Routes to reduction of phosphate by high-energy events
Luca Bindi1, Tian Feng2, Matthew A Pasek2
1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, I-50121 Firenze, Italy.
Communications Earth & Environment
|April 26, 2024
Summary
Lightning strikes can create novel calcium phosphite compounds from phosphate minerals. This discovery suggests phosphites may play a role in high-energy geological events and the phosphorus cycle.
Area of Science:
- Geochemistry
- Mineralogy
- Planetary Science
Background:
- Phosphate minerals, primarily apatite, dominate Earth's surface phosphorus.
- High-energy events like lightning and impacts can reduce phosphates to phosphides.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate novel compounds formed by lightning in geological samples.
- To understand the redox state of phosphorus in lightning-induced materials.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a fulgurite sample from New Port Richey, Florida.
- Identification of mineral phases using advanced analytical techniques.
Main Results:
- Discovery of a calcium phosphite (CaHPO3) alongside iron silicides in a lightning-induced fulgurite.
- The identified phosphite exhibits an intermediate phosphorus oxidation state between phosphides and phosphates.
- This finding indicates a new pathway for phosphorus transformation during high-energy events.
Conclusions:
- Lightning can produce calcium phosphite, a previously unrecognized geological compound.
- Phosphites may be significant in high-energy geological processes and the broader phosphorus biogeochemical cycle.
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