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Dr. Wen-Pin Hsieh in the Institute of Earth Sciences has combined ultrafast optics with diamond cell techniques to measure the thermal conductivity of ferropericlase at high pressures. His team found that the thermal conductivity of iron-rich ferropericlase drops significantly across spin transition of iron, resulting in an enhanced iron substitution effect in the low-spin iron-rich ferropericlase. These results further help better understand the thermal history of ultra-low velocity zones at the bottom of the mantle. The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 2, 2018.