Stratification in planetary cores by liquid immiscibility in Fe-S-H

Shunpei Yokoo (), Kei Hirose, Shoh Tagawa, Guillaume Morard and Yasuo Ohishi
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Shunpei Yokoo: The University of Tokyo
Kei Hirose: The University of Tokyo
Shoh Tagawa: The University of Tokyo
Guillaume Morard: Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, IRD, Université Gustave-Eiffel, ISTerre
Yasuo Ohishi: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Liquid-liquid immiscibility has been widely observed in iron alloy systems at ambient pressure and is important for the structure and dynamics in iron cores of rocky planets. While such previously known liquid immiscibility has been demonstrated to disappear at relatively low pressures, here we report immiscible S(±Si,O)-rich liquid and H(±C)-rich liquid above ~20 GPa, corresponding to conditions of the Martian core. Mars’ cosmochemically estimated core composition is likely in the miscibility gap, and the separation of two immiscible liquids could have driven core convection and stable stratification, which explains the formation and termination of the Martian planetary magnetic field. In addition, we observed liquid immiscibility in Fe-S-H(±Si,O,C) at least to 118 GPa, suggesting that it can occur in the Earth’s topmost outer core and form a low-velocity layer below the core-mantle boundary.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28274-z

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