Partitioning of strontium between calcite, dolomite and liquids: An experimental study under higher temperature diagenetic conditions, and a model for the prediction of mineral pairs for geothermometry

Abstract: The partitioning of Sr between calcite, dolomite and liquids is essentially independent of temperature between 150 and 350 C. The partition coefficients corrected for number of cation sites are b _calc=0.096 and b _dol= 0.048 for 1 mol cations/6 mol H₂O liquid. Upon dilution the partition coefficients increase, but their ratio stays constant at about 2∶1. This ratio is due to the fact that calcite has twice as many Ca-sites for Sr-substitution as dolomite. The 2∶1 relationship is also observed in natural calcite and dolomite which have undergone diagenesis. The temperature independence of partitioning is caused by the relatively small thermal expansion of calcite and dolomite. Thermal expansion between 25 and 400 C was found to follow the equations V _calc=7.010⁻⁴ T(C)+36.95 and V _dol=6.910⁻⁴ T(C)+32.24, V: cm³/mol. Therefore calcite and dolomite cannot serve as a temperature indicator. To have an ideal geothermometer a mineral pair with high and low thermal expansion is required. Literature date demonstrate that wurtzite, sphalerite, and galena are such minerals.