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Eutectic temperatures and melting relations in the Fe–O–S system at high pressures and temperatures

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Abstract

We have investigated melting relations in the Fe–O–S ternary system in the pressure range of 15–27 GPa and 1873 K. Subsolidus phase relations are Fe, Fe3S2, and FeO up to 17 GPa and Fe, Fe3S, and FeO above this pressure. The eutectic temperature slightly decreases from ambient pressure to 17 GPa, whereas increases above this pressure. The eutectic temperature in this study is 100 K lower than that in the Fe–S binary system. The oxygen content in the Fe–O–S eutectic liquid drops when the coexisting solid phases changes from FeS to Fe3S2. The cotectic lines in the ternary phase diagram lie close to the Fe–FeS binary axis. The isothermal sections indicate that oxygen solubility in the Fe–O–S liquid increases with increasing temperature, and with increasing sulfur content. The solubility of sulfur in the solid Fe has a maximum value at the eutectic temperature, and decreases with increasing temperature. Our results could have important implications for formation and composition of the Martian core.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Y. Ito for the electron microprobe analysis of run products. Comments from S. Urakawa and an anonymous reviewer helped to improve the manuscript. This work was supported by the Grant-in-Aid of the Scientific Research (S) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sport, and Technology of the Japanese Government (No. 14102009) to E.O., and conducted as a part of the 21st Century Center-of-Excellence program ‘Advanced Science and Technology Center for the Dynamic Earth’.

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  1. Institute of Mineralogy, Petrology, and Economic Geology, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Aoba-ku, 980-8578, Japan

    Kyusei Tsuno & Eiji Ohtani

  2. Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

    Kyusei Tsuno

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  1. Kyusei Tsuno
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Correspondence to Kyusei Tsuno.

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Tsuno, K., Ohtani, E. Eutectic temperatures and melting relations in the Fe–O–S system at high pressures and temperatures. Phys Chem Minerals 36, 9–17 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-008-0254-2

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