Research Training Program

Rebecca Fischer
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Elizabeth Cottrell, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Mineral Sciences

"Through my involvement in RTP, I have gained invaluable experience and knowledge about how research can be conducted. It is a testament to our achievement as a scientific community that so much can be gained from such microscopic samples."

Evolution of the Earth: Oxidation

For billions of years, deep within the Earth, oxygen has combined with substances like iron in an earth-shatteringly important process known as oxidation. This process occurred sometime during the evolution of the Earth, and may still be occurring today. We need to understand this process in order to understand the formation of the Earth, the evolution of life, and the evolution of mantle chemistry. Magma from volcanoes can be used to reveal a wealth of information about Earth's mantle, even though we cannot reach the mantle ourselves. Innovations in techniques for studying these samples allow us to study smaller samples than ever before, while still revealing huge amounts of information about the Earth. We also studied levels of water and carbon dioxide dissolved in magmas to determine their relationship to oxidation. By studying the magma samples we can determine how much oxidation has occurred, offering great insight into our planet.

This research was supported by the Bill and Jean Lane Internship Endowment.

Letter of gratitude Letter to The Honorable Max Berry