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Published March 7, 1980 | public
Journal Article

Dynamic Compression of Earth Materials

Abstract

Shock wave techniques have been used to investigate the pressuredensity relations of metals, silicates, and oxides over the entire range of pressures present in the earth (3.7 x 10^6 bars at the center). In many materials of geophysical interest, such as iron, wüstite, calcium oxide, and forsterite, major shock-induced phase changes dominate the compression behavior below pressures of 10^6 bars. The shock wave data for the high-pressure phases of these minerals lead to important inferences about the composition of the lower mantle and outer, liquid core of the earth. The lower mantle of the earth appears to have a slightly higher density than is inferred to correspond to the behavior of an olivine-rich assembiage of the same composition as the upper mantle. The core has a density some 10 percent less than that of pure iron and may have 9 to 12 percent sulfur or about 8 percent oxygen by weight.

Additional Information

© 1980 American Association for the Advancement of Science. I am grateful for the critical comments of R. Jeanloz, D. L. Anderson, and two anonymous reviewers of this article. Supported under NSF grants EAR 75-15006A01, EAR 77-23156, and EAR 78-12942. This is Contribution 3259, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023