Rheology and Microstructures of Deep Earth Minerals
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025
Special Issue Editor
Interests: rheological properties of lower-mantle minerals through diffusion experiments, phase relation in lower-mantle minerals, and core formation mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Understanding the rheology of deep Earth minerals is crucial to unravelling the complex dynamics of our planet's interior. Deep Earth minerals, which encompass a diverse range of compounds such as silicates, oxides, and sulphides, experience extreme pressure and temperature conditions that significantly influence their mechanical behaviour and structural properties. The rheological behaviour of deep Earth minerals plays a fundamental role in elucidating the Earth’s mantle and core dynamics over geological timescales. It also influences the mass transfer and exchange among the Earth's different layers. Furthermore, some geological activities closely related to human life such as earthquakes are also determined by the rheological properties of minerals.
The microstructures of deep Earth minerals provide valuable insights into their crystalline arrangement, grain boundaries, and defects. They determine a mineral’s rheological behaviours at the atomic scale. Characterization techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) enable scientists to analyse the fine-scale features of mineral microstructures and their evolution under extreme environmental conditions to further our understanding of the mineral’s mechanic properties.
This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research on the rheology and microstructures of deep Earth minerals. This Special Issue focuses on the following topics: 1) experimental investigations, theoretical models, and computational simulations of the rheological properties of deep Earth minerals; 2) the study of microstructures, such as point defects, dislocations, and grain boundaries, either via experimental or computational simulations of deep Earth minerals; and 3) the development of methods for the study of the rheology and microstructure of minerals
Dr. Lin Wang
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rheology and microstructure
- deep Earth minerals
- defects in minerals
- microstructure characterization
- mantle dynamics
