Other
Scientific paper
Oct 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999e%26psl.172..323c&link_type=abstract
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 172, Issue 3-4, p. 323-335.
Other
19
Scientific paper
To determine the role of radioactive heating as an energy source in planetary cores, the solubility of K in metal has been examined experimentally. All experiments were conducted at 15 kbar and 1900°C and involved K partitioning between Fe alloys and silicate melts. Experiments conducted with different concentrations of S in the metallic liquid indicate that S increases the solubility of K in metal. Unlike S, the presence of C in the metallic liquid does not increase K solubility in metal to a level detectable with the electron microprobe. The silicate composition significantly affects the solubility of K in S-rich metal, with the metal/silicate partition coefficient for K increasing by nearly two orders of magnitude with increasing depolymerization of the silicate melt. Using an appropriate silicate composition for the early, differentiating Earth and assuming that S is a significant light element in the core, the metal/silicate partition coefficient for K is 6×10-3 at 15 kbar and 1900°C. Such a partitioning value, if representative of the behavior of K at core formation conditions, suggests the presence of less than 1 ppm K in the Earth's core with a present-day heat generation of 1010 W, which is 2-3 orders of magnitude lower than estimates of the power necessary to drive the Earth's geodynamo. Other thermodynamic variables, namely pressure, temperature, and oxygen fugacity may also affect the solubility of K in metal.
Chabot Nancy Lynne
Drake Michael J.
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