Where can I find a text about heavy elements migration?

[Guilherme Franco]

Let me be more specific:

I'm needing some source that talks, in a more broad way, about how heavier elements tend to "sink into the core" during Earth's formation (when we're talking about siderophile elements, that readily combine with molten iron). Wikipedia's page about the Goldschmidt classification comments that but assigns no specific source to that claim.

My particular interest is about Molydenum, which is siderophile, and I found articles talking about its concentration in Earth's mantle and crust and about what was expected of it.

But I can't manage to find any more broad comments on the question of heavy siderophile elements tending to "sink" during Earth's formation when it's still mostly molten rock.

I need this just to serve as a reference to this comment.

I've even downloaded some books on astrophysics of planet formation, but they don't talk about the particular question of element migration after the rocky planet has been just formed and is still hot enough to have molten rock on the surface.

Thanks by the help!

 

[jim mcnamara]

Let me try something. You are talking about the iron catastrophe:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_catastrophe

1. the entire planet became molten, so why would orther dense elements not sink as well?
Densities
iron: 7.874 g/cm³ and Nickel: 8.903g/cm³
Mo: 10.28g/cm³
2. Consider the late heavy bombardment which is thought to have bought many of the current crustal heavy elements to earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment

So I think you are making something straightforward more complex than it needs to be.

 

[Guilherme Franco]

Let me try something. You are talking about the iron catastrophe:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_catastrophe

1. the entire planet became molten, so why would orther dense elements not sink as well?
Densities
iron: 7.874 g/cm³ and Nickel: 8.903g/cm³
Mo: 10.28g/cm³
2. Consider the late heavy bombardment which is thought to have bought many of the current crustal heavy elements to earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment

So I think you are making something straightforward more complex than it needs to be.

I was just being specific about what I wanted to know. The question is just that, when looking with keywords associated with heavy element migration towards the core, I didn't found any of this.

Now, another question if you know: Does volcanic activity bring up material from layers deep enough to have a greater richness of heavy elements than the crust? Or are meteors a more important source?

Thanks!

 

[snorkack]

1. the entire planet became molten, so why would orther dense elements not sink as well?
Densities
iron: 7.874 g/cm³ and Nickel: 8.903g/cm³
Mo: 10.28g/cm³

The density of trace elements is irrelevant. All that matters is their solubilities.