This ongoing research project will focus on experiments to determine the mineral/melt partition coefficients for a variety of lithophile, siderophile, and platinum group elements. The lithophile and siderophile experiments will be carried out in multianvil apparatus, will involve perovskite and magnesiowustite, and the results will ultimately have application in elucidating the early history of the Earth. The experiments on the platinum group elements will be carried out in gas mixing furnaces, will include studies of sulfide, spinel, and various Ti-bearing accessory minerals, and will extend our understanding of noble metals and economically exploitable mineral deposits.
