Partitioning planetary differentiation

Early planetary differentiation included separation of Fe-Ni from mantle silicates to form the core. While a considerable fraction of some elements partitioned into coreforming material at this time, it is not known to what extent significant amounts of noble gases were transferred to the core in this way. The basic data for noble gas partitioning between silicates and metal at high temperatures and pressures is still scarce (see Porcelli and Ballentine 2002, this volume). 

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