| Trace element concentrations in igneous rocks and its constituent minerals are increasingly used to constrain the melting conditions and processes that formed them. All of these melting models require the input of partition coefficients, that describe how trace elements distribute themselves between minerals and co-existing melts at equilibrium. Although it has been known for a long time that partition coefficents vary as a function of pressure, temperature and composition, accurate parametrisations for many mineral-melt systems are not available to date. I am currently involved in several collaborations aimed at providing improved models for the incorporation of trace elements into mineral structures. Computational aspects of element incorporation, studied in close collaboration with Prof Neil Allan (University of Bristol) and his group, continue to provide more details of the atomic-scale processes involved. Together with Dr Dave Draper (Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico) I am studying garnet-melt and majorite-melt partitioning. Prof John Hanchar (Memorial University) and I developed a model that explains various aspects of zircon/melt partitioning, and very soon a PhD student will start an experimental study of mineral-fluid partitioning at the VU, with Neil, Dr Ronit Kessel (Jerusalem) and Dr Paul Mason (Utrecht University). |
