Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! Magma Oceans & Planetary Evolution

Описание: Join the Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory for a talk with Director, Michael Walter, entitled, "Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! - How Magma Oceans Shaped Planetary Evolution." This talk is part of our ongoing Neighborhood Lecture Series and will be held both in-person and online. Registration is required for both.

Rocky planet formation in our Solar System was rapid and extremely energetic. Two processes ensured that in their infancy planets went through one or more phases where they were mostly or entirely molten: the decay of short-lived particles and high-energy collisions. The more we study planet formation, the clearer it becomes that “magma oceans” and the way they de-gas and solidify set the stage for evolving into mature planets we observe today.

About the Speaker


Dr. Michael Walter specializes in high-pressure-temperature experimental petrology and mineral physics to address problems relating to the origin and evolution of planets, their differentiation into mantle and core, mantle melting and element partitioning, high-pressure phase relations and crystal chemistry, and the origin of deep mantle diamonds and their mineral inclusions. Walter's work on diamonds has focused on sub-lithospheric diamonds and their origin in relation to the subduction of surface rocks into the deep mantle, and how they inform us about the cycling of carbon, water, and other volatile components into the deep Earth.

Walter was named Director of the Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory in 2022 after serving two years as Deputy Director.