Henry's law behavior in simple systems and in magmas: Criteria for discerning concentration-dependent partition coefficients in nature

Abstract

Although numerous questions still surround the topic of Henry's law (HL) as it applies to trace element partitioning, there now exist sufficient experimental data to make some generalizations regarding HL behavior in minerals. The most important of these is that the commonly-observed failure of HL at low concentration occurs at distinctly different levels even for chemically-similar elements in a single mineral. This observation in turn provides a basis for discerning effects of HL failure in natural systems: through examination of element ratios in minerals and rocks, it is possible, in principle, to distinguish HL effects from changes in partition coefficients due to variations in other magmatic parameters such as temperature and the compositions of phases. Initial applications of this approach to plagioclase/ liquid partitioning of REE and to the general behavior of Zr Hf and Ba Rb during basalt production suggest that HL usually does hold in nature.