Planetary Science Seminar - winter-2013

Jan. 24, 2013
noon - 1 p.m.
Slichter 3853

Presented By:

• Ben Greenhagen - JPL

The Diviner Lunar Radiometer, onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, is the first multispectral thermal instrument to globally map the surface of the Moon. Diviner’s unprecedented and growing dataset is revealing the extreme nature of the lunar thermal environment, thermophysical properties, and surface composition. In this talk I will address each of these three topics, with emphasis on the surface compositional investigation and laboratory experiments in simulated lunar environment. Additionally, I will describe the legacy of Diviner for future opportunities to explore other airless solar system bodies using thermal emission techniques.

Jan. 31, 2013
noon - 1 p.m.
Slichter 3853

Presented By:

• Emma Rainey - UCLA

Determining mineral thermal conductivities at extreme pressures and temperatures is critical for modeling heat flow in planetary interiors. I will present early results from our joint experimental and modeling effort to measure thermal conductivity in the laser-heated diamond anvil and the implications for the thermal conductivity at the base of Earth’s mantle.

Feb. 7, 2013
noon - 1 p.m.
Slichter 3853

Presented By:

• Wendy Panero - Ohio State University

The Earth’s dynamics are a consequence of its composition, degree of differentiation into core and mantle, and the budget of heat producing elements in the interior. The physical behavior of planetary materials is controlled by the pressures and temperatures of planetary interiors. With central pressures and temperatures of ~6000K and 3.6 Mbar, the dynamical processes of the Earth's deep interior are a consequence of its composition, mineralogy, and viscosity. This talk presents new methods for measuring transport properties under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions of the Earth’s core, combining synchrotron-based X-ray experiments at high pressure and temperature with post-run focused-ion beam milling and transmission electron microscopy. Expanding outward to extrasolar planets, the very same approach helps us constrain the dynamical and compositional possibilities of terrestrial planets forming about stars with distinct compositions

Feb. 14, 2013
noon - 1 p.m.
Slichter 3853

Presented By:

• Burkard Militzer - UC Berkeley

Seminar Description coming soon.

Feb. 28, 2013
noon - 1 p.m.
Slichter 3853

Presented By:

• Kenneth Williford - JPL

Mars was probably most habitable during an interval that began with the decline of heavy bombardment about 3.8 billion years ago and ended with the disappearance of widespread, persistent liquid surface water about 3.4 billion years ago. Given the controversial nature of biosignatures in rocks of equivalent age on Earth, satisfactory evaluation of putative Martian biosignatures from this period of maximum habitability will require sample return. Current understanding about the production, preservation, and detection of stable isotopic bio- and environmental signatures in ancient Earth rocks will be discussed in light of their relevance to future analysis of samples returned from Mars.