Some peculiarities of thermodynamic conditions in the Earth's crust and upper mantle

This paper presents an advanced theory for applied thermodynamic analysis of Earth's crust and upper mantle. The theory offers qualitative and quantitative methods for the analysis of such thermodynamic parameters as pressure, temperature, and volume. Main geologic and tectonic processes in the Earth's crust and upper mantle were analyzed using the proposed theory and with attracting laws of Earth's gravitation. The main causes of the ultrahigh-pressure formation including decompression of rocks and minerals in the crust and upper mantle, melting of rocks at arbitrary depth in the crust and upper mantle, uplift of melt to the Earth's surface, heating of great volumes of rocks, and heating of underground water were analyzed in the paper in detail. The theory was applied to processing and analysis of thermodynamic parameters in such geologic and tectonic processes as immersion of a lithosphere block, uplift of a lithosphere block, obduction, subduction, orogenic processes, rifting, faulting, ocean bottom spreading, and metamorphism. The theory has been successfully tested using available experimental data of physical properties of different rocks and minerals as well water, along with the measurements of pressure and temperature.