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1.
If the Earth was formed by accumulation of rocky bodies in the presence of the gases of the primordial solar nebula, the Earth at this formation stage was surrounded by a massive primordial atmosphere (of about 1 × 1026 g) composed mainly of H2 and He. We suppose that the H2 and He escaped from the Earth, owing to the effects of strong solar wind and EUV radiation, in stages after the solar nebula itself dissipated into the outer space.The primordial atmosphere also contained the rare gases Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe whose amounts were much greater than those contained in the present Earth's atmosphere. Thus, we have studied in this paper the dissipation of these rare gases due to the drag effect of outflowing hydrogen molecules. By means of the two-component gas kinetic theory and under the assumption of spherically symmetric flow, we have found that the outflow velocity of each rare gas relative to that of hydrogen is expressed in terms of only two parameters — the rate of hydrogen mass flow across the spherical surface under consideration and the temperature at this surface. According to this result, the rare gases were dissipated below the levels of their contents in the present atmosphere, when the mass loss rate of hydrogen was much greater than 1 × 1017 g/yr throughout the stages where the atmospheric mass decreased from 1 × 1026 g to 4 × 1019 g.  相似文献   

2.
To explain the rare gas content and isotopic composition measured in modern terrestrial materials we explore in this paper an Earth model based on four reservoirs: atmosphere, continental crust, upper mantle and lower mantle.This exploration employs three tools: mass balance equations, the concept of mean age of outgassing and the systematic use of all of the rare gases involving both absolute amount and isotopic composition.The results obtained are as follows: half of the Earth's mantle is 99% outgassed. Outgassing occurred in an early very intense stage within the first 50 Ma of Earth history and a slow continuous stage which continues to the present day. The mean age of the atmosphere is 4.4 Ga.Our model with four main reservoirs explains quantitatively both isotopic and chemical ratios, assuming that He migrates from the lower to the upper mantle whereas the heavy rare gases did not.Noble gas fluxes for He, Ar and Xe from different reservoirs have been estimated. The results constrain the K content in the earth to 278 ppm. Several geodynamic consequences are discussed.  相似文献   

3.
Noble gas elemental and isotopic abundances have been analysed in eight samples of youthful basaltic glass dredged from three different locations within the Lau Backarc Basin: (1) the King's Triple Junction, (2) the Central Lau Spreading Centre at 18°S and (3) the Eastern Lau Spreading Centre at 19°S. Samples from the Lau central and eastern spreading centres have MORB-like helium isotopic ratios of approximately 1.2 × 10−5 (8.5 R/RA). In contrast, the samples from the King's Triple Junction yield helium isotopic ratios averaging 9.4 (±0.8) × 10−6 (6.7 ± 0.6 R/RA), systematically lower than the MORB-like value, which may be reflecting the addition of radiogenic 4He released from the descending slab. Neon isotopic ratios are enriched in 20Ne and 21Ne with respect to atmospheric ratios by as much as 23% and 62% respectively. These observations further confirm that non-atmospheric neon is a common characteristic of samples derived from the mantle. The helium and neon isotopic signatures in the samples can be explained by mixing of a primordial solar component, radiogenic and nucleogenic components produced by radioactive processes inside the Earth, and an atmospheric component. This reconnaissance survey of noble gases in a backarc basin indicates that current volcanism is dominated by magmas from the mantle wedge, a source similar to that from which MORBs are derived. The heavier noble gases (argon, krypton and xenon), however, show more atmosphere-like compositions, either indicating strong interaction of the magmas with the atmosphere or the presence of a recycled component derived from the underlying subducting slab.  相似文献   

4.
Carbon isotopic fractionation of low-weight molecules of the products of Fischer-Tropsch reaction under the conditions of Earth's accumulation region in primitive solar nebula has been experimentally studied. Among the reaction products, carbon dioxide has the heaviest isotopic composition; carbon isotopic composition of methane has a large variation; different from biogenic natural gases, carbon isotopic compositions among ethane, propane and butane yield a reverse distribution pattern. It suggests that primordial hydrocarbons that were captured in the interior of the Earth during its accretion possess a reverse carbon isotopic distribution pattern. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49233060).  相似文献   

5.
New noble gas data of ultramafic xenoliths from Réunion Island, Indian Ocean, further constrain the characteristics of primordial and radiogenic noble gases in Earth’s mantle plume reservoirs. The mantle source excess of nucleogenic 21Ne is significantly higher than for the Hawaiian and Icelandic plume reservoirs, similar to excess of radiogenic 4He. 40Ar/36Ar of the Réunion mantle source can be constrained to range between 8000 and 12 000, significant 129Xe and fission Xe excess are present. Regarding the relative contribution of primordial and radiogenic rare gas nuclides, the Réunion mantle source is intermediate between Loihi- and MORB-type reservoirs. This confirms the compositional diversity of plume sources recognized in other radioisotope systematics. Another major result of this study is the identification of the same basic primordial component previously found for the Hawaiian and Icelandic mantle plumes and the MORB reservoir. It is a hybrid of solar-type He and Ne, and ‘atmosphere-like’ or ‘planetary’ Ar, Kr, Xe (Science 288 (2000) 1036). 20Ne/22Ne ratios extend to maximum values close to 12.5 (Ne-B), which is the typical signature of solar neon implanted as solar corpuscular radiation. This suggests that Earth’s solar-type noble gas inventory was acquired by small (less than km-sized) precursor planetesimals that were irradiated by an active early sun in the accretion disk after nebular gas dissipation, or, alternatively, that planetesimals incorporated constituents irradiated in transparent regions of the solar nebula. Previously, such an early irradiation scenario was suggested for carbonaceous chondrites which follow common volatile depletion trends in the sequence CI–CM–CV–Earth. In turn, CV chondrites closely match Earth’s mantle composition in 20Ne/22Ne, 36Ar/22Ne and 36Ar/38Ar. This indicates that mantle Ar could well be a planetary component inherited from precursor planetesimals. However, a corresponding conclusion for mantle Kr and Xe is less convincing yet, but this may be just due to the lack of appropriate ‘meteoritic’ building blocks matching terrestrial composition. Alternatively, heavy noble gases in Earth’s mantle could be due to admixing of severely fractionated air, but this effect must have affected all mantle sources to a very similar extent, e.g. by global subduction before the last homogenization of the mantle reservoirs.  相似文献   

6.
The Earth's mantle contains a mixture of primordial noble gases, in particular solar-type helium and neon, and radiogenic rare gases from long-lived U, 232Th, 40K and short-lived 129I, 244Pu. Rocks derived from deep mantle plume magmatism like on Hawaii or Iceland contain a higher proportion of primordial nuclides than rocks from the shallow upper mantle, e.g. mid ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). This is widely regarded as the key evidence for survival of a less degassed and more “primitive” reservoir within the lower mantle. We present an evaluation of noble gas composition showing the shallow mantle to have about five times more radiogenic (relative to primordial) isotopes than Hawaii/Iceland-type plume reservoirs, no matter if short- or long-lived decay systems are considered. This fundamental property suggests that both MORB and plume-type noble gases are mixtures of: (1) a homogeneous radiogenic component present throughout most of the mantle and (2) a uniform primordial noble gas component with very minor radiogenic ingrowth. This conclusion depends crucially on the observed excess of radiogenic Xe in plume-derived rocks, and is only valid if this Xe excess is inherent to the plume sources.Possible sources of the primordial component of mantle plume reservoirs—and possibly also the MORB mantle—could be mantle reservoirs that remained relatively isolated over most of Earth's history (“blobs”, a deep abyssal layer, or the D” layer), but these need a considerable concentration of primordial gases to compensate U, Th, K decay over 4.5 Ga. Earth's core is evaluated as an alternative viable source feeding primordial nuclides into mantle reservoirs: even low metal-silicate partitioning coefficients allow sufficient primordial noble gases to be incorporated into the early forming core, as the undifferentiated proto-Earth was initially gas-rich. Massive mantle degassing soon after core formation then provides the opposite concentration gradient that allows primordial noble gases reentering the mantle at the core-mantle boundary, probably via partial mantle melts. Another possible source of primordial noble gases in Earth's mantle are subducted sediments containing extraterrestrial dust with solar He and Ne, but this supply mechanism crucially depends on largely unconstrained parameters. The latter two scenarios do not require the preservation of a “primitive” mantle reservoir over 4.5 Ga, and can potentially better reconcile increasing geochemical evidence of recycled lithospheric components in mantle plumes and seismic evidence for whole mantle convection.  相似文献   

7.
Neon isotopic ratios measured in olivine and basaltic glass from Iceland are the most primitive observed so far in terrestrial mantle-derived samples. Ratios were measured in gas released from olivine and basaltic glass from a total of 10 samples from the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, and one sample from central Iceland. The neon isotopic ratios include solar-like, mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like and atmospheric compositions. Neon isotopic ratios near the air–solar mixing line were obtained from the total gas released from glass separates from five samples. MORB-like neon isotopic compositions were measured in the total gas released from olivine and glass separates from four samples. Although there is clear evidence for a solar neon component in some of the Icelandic samples, there is no corresponding evidence for a solar helium ratio (320Ra>3He/4He>100Ra). Instead, 3He/4He ratios are mainly between 12±2(Ra) and 29±3(Ra), similar to the range observed in ocean island basalts, indicating that the He–Ne isotopic systematics are decoupled. The mantle source of Icelandic basalts is interpreted to be highly heterogeneous on a local scale to explain the range in observed helium and neon isotopic ratios. The identification of solar-like neon isotopic ratios in some Icelandic samples implies that solar neon trapped within the Earth has remained virtually unchanged over the past 4.5 Ga. Such preservation requires a source with a high [Nesolar]/[U+Th] ratio so that the concentration of solar neon overwhelms the nucleogenic 21Ne* produced from the decay of U and Th in the mantle over time. High [Nesolar]/[U+Th] ratios are unlikely to be preserved in the mantle if it has experienced substantial melting. An essentially undegassed primitive mantle component is postulated to be the host of the solar neon in the Icelandic plume source. Relatively small amounts of this primitive mantle component are likely to mix with more depleted and degassed mantle such that the primitive mantle composition is not evident in other isotopic systems (e.g. strontium and neodymium). The lower mantle plume source is inferred to be relatively heterogeneous owing to being more viscous and less well stirred than the upper mantle. This discovery of near-solar neon isotopic ratios suggests that relatively primitive mantle may be preserved in the Icelandic plume source.  相似文献   

8.
In an attempt to constrain the origin of polycrystalline diamond, combined analyses of rare gases and carbon and nitrogen isotopes were performed on six such diamonds from Orapa (Botswana). Helium shows radiogenic isotopic ratios of R/Ra = 0.14–1.29, while the neon ratios (21Ne/22Ne of up to 0.0534) reflect a component from mantle, nucleogenic and atmospheric sources. 40Ar/36Ar ratios of between 477 and 6056 are consistent with this interpretation. The (129Xe/130Xe) isotopic ratios range between 6.54 and 6.91 and the lower values indicate an atmospheric component. The He, Ne, Ar and Xe isotopic compositions and the Xe isotopic pattern are clear evidence for a mantle component rather than a crustal one in the source of the polycrystalline diamonds from Orapa. The δ13C and δ15N isotopic values of − 1.04 to − 9.79‰ and + 4.5 to + 15.5‰ respectively, lie within the range of values obtained from the monocrystalline diamonds at that mine. Additionally, this work reveals that polycrystalline diamonds may not be the most appropriate samples to study if the aim is to consider the compositional evolution of rare gases through time. Our data shows that after crystallization, the polycrystalline diamonds undergo both gas loss (that is more significant for the lighter rare gases such as He and Ne) and secondary processes (such as radiogenic, nucleogenic and fissiogenic, as well as atmospheric contamination). Finally, if polycrystalline diamonds sampled an old mantle (1–3.2 Ga), the determined Xe isotopic signatures, which are similar to present MORB mantle – no fissiogenic Xe from fission of 238U being detectable – imply either that Xe isotopic ratios have not evolved within the convective mantle since diamond crystallization, or that these diamonds are actually much younger.  相似文献   

9.
Primordial neon,helium, and hydrogen in oceanic basalts   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  
A primordial neon component in neon from Kilauea Volcano and deep-sea tholeiite glass has been identified by the presence of excess20Ne; relative to atmospheric neon the20Ne enrichments are 5.4% in Kilauea neon and about 2.5% in the basalts. The20Ne anomalies are associated with high3He/4He ratios; the ratio in Kilauea helium is 15 times the atmospheric ratio, while mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Red Sea have uniform ratios about 10 times atmospheric. Mantle neon and helium are quite different in isotopic composition from crustal gases, which are highly enriched in radiogenic21Ne and4He. The21Ne/4He ratios in crustal gases are consistent with calculated values based on G. Wetherill's18O (α,n) reaction; the lack of20Ne enrichment in these gases shows that the mantle20Ne anomalies are not radiogenic.21Ne enrichments in Kilauea neon and “high-3He” Pacific tholeiites are much less than in crustal neon, about 2 ± 2% vs. present atmospheric neon, as expected from the much lower4He/Ne ratios.Neon concentrations in two Atlantic tholeiites were found to be only 1–2% of the values obtained by Dymond and Hogan; helium concentrations are slightly greater and our He/Ne ratios are greater by a factor of 150. The large Ne excess relative to solar wind and meteoritic gases is thus not confirmed. Pacific and Atlantic basalts appear to be quite different in He/Ne ratios however, and He and Ne may be inversely correlated. He concentration variations due to diffusive loss can be distinguished from variations due to two-phase partitioning or mantle heterogeneity by the effects on3He/4He ratios. The He isotopic and concentration measurements on “low-3He” basalts are consistent with diffusive loss and dilution of the 3/4 ratio by in-situ radiogenic4He, and may provide a method for dating basalt glasses.Deuterium/hydrogen ratios in Atlantic and Pacific tholeiite glasses are 77% lower than the ratio in seawater. The inverse correlation between deuterium and water content observed by Friedman in erupting Kilauea basalts is consistent with a Rayleigh separation process in which magmatic water is separated from an initial melt with the same D/H ratio as observed in deep-sea tholeiites. The consistency of the D/H ratios in tholeiites containing primordial He and Ne components indicates that these ratios are probably characteristic of primordial or juvenile hydrogen in the mantle.  相似文献   

10.
Rapidly cooled portions of eleven samples of mid-ocean ridge tholeiitic basalt pillows have noble gas abundance patterns which resemble the solar rare gas pattern rather than the noble gas pattern of the terrestrial atmosphere. We conclude that these samples contain primordial noble gases. In contrast, holocrystalline samples and a sample from the interior of a basalt pillow have noble gas abundance patterns which resemble the sea water pattern. Whereas the quenched glossy margins of basalt pillows record a non-atmospheric gas reservoir, these slowly cooled samples apparently have undergone exchange of their noble gases with those dissolved in sea water.  相似文献   

11.
It is generally believed a variation of 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the mantle is due to only the decay of U and Th,which produces4 He as well as heat.Here we show that not only3He/4He isotopic ratios but also helium contents can be fractionated by thermal diffusion in the lower mantle.The driving force for that fractionation is the adiabatic or convective temperature gradient,which always produces elemental and isotopic fractionation along temperature gradient by thermal diffusion with higher light/heavy isotopic ratio in the hot end.Our theoretical model and calculations indicate that the lower mantle is helium stratified,caused by thermal diffusion due to*400℃temperature contrast across the lower mantle.The highest3He/4He isotopic ratios and lowest He contents are in the lowermost mantle,which is a consequence of thermaldiffusion fractionation rather than the lower mantle is a primordial and undegassed reservoir.Therefore,oceanicisland basalts derived from the deepest lower mantle with high3He/4He isotopic ratios and less He contents—the long-standing helium paradox,is solved by our model.Because vigorous convection in the upper mantle had resulted in disordered or disorganized thermal-diffusion effects in He,Mid-ocean ridge basalts unaffected by mantle plume have a relatively homogenous and lower!3He/4He isotopic compositions.Our model also predicts that 3He/4He isotopic ratios in the deepest lower mantle of early Earth could be even higher than that of Jupiter,the initial He isotopic ratio in our solar system,because the temperature contrast across the lower mantle in the early Earth is the largest and less4 He had been produced by the decay of U and Th.Moreover,the early helium-stratified lower mantle owned the lowest He contents due to over-degassing caused by the largest temperature contrast.Consequently,succeeding evolution of the lower mantle is a He ingassed process due to secular cooling of the deepest mantle.This explains why significant amount of He produced by the decay of U and Th in the lower mantle were not released,another long-standing heat–helium paradox.  相似文献   

12.
(1) The observed anomalies in meteoritic oxygen isotope compositions are not due to an incomplete mixing of several dust or gas-plus-dust components in the solar nebula. If they were, other elements would display similar anomalies. (The FUN inclusions in Allende appear to be exceptions to this premise.) (2) The anomalies must therefore stem from differing degrees of incomplete exchange of oxygen isotopes between the primordial gas and dust components of the nebula. The dust is more likely to have been the16O-enriched component. (3) Since the isotopic difference between dust and gas probably could not have been preserved if the dust was ever completely vaporized in the nebula, the Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAI's) in carbonaceous chondrites are unlikely to be condensates, but instead are distillation residues. (4) If so, the observed depletion of super-refractory elements in the Group II CAI's cannot have been accomplished by fractional condensation in the solar nebula. (5) Then this depletion, and a number of other properties of the components of primitive meteoritic material, must be relics of pre-solar system fractionations among different populations of interstellar dust grains.  相似文献   

13.
It is not possible to consider the formation of the Earth in isolation without reference to the formation of the rest of the solar system. A brief account is given of the current scientific consensus on that topic, explaining the origin of an inner solar system rocky planet depleted in most of the gaseous and icy components of the original solar nebula. Volatile element depletion occurred at a very early stage in the nebula, and was probably responsible for the formation of Jupiter before that of the inner planets. The Earth formed subsequently from accumulation of a hierarchy of planetesimals. Evidence of these remains in the ancient cratered surfaces and the obliquities (tilts) of most planets. Earth melting occurred during this process, as well as from the giant Moon-forming impact. The strange density and chemistry of the Moon are consistent with an origin from the mantle of the impactor. Core-mantle separation on the Earth was coeval with accretion. Some speculations are given on the origin of the hydrosphere.  相似文献   

14.
Despite its importance to questions of lunar origin, the chemical composition of the Moon is not precisely known. In recent years, however, the isotopic composition of lunar samples has been determined to high precision and found to be indistinguishable from the terrestrial mantle despite widespread isotopic heterogeneity in the Solar System. In the context of the giant-impact hypothesis, this level of isotopic homogeneity can evolve if the proto-lunar disk and post-impact Earth undergo turbulent mixing into a single uniform reservoir while the system is extensively molten and partially vaporized. In the absence of liquid–vapor separation, such a model leads to the lunar inheritance of the chemical composition of the terrestrial magma ocean. Hence, the turbulent mixing model raises the question of how chemical differences arose between the silicate Earth and Moon. Here we explore the consequences of liquid–vapor separation in one of the settings relevant to the lunar composition: the silicate vapor atmosphere of the post-giant-impact Earth. We use a model atmosphere to quantify the extent to which rainout can generate chemical differences by enriching the upper atmosphere in the vapor, and show that plausible parameters can generate the postulated enhancement in the FeO/MgO ratio of the silicate Moon relative to the Earth's mantle. Moreover, we show that liquid–vapor separation also generates measurable mass-dependent isotopic offsets between the silicate Earth and Moon and that precise silicon isotope measurements can be used to constrain the degree of chemical fractionation during this earliest period of lunar history. An approach of this kind has the potential to resolve long-standing questions on the lunar chemical composition.  相似文献   

15.
When the proto-Earth was growing by the accretion of planetesimals and its mass became greater than about 0.1 ME, where ME is the present Earth's mass, an appreciable amount of gas of the surrounding solar nebula was attracted towards the proto-Earth to form an optically thick, dense atmosphere. We have studied the structure of this primordial atmosphere under the assumptions that (1) it is spherically symmetric and in hydrostatic equilibrium, and (2) the net energy outflow (i.e., the luminosity) is constant throughout the atmosphere and is given by GMM/R with M = M/106yr or M/107yr where M and R are the mass and the radius of the proto-Earth, respectively.The results of calculations show that the temperature at the bottom of the atmosphere, namely, at the surface of the proto-Earth increases greatly with the mass of the proto-Earth and it is about 1500°K for M = 0.25 ME. This high temperature is due to the blanketing effect of the opaque atmosphere. Thus, as long as the primordial solar nebula was existing, the surface temperature of the proto-Earth was kept high enough to melt most of the materials and, hence, the melted iron sedimented towards the center to form the Earth's core.  相似文献   

16.
During the formation of the solar nebula interstellar grains were fallling into the nebula with velocities of the order of 10 km/s at the radial distance where the meteorites were to form. This kinetic energy is 20 times the amount of thermal energy needed to melt the grains. The grains were decelerated by aerodynamic drag in the nebula. Where grain-rich parcels of interstellar material fell into the nebula, heat generated by drag could not be radiated away because of the opacity imparted to the system by the grains, and high temperatures were reached. In this situation presolar aggregations of grains would melt to form chondrules. Many of the properties of chondrules (and also CAI's) are consistent with their formation by this means. The infall heating concept provides a new framework in which the formation and significance of chondritic meteorites can be understood.  相似文献   

17.
In an effort to resolve the current conflict between geochemical requirements for an apparently isolated mantle reservoir and recent geophysical evidence for whole-mantle convection, we investigate the possibility that the region above the core-mantle boundary, termed D″, serves as an early-isolated, rare-gas- and incompatible-element-bearing reservoir, and we propose a mechanism for its formation that is a likely outcome of Earth accretion models. In these models, the most cataclysmic event in Earth history, the moon-forming giant impact on the proto-Earth of a Mars-size planet (perhaps as early as 4540 Ma ago) was followed by accretion of smaller bodies long afterwards (until ∼3900 Ma). Some collisions probably triggered melting, metal segregation and degassing. However, the small bodies, fragments, particles, dust, including those of chondrite-like composition, existed on near-earth orbits, were irradiated by intense solar wind, and finally fell on an early-formed, incompatible-element-enriched basaltic crust without causing extensive melting. The respective regions of the crust, loaded with chondrite-like debris, were therefore significantly enriched in iron. When this mixed material was subducted, the bulk density of the subducted lithosphere exceeded that of the bulk silicate mantle, which had already lost its metallic iron to the core. Segregation of this denser material at the base of the mantle was facilitated by the high temperatures at the core-mantle boundary, which greatly reduce the viscosity, as was quantitatively modelled by Christensen and Hofmann (Christensen, U.R., Hofmann, A.W., 1994. Segregation of subducted oceanic-crust in the convecting mantle. J. Geophys. Res.-Solid Earth 99 (B10), 19867–19884). Assuming a basalt/chondrite mass ratio of about 4/1, we obtain a density contrast of ∼7%, which would stabilize the subducted material between the metal core and silicate mantle.Mass balance considerations and preliminary results of geochemical modelling of the above scenario (similar to that performed by Tolstikhin and Marty [Tolstikhin, I.N., Marty, B., 1998. The evolution of terrestrial volatiles, A view from helium, neon, argon and nitrogen isotope modeling. Chem. Geol. 147, 27–52]) show the potential geochemical importance of D″. (1) Modelling of Pu–U–I–Xe isotope systematics predicts formation of this reservoir early in Earth history, ∼100 Ma after formation of the Solar system. (2) The total amount of heat-generating U, Th, K (and other highly incompatible elements) in D″ exceeds 20% of the Earth inventory, and a similar portion of terrestrial heat is being transferred from the core + D″ into the base of the overlying convecting mantle. (3) D″ is enriched in solar implanted rare gases because the small (re)-accreting debris with high surface/mass ratios will have been subjected to intense radiation by the early sun. (4) Rare gases diffuse from D″ into the overlying mantle and are then transferred into upwelling plumes, which originate above D″. In addition, small amounts of D″ material may be entrained by the mantle convective flow as was recently discussed by Schott et al. [Schott, B., Yuen, D.A., Braun, A., 2002. The influences of composition and temperature-dependent rheology in thermal-chemical convection on entrainment of the D″ layer. Physics Earth Planet. Inter. 129, 43–65]. From the rare-gas modelling it follows that initially (∼4500 Ma ago) D″ could have been more massive by a factor of ∼1.2 than at present (about 2 × 1026 g). The present-day mass flux from D″ into the convecting mantle is estimated to be ≤0.05 × 1016 g year−1, a factor of ∼100 less than the rate of ridge magmatism. This small contribution of D″ material makes it difficult to trace fingerprints of D″ even using such sensitive tracers as Pb isotope ratios. (5) The density contrast that stabilizes D″ is maintained by its higher intrinsic density due to the iron-rich chondrite-like component. Subduction of this material, its entrainment by convective mantle flow and mixing could also account for the preservation of the chondritic relative abundances of siderophile elements in the mantle. If D″ is partially molten, the density contrast may be caused by a high-density melt fraction.  相似文献   

18.
The relationships between the major terrestrial volatile reservoirs are explored by resolving the different components in the Xe isotope signatures displayed by Harding County and Caroline CO2 well gases and mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). For the nonradiogenic isotopes, there is evidence for the presence of components enhanced in the light 124–128Xe/130Xe isotope ratios with respect to the terrestrial atmosphere. The observation of small but significant elevations of these ratios in the MORB and well gas reservoirs means that the nonradiogenic Xe in the atmosphere cannot be the primordial base composition in the mantle. The presence of solar-like components, for example U–Xe, solar wind Xe, or both, is required.For radiogenic Xe generated by decay of short-lived 129I and 244Pu, the 129Xerad/136Xe244 ratios are indistinguishable in MORB and the present atmosphere, but differ by approximately an order of magnitude between the MORB and well gas sources. Correspondence of these ratios in MORB and the atmosphere within the relatively small uncertainties found here significantly constrains possible mantle degassing scenarios. The widely held view that substantial early degassing of 129Xerad and 136Xe244 from the MORB reservoir to the atmosphere occurred and then ended while 129I was still alive is incompatible with equal ratios, and so is not a possible explanation for observed elevations of 129Xe/130Xe in MORB compared to the atmosphere. Detailed degassing chronologies constructed from the isotopic composition of MORB Xe are therefore questionable.If the present estimate for the uranium/iodine ratio in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) is taken to apply to all interior volatile reservoirs, the differing 129Xerad/136Xe244 ratios in MORB and the well gases point to two episodes of major mantle degassing, presumably driven by giant impacts, respectively  20–50 Ma and  95–100 Ma after solar system origin assuming current values for initial 129I/127I and 244Pu/238U. The earlier time range, for degassing of the well gas source, spans Hf–W calculations for the timing of a moon-forming impact. The second, later impact further outgassed the upper mantle and MORB source. A single event that degassed both the MORB and gas well reservoirs at the time of the moon-forming collision would be compatible with their distinct 129Xerad/136Xe244 ratios only if the post-impact iodine abundance in the MORB reservoir was about an order of magnitude lower than current estimates. In either case, such late dates require large early losses of noble gases, so that initial inventories acquired throughout the Earth must have been substantially higher.The much larger 129Xerad/136Xe244 ratio in the well gases compared to MORB requires that these two Xe components evolve from separate interior reservoirs that have been effectively isolated from each other for most of the age of the planet, but are now seen within the upper mantle. These reservoirs have maintained distinct Xe isotope signatures despite having similar Ne isotope compositions that reflect similar degassing histories. This suggests that the light noble gas and radiogenic Xe isotopes are decoupled, with separate long-term storage of the latter. However, without data on the extent of heterogeneities within the upper mantle, this conclusion cannot be easily reconciled with geophysical observations without significant re-evaluation of present noble gas models. Nevertheless the analytic evidence that two different values of 129Xerad/136Xe244 exist in the Earth appears firm. If the uranium/iodine ratio is approximately uniform throughout the BSE, it follows that degassing events from separate reservoirs at different times are recorded in the currently available terrestrial Xe data.  相似文献   

19.
The rare gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe were measured in bulk samples of Yamato 74123. The 3He and 21Ne exposure ages are found to be 5.50 Ma and 2.83 Ma, respectively. In addition to the cosmogenic component the samples contain primordial rare gases of the fractionated type in amounts typical of ureilites. In a three-isotope plot neon turns out to be a mixture of planetary neon and cosmogenic neon.The elements Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni have been determined by spark source mass spectrometry in Yamato 74123 and for comparison in the ureilites Haveröand Kenna. The chemical composition as well as the noble gas abundance pattern identify Yamato 74123 as an ureilite.  相似文献   

20.
The isotopic compositions of terrestrial hydrogen and nitrogen are clearly different from those of the nebular gas from which the solar system formed, and also differ from most of cometary values. Terrestrial N and H isotopic compositions are in the range of values characterizing primitive meteorites, which suggests that water, nitrogen, and other volatile elements on Earth originated from a cosmochemical reservoir that also sourced the parent bodies of primitive meteorites. Remnants of the proto-solar nebula (PSN) are still present in the mantle, presumably signing the sequestration of PSN gas at an early stage of planetary growth. The contribution of cometary volatiles appears limited to a few percents at most of the total volatile inventory of the Earth. The isotope signatures of H, N, Ne and Ar can be explained by mixing between two end-members of solar and chondritic compositions, respectively, and do not require isotopic fractionation during hydrodynamic escape of an early atmosphere.The terrestrial inventory of 40Ar (produced by the decay of 40K throughout the Earth's history) suggests that a significant fraction of radiogenic argon may be still trapped in the silicate Earth. By normalizing other volatile element abundances to this isotope, it is proposed that the Earth is not as volatile-poor as previously thought. Our planet may indeed contain up to ~ 3000 ppm water (preferred range: 1000–3000 ppm), and up to ~ 500 ppm C, both largely sequestrated in the solid Earth. This volatile content is equivalent to an ~ 2 (± 1) % contribution of carbonaceous chondrite (CI-CM) material to a dry proto-Earth, which is higher than the contribution of chondritic material advocated to account for the platinum group element budget of the mantle. Such a (relatively) high contribution of volatile-rich matter is consistent with the accretion of a few wet planetesimals during Earth accretion, as proposed by recent dynamical models.The abundance pattern of major volatile elements and of noble gases is also chondritic, with two notable exceptions. Nitrogen is depleted by one order of magnitude relative to water, carbon and most noble gases, which is consistent with either N retention in a mantle phase during magma generation, or trapping of N in the core. Xenon is also depleted by one order of magnitude, and enriched in heavy isotopes relative to chondritic or solar Xe (the so-called “xenon paradox”). This depletion and isotope fractionation might have taken place due to preferential ionization of xenon by UV light from the early Sun, either before Earth's formation on parent material, or during irradiation of the ancient atmosphere. The second possibility is consistent with a recent report of chondritic-like Xe in Archean sedimentary rocks that suggests that this process was still ongoing during the Archean eon (Pujol et al., 2011). If the depletion of Xe in the atmosphere was a long-term process that took place after the Earth-building events, then the amounts of atmospheric 129Xe and 131–136Xe, produced by the short-lived radioactivities of 129I (T1/2 = 16 Ma) and 244Pu (T1/2 = 82 Ma), respectively, need to be corrected for subsequent loss. Doing so, the I–Pu–Xe age of the Earth becomes ≤ 50 Ma after start of solar system formation, instead of ~ 120 Ma as computed with the present-day atmospheric Xe inventory.  相似文献   

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