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Fig. 5 | Progress in Earth and Planetary Science

Fig. 5

From: The chemical case for Mercury mantle stripping

Fig. 5

a Silicon content of Mercury’s core assuming metal-silicate equilibration at pressures prior to mantle stripping. Points show \(X^{\text {met}}_{\text {Si}}\) for core formation at specified pressure for different metal S content (1, 2, 5, and 7 wt%). Horizontal dashed lines show the mean for each assumed core sulfur content. b Calculated δ30Sim for fractionation at various temperatures corresponding to the depth of a magma ocean and growing core mass on proto-Mercury. Colored bands show mean and ± 2σ uncertainties for δ30Si for major chondritic meteorite classes. Points show predicted fractionation in silicate for 2 wt% S content if δ30Sib corresponds to enstatite or ordinary and carbonaceous classes, and would be the predicted δ30Si for meteorites derived from fragments of Mercury’s stripped mantle. All estimates are 0.1‰ higher than their chondritic parents’ means. Circles and squares are from experimentally determined fractionation factors of Shahar et al. (2011) and the composite estimate (see the “Methods” section), respectively

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