Distribution of Alkalis (Na, Cs, Rb) Between Silicate and Sulfide: Implications for Planetary Volatile Depletion

The abundances of volatile elements in the Earth's mantle are correlated with their temperatures of condensation. This depletion can be due to either incomplete condensation of the elements during the nebula condensation or evaporation processes during planetary growth. Elements that have affinities with metals (siderophile) and sulfides (chalcophile) are additionally depleted due to their segregation into the core. Therefore, study of lithophile elements could be useful to isolate processes of volatilization and their effect on the abundance of the elements in the Earth's mantle. However, the correlation of these lithophile elements including alkali elements, with their temperatures of condensation shows a significant scatter, which is difficult to reconcile with a depletion by vaporization or incomplete condensation alone.