Grant: Discovery Launch Supplement

In our solar system, all rocky planets have a similar structure. The central core, made mostly of iron metal, is surrounded by a silicate mantle. Core and mantle dynamics determine the planet surface conditions that may be favourable for life. Magnetic fields that protect life from harmful stellar radiation are generated in iron cores. Plate tectonics, the surface expression of mantle convection, is a powerful thermostat that regulates the Earth's surface temperature through CO2 and water recycling. Surface-interior exchanges also control the type and amount of natural resources that may be of economic interest. Therefore, a better understanding of planetary interior dynamics is crucial to hypothesize and interpret their current state. This research proposal, Solidification Dynamics of Rocky Planets Interiors focuses on the interior evolution of rocky planets. Today, rocky planets in our solar system have a solid mantle and a partially molten core. However, rocky planets formed at a very hot temperature and were probably fully molten at the end of their buildup. In the long-term, my research group aims at improving our knowledge of planetary scale solidification processes. In the short-term, Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) will i) study the formation of primordial mantle reservoirs in the Earth's mantle, ii) implement computational fluid dynamics methods to model turbulent multiphase reactive flows, iii) explore the crystallization dynamics of low pressure iron cores such as the ones of Mars, Mercury, or Ganymede, and iv) build solid-liquid equilibrium models capable of predicting the compositional evolution of the Earth's iron core since its formation. Although single phase fluid mechanics has been largely explored in geodynamics, planetary-scale multiphase flows models - required to capture the transition from a liquid to a solid state - became accessible only recently. Advances in high-pressure experiments and "from inception" calculations now allow access to the properties of planetary materials at pressure conditions relevant for rocky planet interiors. The proposed research is based on an interdisciplinary approach that couples multiphase flows physics and high-pressure thermodynamics. The HQPs trained in our group will gain advanced skills in programming, thermodynamics, multiphase flows theory and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Thermodynamics have a vast range of application in the material sciences industry, e.g., metallurgy or ceramics. Knowledge in multiphase flows physics apply in environmental sciences and the oil and gas industry. Expertise in CFD is directly transferable to a wide range of engineering problems such as weather simulations, aerodynamics, or engine design. Canada will benefit from the competitiveness of these HQP who will have the ideal background to take a leading role in both industrial research and development and academia.