Trace element partitioning between silicate perovskites and ultracalcic melt

Abstract

Determination of partition coefficients for Mg- and Ca-perovskite/melt has been performed for 27 trace elements by combination of high pressure–temperature experiments using a multi-anvil apparatus and in situ trace element analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Each of the crystallographic sites for the perovskites gives rise to a parabola-shaped peak on the partition coefficient versus ionic radius diagram. This suggests that the elemental partitioning is governed by the structural control even under the lower mantle condition. On the diagrams for Mg- and Ca-perovskites, sharpness and peak position of peaks are consistent with geometrical flexibility of the corresponding coordination polyhedra. The relative height between the partition curves for homovalent ions is controlled by electrostatic charge balancing among their crystallographic sites. Large partition coefficients of Th and U in Ca-perovskite suggest that these elements play an important role for the heat source in the Earth’s lower mantle.