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Foreword

The Bayerisches Geoinstitut was founded in 1986 with the aims of pursuing and developing experimental high-temperature/high-pressure research in the fields of mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry and geophysics. Over the last few years, the size of the Institute has grown very considerably and by the end of 1995, as the tenth anniversary approaches, the number of scientists has reached about fifty, including externally-funded scientists and Ph.D. students. The year 1995 has also been a notable one in that this was the first full year in our new building following the move from the old provisional accommodation (consisting mostly of barracks) in mid-1994. The great dedication of the scientific staff together with the facilities offered by the new building (including a wide range of state-of-the-art experimental equipment) is enabling rapid progress to be made on a wide range of research topics in the experiment geosciences, as will be apparent from the contents of this Annual Report. The fact that the scientific productivity of the Geoinstitut has been so high is also a real tribute to the expertise and dedication of the small number of technical and support staff which has not grown as large as originally planned.

As in previous years, research results are reported in a broad range of fields dealing with the structure, chemistry, and properties of Earth-forming materials under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. Most of the results are of basic research, are concerned especially with relating atomistic and macroscopic properties and involve considerable overlap with other disciplines such as chemistry and physics. A number of the reported studies also have important practical applications. These include the prediction of volcanic eruptions through an understanding of magma properties, the prediction of deep earthquakes by evaluating their mechanisms through high-pressure experiments, and the prediction of the occurrence of ore deposits through studies of the solubility behaviour of ore-forming elements in silicate melts.

Some technological developments which have taken place during 1995 are particularly noteworthy. These involve in-situ techniques for studying a range of physical and chemical properties of materials at high pressures and temperatures without the need for large extrapolations of the experimental data. For example, it is now possible, for the first time, to directly measure acoustic velocities in materials under conditions of the Earth's mantle, and to directly compare the results to geophysical data in order to better constrain the mineralogy of the Earth's deep interior. Equally significant in-situ methods have been developed to study mechanisms of explosive volcanism, water speciation in silicate liquids and the electrical properties of materials under extreme conditions. In the near future, in-situ measurements at high pressure and temperature on large-volume samples will be facilitated by a new 5000 tonne multianvil system which will be installed at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut around the end of 1996.

In contrast to previous years, the 1995 Annual Report is produced in English with the aim of disseminating recent research results quickly and effectively to the international scientific community. The high degree of interest in the type of research carried out at Bayreuth is indicated by the large number of scientists (>250) who will attend the "Sixth Symposium for Experimental Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry" which will be hosted by the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in April 1996.

Finally, and also on behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank the Free State of Bavaria and the Kommission für Geowissenschaftliche Hochdruckforschung der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften for their continuing support and commitment to the Bayerisches Geoinstitut. We also gratefully acknowledged support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the European Union, and the German Science Foundation which have also contributed greatly to the development and success of the Institute.
 

Bayreuth, January 1996
David C. Rubie

Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universität Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Deutschland
Tel: +49-(0) 921 55 3700 / 3766, Fax: +49-(0) 921 55 3769, E-mail: bayerisches.geoinstitut(at)uni-bayreuth.de