The principal investigator will study the distribution of certain platinum group elements (iridium and palladium) between sulfide and silicate melts and dependencies of this distribution on sulfur fugacity, oxygen fugacity, and temperature. Equilibration experiments will be carried out at high pressure (7-10 kilobars) in piston cylinder apparatus, as well as at lower pressures in a vertical muffle tube furnace. Results will provide basic data, currently unavailable, to understand and interpret platinum group element geochemistry, as well as to address more general problems such as the evolution of certain kinds of igneous rocks.
