10. Composition and Structure of the Earth’s Interior

The primary goal of the research at very high pressures is the interpretation of the Earth’s structure, as revealed by seismic observations, in terms of the mineral and chemical composition. A major progress in the study of the Earth’s interior has been made in the last 20 year, primarily due to advances in petrology, geophysics, and geochemistry. However, our understanding of the Earth’s interior lags severely behind the accumulation of the facts, because it is hampered and distorted by the many myths and beliefs inherited from the past. The origins of many of these views cannot be even traced anymore, others were proposed in the distant past on the basis of meager or nonexistent evidence. Some represent only a clever scheme to compensate for the lack of facts and the inability to obtain them. Yet, despite the advances that make possible now to obtain those facts, the old views still figure prominently in the current understanding of the Earth’s interior, and stand in the way of the real progress made possible by the accumulation of the new evidence.