Plastic deformation of minerals under extreme pressure using a multi-anvil apparatus

We describe recent progress in the achievement of high-pressure deformation experiments using the multi-anvil apparatus. This equipment allows experiments to be performed on samples that are several cubic millimeters in volume at pressures up to 26 GPa, corresponding to the uppermost lower mantle of the earth (700 km depth), and temperatures up to 2500 K. The high-pressure assemblies have been modified to induce plastic deformation under high-P, high-T conditions.