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  4. EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF LITHIUM PARTITIONING BETWEEN CLINOPYROXENE AND MELT

EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF LITHIUM PARTITIONING BETWEEN CLINOPYROXENE AND MELT

File(s)
Fairchild_cornell_0058O_11758.pdf (2.71 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/ajkf-1n17
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/113883
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Fairchild, Megan
Abstract

Planetary habitability is enabled by the transfer of volatile substances like H2O from planetary interiors to surfaces during volcanic degassing, but fully degassed rocks will not retain a geochemical record of these processes. The element lithium (Li) is thought to behave moderately volatilely and may function as a proxy for H2O in completely degassed systems, like Martian meteorites. Here we present new experimental measurements of Li partitioning between clinopyroxene and melts to examine if Li trends in Martian meteorites may be attributable to processes other than H2O degassing. We find Li is moderately incompatible in clinopyroxene in both compositions and identify potential partitioning trends with temperature and pressure. We used the new data to model the concentration of Li in cpx during cooling. Our cooling model reproduces Li trends in Martian cpx, suggesting that previous hypotheses regarding H2O in the Martian interior may need to be re-evaluated.

Date Issued
2023-05
Keywords
Basalt
•
Clinopyroxene
•
Experiment
•
Lithium
•
Mars
•
Partitioning
Committee Chair
Holycross, Megan
Committee Member
Pritchard, Matthew
Gazel Dondi, Esteban
Degree Discipline
Geological Sciences
Degree Name
M.S., Geological Sciences
Degree Level
Master of Science
Rights
Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/16176421

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