Rajdeep Dasgupta

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

I am interested in physico-chemical processes of Earth and other planetary interiors with a particular emphasis on the role of melting in the differentiation and chemical evolution of the solid Earth. I apply experimental petrology and geochemistry to understand the processes in the interior of the planetary bodies, including those in the Earth's mantle. Many of my research projects employ high temperature, high pressure experimental laboratory tools such as piston cylinder and multi-anvil device and various micro analytical techniques to characterize the experiments. The objective is to determine, for example, solidus and liquidus temperatures of rocks at high pressures, the composition of partial melts formed at high pressures, and the partitioning behavior of major and key trace elements between minerals and melts.

One of my active areas of research is experimental study of the behavior and influence of C-O-H volatiles in mantle melting processes and igneous petrogenesis, with an aim to constrain the deep Earth volatile cycle. A new direction I am moving into is the study of core segregation during early planetary differentiation and core-mantle exchange relevant to the present day planetary interiors. A key focus is the behavior and role of various light elements in metal and metal-silicate equilibria.

I am seeking students and post-doctorates with interests in broad areas of petrology and high temperature geochemistry. Contact Rajdeep.Dasgupta-at-rice.edu for details.

Selected Publications

Dasgupta, R. & Walker, D. (2008). Carbon solubility in core melts in a shallow magma ocean environment and distribution of carbon between the Earth’s core and the mantle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72, 4627-4641. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2008.06.023

Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M. M. & Smith, N. D. (2007). Partial melting experiments of peridotite + CO2 at 3 GPa and genesis of alkalic ocean island basalts. Journal of Petrology 48, 2093-2124. doi:10.1093/petrology/egm053

Dasgupta, R. & Hirschmann, M. M. (2007). A modified iterative sandwich method for determination of near-solidus partial melt compositions. II. Application to determination of near-solidus melt compositions of carbonated peridotite. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 154, 647-661. doi:10.1007/s00410-007-0214-8

Hirschmann, M. M. & Dasgupta, R. (2007). A modified iterative sandwich method for determination of near-solidus partial melt compositions. I. Theoretical considerations. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 154, 635-645. doi:10.1007/s00410-007-0213-9

Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M. M. & Smith, N. D. (2007). Water follows Carbon: CO₂ incites deep silicate melting and dehydration beneath mid-ocean ridges. Geology 35, 135-138. doi:10.1130/G22856A.1

Dasgupta, R. & Hirschmann, M. M. (2007). Effect of variable carbonate concentration on the solidus of mantle peridotite. American Mineralogist 92, 370-379. doi:10.2138/am.2007.2201

Dasgupta, R. & Hirschmann, M. M. (2006). Melting in the Earth's deep upper mantle caused by carbon dioxide. Nature 440, 659-662. doi: 10.1038/nature04612

Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M. M. & Stalker, K. (2006). Immiscible transition from carbonate-rich to silicate- rich melts in the 3 GPa melting interval of eclogite+CO₂ and genesis of silica-undersaturated ocean island lavas. Journal of Petrology 47, 647-671. doi:10.1093/petrology/egi088

Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M. M. & Dellas, N. (2005). The effect of bulk composition on the solidus of carbonated eclogite from partial melting experiments at 3 GPa. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 149, 288-305. doi:10.1007/s00410-004-0649-0

Dasgupta, R., Hirschmann, M. M. & Withers, A. C. (2004). Deep global cycling of carbon constrained by the solidus of anhydrous, carbonated eclogite under upper mantle conditions. Earth and Planetary ScienceLetters 227, 73-85. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.08.004

Awards and Honors

LDEO Post Doctoral Research Fellowship - 2006-08
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University

Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship - 2004-05,
University of Minnesota

University Gold Medal - 2000,
Jadavpur University (First rank at M.Sc. in Applied Geology)

University Gold Medal - 1998,
Jadavpur University (First rank in B.Sc. in Geological Sciences)

Memberships

American Geophysical Union (since 2001)
Mineralogical Society of America (since 2002)
Geochemical Society (since 2002)