High-precision analysis of Selenium and Tellurium abundances in the Earth's mantle: implications for the formation and evolution of the Earth

• Applicant: Dr. Stephan König
• Subject Area: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 169535959

Systematics of highly siderophile elements (HSE) in the Earth’s mantle are widely considered to trace accretion of the last impact material (late veneer) shortly after the coremantle differentation. However, HSE systematics of the Earth’s mantle do not unambiguously constrain the nature of these impactors. The highly chalcophile elements, Se and Te combined with S abundances may offer further insight into the accretion history and evolution of our planet, but the available S, Se and Te data for mantle peridotites are scarce and of low precision. Furthermore, the geochemical behaviour of Se and Te in the context of sulfide petrology is not sufficiently well understood to place constraints on the accretion history and evolution of our planet. This project aims to obtain the first high-precision Se and Te data on mantle peridotites and sulfides in order to i) better understand the Se and Te behaviour during petrogenetic processes, ii) constrain the abundances of S, Se and Te in the terrestrial mantle and iii) assess their potential as tracers of planetary processes. These objectives will be achieved by performing “state of the art” high-precision Se and Te analyses on whole rock peridotites and sulfides via isotope dilution, hydride generation ICPMS after high-pressure acid digestion and chemical separation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants