of knowledge to bear on the topic, hence the need for interdisciplinary research. Over recent decades, there have been advances in investigating the dynamics of the Earth’s deep interior. In terms of experimental and observation work, there have been innovations in high-temperature and high-pressure experiments (employing diamond anvil cells and synchrotron radiation facilities), dramatically improved geochemical analyses aided by particle physics detectors, and seismic wave observations and theory. In terms of computational work, methodological innovations and increased computational power have facilitated theoretical calculations of mineral properties and fluid dynamical simulations at the micro and macro scale.

Актуальность исследования определяется необходимостью расшифровки структуры переходной зоны мантии (на глубинах 400-900 км) для понимания состава, эволюции и динамики мантии в целом. Последние годы отмечены очень быстрым развитием техники физического эксперимента при давлениях порядка сотен килобар и температурах до 2000°С. Эти успехи позволяют воспроизводить и измерять в лаборатории параметры пород, находящихся на глубинах порядка сотен километров от поверхности Земли.