Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Atom Probe Tomography Analysis of Exsolved Mineral Phases
Published on: October 25, 2019
Iron isotope fractionation during magmatic differentiation in Kilauea Iki lava lake
Fang-Zhen Teng1, Nicolas Dauphas, Rosalind T Helz
1Origins Laboratory, Department of the Geophysical Sciences and Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 5734 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. fteng@uark.edu
Abstract:
Magmatic differentiation helps produce the chemical and petrographic diversity of terrestrial rocks. The extent to which magmatic differentiation fractionates nonradiogenic isotopes is uncertain for some elements. We report analyses of iron isotopes in basalts from Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii. The iron isotopic compositions (56Fe/54Fe) of late-stagemeltveins are 0.2 permil (per thousand) greater than values for olivine cumulates. Olivine phenocrysts are up to 1.2 per thousand lighter than those of whole rocks. These results demonstrate that iron isotopes fractionate during magmatic differentiation at both whole-rock and crystal scales. This characteristic of iron relative to the characteristics of magnesium and lithium, for which no fractionation has been found, may be related to its complex redox chemistry in magmatic systems and makes iron a potential tool for studying planetary differentiation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Qualitative Analysis
For instance, group IV...
Classifying Matter by Composition
According to its composition, the matter can be classified into two broad categories — pure substances and mixtures.
A pure substance is a form of matter that has a constant composition throughout with uniform properties. For example, any sample of sucrose has the same composition and same physical properties, such as melting point, color, and sweetness, regardless of the source from which it is isolated.
A mixture is composed of two or more types of...
Subcellular Fractionation
Differential Centrifugation
Differential centrifugation is...
Ladder Diagrams: Redox Equilibria
Consider the Fe3+/Fe2+ half-reaction, which has a standard-state potential of +0.771 V. At potentials more positive than +0.771 V, Fe3+ predominates, whereas Fe2+...

