The effect of oxygen as a light element in metallic liquids on partitioning behavior |
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| Authors: | Nancy L Chabot E Alex Wollack Munir Humayun Ellen M Shank |
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| Institution: | 1. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA;2. Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA;3. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA |
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| Abstract: | Oxygen has been considered a potentially important light element in metallic liquids during a range of planetary processes, yet the influence of O in a metallic melt on element partitioning behavior is largely unknown. To investigate the effect of O in such systems, we conducted experiments in the Fe‐S‐O system, doped with 25 trace elements, which produced two immiscible metallic liquids. Our results indicate that the presence of O in the metallic liquid produces a distinctive chemical signature for W and Ga in particular. Tungsten shows an affinity for O in the metallic liquid and partitions more strongly into the metallic melt in the presence of O. The partitioning of Ga is relatively constant despite the presence of O, which is in contrast to the majority of the other siderophile elements in the study. Our experiments from 1400 to 1600 °C show no significant effect from temperature on the partitioning behavior of any trace elements over this limited temperature range. This distinctive chemical signature due to the presence of O in the metallic liquid has potential implications for modeling core formation, evaluating isotopic signatures produced by core crystallization, and interpreting chemical assemblages observed in meteorites. |
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