Prof.
Surendra Saxena [Florida International University, USA]

Title: Formation of the terrestrial planets and the chemical composition of the earth

Time: 10:00 - 11:00 AM, Thursday, August 4, 2016

Place: Auditorium Room 410, HPSTAR (Shanghai)

Host: Dr. Ho-Kwang Mao

Abstract:

The chemical composition of the solar nebula is usually approximated from an averaging of the meteorite compositions and the analysis of the Sun's corona. To establish this connection, we need to ensure that at the astrophysically probable physical conditions in the solar cloud, a variety of meteorites can be synthesized as bodies in thermodynamic chemical equilibrium. To do this, we build a thermodynamic database consisting of thousands of species with solids, liquids and gases and calculate the density and mineralogy of the condensed material at various heliocentric distances and conclude that indeed the terrestrial planets and meteorites could originate by condensation from the solar gas. While this conclusion has been drawn by many previous studies, what is new here is the use of a thermodynamic database that allows us to determine compositions of solid solutions and metal alloys explaining a variety of meteorite compositions and planetary cores.

For those who may be interested we can explore possible collaboration on the following topics

1. Entropy  and thermodynamic database of Fe-O-H (including FeO2, FeH2, FeH3, FeOOH) at the CMB Standard condition thermodynamic data on phases are available but would require high PVT data and EOS modeling. Phases that occur only at high pressure will require computed enthalpy-entropy data and EOS.

2. China-Sweden net working proposal ( if anyone interested)

The Swedish government agency VR (vetenskaps roedet) receives energy proposals for long time net working from Chinese scientists.

3. Asian SMEC meeting

Because there is so much interest in China, India, Japan and Korea in attending the SMEC meeting, you may want to consider a Chinese meeting with similar format.

4. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations relevant to earth and development of high pressure thermodynamic database: proposals for course and resource

There is a lot of work that needs to be done on high pressure mineralogical thermodynamic data before we can establish an earth reference model. I would like to seek a collaboration from our colleagues. A course in high pressure FACTSage can be designed.

Biography of the Speaker:

Prof. Surendra Saxena is the author of 410 papers and 6 books in the field of Earth and Planetary Science, High-pressure Physics and Materials Science.

Editor of several volumes of Advances in Physical Geochemistry and other books.

Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1994. (The academy is the home of several committees which award many prestigious prizes, including the Nobel prize.)

La Laurea Ad Honorem in Scienze Geologiche, Padova University, Italy, 2001.