Abstract:

Electrical properties of Earth materials are potentially of great value in understanding the earth's interior through interpretation of magnetotelluric studies.  Electrical conductivity can be very sensitive to details of defect chemistry and diffusion in minerals and to textures and distributions of melts, fluids, and minor conducting phases in bulk rock.  From a laboratory viewpoint, I will discuss recent progress in understanding of electrical properties of Earth materials and how they can influence our understanding of certain regions around the globe.   Recent work on the influence of hydrogen in mantle minerals and on the influence of deformation of partially molten rocks will be discussed.