Partition of magnesium and iron between Olivine and spinel,and between pyroxene and spinel

Partition of Fe²⁺ and Mg between coexisting (Mg, Fe)₂SiO₄ spinel and (Mg, Fe)SiO₃ pyroxene was investigated at pressures 80 and 90 kbar and at temperatures 840 and 1050° C, using tetrahedral-anvil type of high pressure apparatus. Olivine-spinel solid solution equilibria in the system Mg₂SiO₄-Fe₂SiO₄ were discussed in the light of the partition reaction. Partition of Fe²⁺ and Mg in both olivine-spinel and pyroxene-spinel systems can not be regarded as that between ideal solid solutions. By applying the simple solution model for the partition of Fe²⁺ and Mg, sign of the heat of mixing was estimated to be positive for all olivine, spinel and pyroxene. Relative concentration of Fe²⁺ in spinel in the pyroxene-spinel system is likely to cause some change in the chemical composition of modified spinel () or spinel () in the transition zone of the mantle. A considerable change is also expected in the transition pressure of to ( + ) and ( + ) to .Presented at the symposium Recent Advances in the Studies of Rocks and Minerals at High Pressures and Temperatures held in Montreal, 1972. Jointly sponsored by the International Mineralogical Association and the Commission on Experimental Petrology.