Speaker: Dr. Anat Shahar (Carnegie Institution of Washington)

Title: "Exploring Planetary Differentiation Through an Isotopic Lens"

Abstract: . Planetary differentiation occurred at high temperature, high pressure, varying oxygen fugacity and on bodies with varying compositions. The specific conditions at which bodies differentiated can be probed and the chemical fingerprints of that differentiation can be found in stable isotope ratios measured today in natural samples. Experiments are key to understanding the mechanisms behind the fractionations seen in nature as the pressure, temperature and compositional space can be interrogated systematically. In this talk I will focus on how pressure, temperature and composition affect the partitioning of isotopes between metal and silicate. In particular I will focus on whether high pressure experiments can explain the isotopic signatures found in rocks on Earth and if the light element in the core has left a fingerprint on the isotopic ratios in the mantle. [Background reading]