Partitioning of nitrogen during melting and recycling in subduction zones and the evolution of atmospheric nitrogen
Résumé
The subduction of sediment connects the surface nitrogen cycle to that of the deep Earth. To understand the evolution of nitrogen in the atmosphere, the behavior of nitrogen during the subduction and melting of subducted sediments has to be estimated. This study presents high-pressure experimental measurements of the partitioning of nitrogen during the melting of sediments at sub-arc depths. For quantitative analysis of nitrogen in minerals and glasses, we calibrated the electron probe micro-analyzer on synthetic ammonium feldspar to measure nitrogen concentrations as low as 500 μg g−1. Nitrogen abundances in melt and mica are used together with mass balance calculations to determine DN(Mica/Melt), DN(Fluid/Mica), and DN(Fluid/Melt). Calculated partition coefficients correspond to expected values for NH4+, which behaves similarly to Rb+ due to its nearly identical size. Nitrogen partitioning between fluid and melt (DN(Fluid/Melt)) and fluid and bulk residue (melt+mica) (DN(Fluid/Bulk)) increase linearly with temperature normalized to pressure.