Carbon Forms: Paths and Processes

Carbon Forms, Paths, and Processes in the Earth is a Thematic Set of six papers in the Journal of the Geological Society of London arising from the lectures presented at the Lake Como School, held at Villa del Grumello, Como, Italy (15-20 October 2017), and organized by the Graduate School of Milano Bicocca. This collection of lecture notes focuses on the structure of carbon allotropes, the geodynamics of deep Earth's carbon transport and fixation at mantle conditions, carbon degassing by ascending magmas, and the vast tectonic carbon degassing at the Earth’s surface. 

The six papers of the Thematic Set focus on the forms, paths, and processes of Earth’s carbon. The set will publish as the March 2019 issue of the Journal of the Geological Society of London. This issue will be open access. 

Langenhorst and Campione (2019) explore the fundamental physical and chemical properties of ideal and real solid carbon forms as a function of pressure and temperature (P-T), and describe the ideal structural models of fundamental carbon allotropes.

Sverjensky (2019) provides the quantitative thermodynamic basis needed to carry out theoretical geochemical modeling of fluids and fluid-rock interactions from the surface to upper mantle conditions.

Stagno (2019) reports the current state of research on naturally occurring deep carbon phases (e.g., diamond, carbides, carbonates, and carbonatitic melts) at mantle pressure and temperature conditions, carbon mobilization in the asthenospheric mantle by redox partial melting, and its sequestration during subduction by redox freezing processes.

Tumiati and Malaspina (2019) illustrate how carbon can be a redox-controlling factor when it is transferred from the subducting plate to the mantle wedge.

Moore and Bodnar (2019) estimate the amount and distribution of CO2 degassed by magmas, using as an example the Kilauea volcanic system (Hawaii).

Frondini, Cardellini, Caliro, Beddini, Rosiello and Chiodini (2019) review fluxes to the atmosphere by diffuse degassing of deep carbon from tectonic structures, concentrating on the case of the Italian Apennines.