NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Japan

Page Michael E, Miami FL

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Michael Edward Page of Florida International University to conduct an interdisciplinary research project at the intersection of Geosciences, Engineering, and Physical Sciences during the summer of 2013 at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The project title is "High Pressure Synthesis of Phases Appropriate for Earth's Interior." The host scientist is Dr. Eiji Ohtani. This project aims to expand the available knowledge of geophysical materials appropriate for the core of earth and other terrestrial planets. High pressure combined with high temperature in situ analyses reveals much about mantle materials, including but not limited to compressibility and sound velocity, and will help predict seismic events. This project tests available thermodynamic database predictions over a wide range of compositions, and physical conditions from crust to core. Between thermodynamics databases, not all calorimetric data agree at the physical conditions present in the center of the earth, and this project aims to obtain a match between the calorimetric data sets and experimental values. This research transcends the fields of physics, chemistry, and the geosciences, and has significance towards the understanding of earthquake pressure wave velocities. It will be conducted in the heart of a region, Sendai, still reeling from the threefold effects of natural devastation due to earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation contamination. Thermodynamic relations require that the physical data we obtain through our experiments attest to the relationships that ought to exist between thermochemistry and thermophysics. An internal consistency in such data gives us the confidence to model the planetary interiors and surfaces and lets us compare the profile with data obtained independently through our planetary missions. Because of the broad utilization of thermodynamics by many scientific disciplines, thermodynamic data of many sorts are crucial to scientific progress. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, the Fellow plans to participate in the current ongoing project on creating a thermodynamic and geophysical superdatabase on solids and fluids, which can be used with computational methods to help planetary scientists understand the various processes in the earth and terrestrial planets.