Francis Birch (geophysicist)

Albert Francis Birch (August 22, 1903-January 30, 1992) was an American geophysicist best known for his experimental work on the properties of Earth-forming minerals at high pressure and temperature, in 1952 he published a well-known paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research, where he demonstrated that the mantle is chiefly composed of silicate minerals, the upper and lower mantle are separated by a thin transition zone associated with silicate phase transitions, and the inner and outer core are alloys of crystalline and molten iron.

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Penrose Medal winners

American geophysicists

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