Biography
Stephen Elardo is an assistant professor and NASA Early Career Fellow in the Department of Geological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is a petrologist, geochemist and planetary scientist that uses a variety of experimental and analytical techniques and sample types to answer large-scale questions about the origin and evolution of the terrestrial planets. Stephen's research interests in the processes by which planets formed and then separated into a core, mantle and crust. His research program is in planetary science and focuses on early planetary formation and evolution. Much of his work focuses on the geologic evolution of the moon.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Core
Magma
Apollo
Planetary Exploration
The Moon
Planetary Science
Geochemistry
Solar System
Meteorites
Mantle
Articles (1)
The effect of core composition on iron isotope fractionation between planetary cores and mantles
Earth and Planetary Science LettersStephen M. Elardo, et al.
2019-03-04
Planetary core formation causes a fractionation of Fe isotopes. The mantles of the smaller terrestrial planets and asteroids are isotopically light. Core-bound impurity elements cause shortening of nearest-neighbor distances. Shorter, stiffer bonds increase the preference of Fe-alloys for heavy Fe isotopes. Volatile depletion processes are not needed to explain Fe isotope variations.
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