Dr. Tobias Grützner

Corrensstraße 24, Room 124
48149 Münster Phone: +49 251 83-36112

Project:

Experimental determination of stable siderophile element isotope fractionation between liquid metal and liquid silicate via high temperature centrifuge.

The abundances of highly siderophile elements (HSE - Pt, Pd, Rh, Os, Ir , Ru, Re and Au) and siderophile volatile elements (SVE – S, Se, Te) in Earth’s mantle are assumed to predominantly derive from late accretion of broadly chondritic material. Yet, the behavior of some elements leaves questions open about the late veneer and Earth’s core formation. The strong siderophile character of e.g. Pd or Ru but implies that any element remaining in the mantle after core formation should show strong mass-dependent isotope fractionation and a different isotope signature than chondrites. This will be tested experimentally in a 1 atm centrifuge at 2000 r/min and temperatures up to 1450°C. In case these elements largely derive from the late veneer, they should show no isotope fractionation attributable to core formation.