The Earth's Lower Mantle: Composition and Structure (Paperback)

Introduction: History of the problem 1. Models of the Earth's mantle 2. High-pressure experimental data on ultramafic and mafic systems 3. Natural lower-mantle minerals 3.1. General 3.2. Ultramafic association 3.3. Mafic association 3.4. Carbonatitic association 4. Lower-mantle mineral associations 4.1. Ultramafic 4.2. Mafic 4.3. Carbonatitic association, its origin and role in the formation of diamond 5. Some problems in the mineral composition of the lower mantle 6. Iron spin crossover in lower mantle minerals 6.1. (Mg,Fe)O 6.2. Bridgmanite 6.3. Distribution of iron between (Mg,Fe)O and bridgmanite: theoretical constructions, experiments and natural compositions 7. Phase transitions in lower-mantle minerals 7.1. Bridgmanite 7.2. CaSi-perovskite&n bsp; 7.3. (Mg,Fe)O 7.4. SiO2 7.5. Other minerals 8. Crystallographic features (regularities) of lower-mantle mineral phases 9. Changes in properties of chemical elements under high pressures and possible new mineral compounds in Deep Earth 10. Seismic inhomogeneities in the lower mantle and their nature 11. Local inhomogeneities in the lower mantle 12. Geochemistry of the lower mantle 12.1. General composition of the lower mantle 12.2. Trace element geochemistry 12.3. Volatiles in the lower mantle 12.4. Isotopic characteristics of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in the lower mantle 13. Oxidation potential in the lower mantle 14. D" layer: transition from the lower mantle to the Earth's core. (Postperovskite and other minerals in the D" layer) 15. Conclusions. Compositional model of the lower mantle . Further problems References Subject index