ALBERT

Description: Recently, mechanisms for core formation in planetary bodies have received considerable attention. Most current theories emphasize the need for large degrees of silicate partial melting to facilitate the coalescence and sinking of sulfide-metal liquid blebs through a low strength semi-crystalline silicate mush. This scenario is based upon observations that sulfide-metal liquid tends to form circular blebs in partially molten meteorites during laboratory experiments. However, recent experimental work by Herpfer and Larimer indicates that some sulfide-Fe liquids have wetting angles at and slightly below 60 deg in an olivine aggregate, implying an interconnected melt structure at any melt fraction. Such melt interconnectivity provides a means for gravitational compaction and extraction of the majority of a sulfide liquid phase in small planetary bodies without invoking large degrees of silicate partial melting. Because of the important ramifications of these results, we conducted a series of experiments using H-chondrite starting material in order to evaluate sulfide-liquid/silicate wetting behavior in a more complex natural system.

Description: Speculation about the possible mechanisms for core formation in small asteroids raises more questions than answers. Petrologic evidence from iron meteorites, pallasites, and astronomical observations of M asteroids suggests that many small bodies were capable of core formation. Recent work by Taylor reviews the geochemical evidence and examines the possible physical/mechanical constraints on segregation processes. Taylor's evaluation suggests that extensive silicate partial melting (preferably 50 vol. percent or greater) is required before metal can segregate from the surrounding silicate and form a metal core. The arguments for large degrees of silicate partial melting are two-fold: (1) elemental trends in iron meteorites require that the metal was at is liquidus; and (2) experimental observations of metal/sulfide inclusions in partially molten silicate meteorites show that the metal/sulfide tends to form spherules in the liquid silicate due to surface tension effects. Taylor points out that for these metal spherules to sink through a silicate mush, high degrees of silicate partial melting are required to lower the silicate yield strength. Although some qualitative experimental data exists, little is actually known about the behavior of metals and liquid sulfides dispersed in silicate systems. In addition, we have been impressed with the ability of cumulative olivine to expel trapped liquid when placed in a thermal gradient. Consequently, we undertook to accomplish the following: (1) experimentally evaluate the potential for metal/sulfide/silicate segregation in a thermal gradient; and (2) obtain quantitative data of the wetting parameters of metal-sulfide melts among silicate grains.

Description: El Goresy et al.'s observation of Nb, Zr, and Ta in refractory platinum metal nuggets (RPMN's) from Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAI's) in the Allende meteorite led them to propose that these lithophile elements alloyed in the metallic state with noble metals in the early solar nebula. However, Grossman pointed out that the thermodynamic stability of Zr in the oxide phase is vastly greater than metallic Zr at estimated solar nebula conditions. Jones and Burnett suggested this discrepancy may be explained by the very non-ideal behavior of some lithophile transition elements in noble metal solutions and/or intermetallic compounds. Subsequently, Fegley and Kornacki used thermodynamic data taken from the literature to predict the stability of several of these intermetallic compounds at estimated solar nebula conditions. Palme and Schmitt and Treiman et al. conducted experiments to quantify the partitioning behavior of certain lithophile elements between silicate liquid and Pt-metal. Although their results were somewhat variable, they did suggest that Zr partition coefficients were too small to explain the observed 'percent' levels in some RPMN's. Palme and Schmitt also observed large partition coefficients for Nb and Ta. No intermetallic phases were identified. Following the work of Treiman et al., Jurewicz and Jones performed experiments to examine Zr, Nb, and Ti partitioning near solar nebula conditions. Their results showed that Zr, Nb, and Ti all have an affinity for the platinum metal, with Nb and Ti having a very strong preference for the metal. The intermetallic phases (Zr,Fe)Pt3, (Nb,Fe)Pt3, and (Ti,Fe)Pt3 were identified. Curiously, although both experiments and calculations indicate that Ti should partition strongly into Pt-metal (possibly as TiPt3), no Ti has ever been observed in any RPMN's. Fegley and Kornacki also noticed this discrepancy and hypothesized that the Ti was stabilized in perovskite which is a common phase in Allende CAI's.