Shun-ichiro Karato

About

Shun-ichiro Karato is a Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale University. His research focuses on the materials properties in connection to the dynamics and evolution of Earth and other planets. He investigates how physical and chemical properties of materials change dramatically with pressure and temperature, influencing the evolution of terrestrial planets. His work primarily involves high-pressure experimental studies to understand properties such as plastic deformation, electrical conductivity, and the equation of state of Earth materials. He collaborates with geologists, geodynamicists, seismologists, and geochemists to understand the dynamics and evolution of Earth and other terrestrial planets based on materials properties. His research group utilizes advanced facilities, including multi-anvil apparatuses capable of reproducing conditions in the Earth's uppermost lower mantle, deformation apparatuses for studying rheology, and various spectroscopic and microscopic tools for microstructural and phase analysis. His contributions include exploring the role of water in Earth's evolution, the physical properties of mantle minerals like wadsleyite and ringwoodite, and the implications of these properties for geophysical anomalies and planetary formation. His work has led to significant insights into the behavior of Earth's interior under extreme conditions.

Research topics

• Geology
• Geophysics
• Petrology
• Mineralogy
• Oceanography
• Seismology
• Geochemistry

Selected publications

• Deep mantle melting, global water circulation and its implications for the stability of the ocean mass

  Progress in Earth and Planetary Science · 2020 · 62 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Oceans on Earth are present as a result of dynamic equilibrium between degassing and regassing through the interaction with Earth’s interior. We review mineral physics, geophysical, and geochemical studies related to the global water circulation and conclude that the water content has a peak in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) with a value of 0.1–1 wt% (with large regional variations). When water-rich MTZ materials are transported out of the MTZ, partial melting occurs. Vertical directi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pervasive low-velocity layer atop the 410-km discontinuity beneath the northwest Pacific subduction zone: Implications for rheology and geodynamics

  Earth and Planetary Science Letters · 2020 · 41 citations

  DOI

• Elasticity of Hydrated Al‐Bearing Stishovite and Post‐Stishovite: Implications for Understanding Regional Seismic <i>V</i>_<i>S</i> Anomalies Along Subducting Slabs in the Lower Mantle

  Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth · 2022-04-01 · 39 citations

  article

  Abstract Seismic studies have found seismic scatterers with −2 to −12% shear velocity anomalies along some subducting slabs at 700–1900 km depth. The ferroelastic post‐stishovite transition in subducted mid‐ocean ridge basalt (MORB) has been linked to these seismic features, but compressional and shear wave velocities ( V P and V S ) and full elastic moduli ( C ij ) of Al,H‐bearing stishovite and post‐stishovite at high pressure remain uncertain. Here we have determined Raman shifts of optic mod…

  PublisherDOI

• An experimental study of hydrogen implantation to minerals: Role of the solar wind as a source of water in terrestrial bodies

  Icarus · 2024-01-10 · 9 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Small effect of partial melt on electrical anomalies in the asthenosphere

  Science Advances · 2023-03-31 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  High conductivity anomalies in the shallow mantle are frequently attributed to minor partial melt (basalt or carbonatite) in the olivine-dominated peridotites. Conductivity of a melt-mineral mixture depends on the configuration of melt that could be affected by grain size of the constitutive mineral(s), but this has rarely been explored. Here, we provide experimental evidence using a conductive carbonatite analog and olivine that the bulk conductivity decreases systematically with increasing oli…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Plastic Deformation and Lattice-Preferred Orientation in Wadsleyite: Experimental Constraints on the Rheology and Dynamics of Mantle Transition Zone

  NSF · $610k · 2005–2010

• Collaborative Research: CSEDI--Grand Challenge for Experimental Study of Plastic Deformation Under Deep Earth Conditions

  NSF · $583k · 2010–2014

• An experimental study on grain-size evolution during phase transformations in the mantle transition zone and its influence on rheological properties

  NSF · $331k · 2015–2017

Frequent coauthors

• Lidong Dai

  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  34 shared

• Jennifer Girard

  Yale University

  27 shared

• Kazuhiko Otsuka

  Yale University

  20 shared

• Jeffrey Park

  Yale University

  19 shared

• Qinting Jiang

  Yale University

  18 shared

• Bijaya B. Karki

  Louisiana State University

  17 shared

• Ichiro Kawasaki

  Association for the Development of Earthquake Prediction

  16 shared

• Mitsuhiro Toriumi

  16 shared

Education

• Ph D, Geophysics

  University of Tokyo

  1977

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