Partitioning of siderophile elements in the Fe [sbnd]Ni [sbnd]S system: 1 bar to 80 kbar

Abstract

Partition coefficients for Au, Ni, P and Ge between solid Fe Ni metal and sulfur-bearing metallic liquids have been measured at 7,27 and 80 kbar. To our knowledge, these are the only such data for Au, P and Ge at high pressure. Comparison of our partitioning results to those obtained at 1 bar indicate that only the 80 kbar Ge data differ significantly from the 1-bar experiments. Thus, many low-pressure partitioning experiments in the Fe Ni S P system may have applicability to the greater portion of the Earth's upper mantle or, alternatively, the entire mantle of Mars.