Petrogenetic relationship between Allan Hills 77005 and other achondrites     

Harry Y. McSween  Edward M. Stolper  Lawrence A. Taylor  Richard A. Muntean  G. Davis O&#x;Kelley  James S. Eldridge  Swarajranjan Biswas  Hung T. Ngo  Michael E. Lipschutz 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1979,45(2):275-284

Allan Hills (ALHA) 77005 is a newly discovered, unique achondrite from Antarctica. Petrologic similarities with the shergottites in terms of mineralogy, oxidation state, inferred source region composition, shock metamorphic effects and shock ages suggest a genetic relationship. Volatile to involatile element ratios (e.g. K/U, Rb/U, Cs/U, Tl/U) and abundances of other trace elements support this hypothesis. ALHA 77005 may be a cumulate that crystallized from a liquid parental to those from which the shergottites crystallized; alternatively it may be a sample of the type of source peridotite from which shergottite parent liquids were derived by partial melting. Chemical similarities with terrestrial ultramafic rocks suggest that this unique meteorite provides an additional sample of the only other solar system body known to have basalt source regions chemically similar to the upper mantle of the Earth.  相似文献   

Composition and classification of clasts in the St. Mesmin LL chondrite breccia     

Chen-Lin Chou  Derek W. Sears  John T. Wasson 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1981,54(3):367-378

Seven samples of the unique St. Mesmin meteorite have been analyzed by instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis for Na, Ca, Sc, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, Ge, Se, In, Sm, Yb, Ir and Au. St. Mesmin is unique in being the only ordinary chondrite known to contain an unmelted xenolith of another ordinary chondrite. Data for two host matrix samples and three light clasts are consistent with their classification as LL chondrite material. The composition of the large dark xenolith confirms earlier evidence that it is an H chondrite; volatile abundances are consistent with it being highly shocked, petrologic type-4 material. In an olivine microporphyry, siderophile abundances are mostly about 0.13 times LL abundances, an apparent indication of metal loss during the shock melting which produced the clast. As in other regolithic chondrites, the dark host has higher contents of highly volatile elements than do the light clasts. We suggest that this results from a combination of differences in intensity of preexisting metamorphism as well as a redistribution of volatiles during regolith gardening.The H-group xenolith in St. Mesmin is a relatively recent addition to the parent body (< 1.4 Ga ago), but it is argued that this does not require regolith activity at that time. Rather the view is supported that the regolith period occurred very early in the meteorite's history (&gsim;4.0 Ga ago) and may have been related to the growth of the parent body. The H-group fragment may be part of the projectile whose impact excavated the St. Mesmin meteoroid from the LL parent body.  相似文献   

Targeting the impactors: siderophile element signatures of lunar impact melts from Serenitatis     

Marc D. Norman  Vickie C. BennettGraham Ryder 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2002,202(2):217-228

Highly siderophile element compositions of lunar impact melt breccias provide a unique record of the asteroid population responsible for large cratering events in the inner Solar System. Melt breccias associated with the 3.89 Ga Serenitatis impact basin resolve at least two separate impact events. KREEP-rich melt breccias representing the Apollo 17 poikilitic suite are enriched in highly siderophile elements (3.6-15.8 ppb Ir) with CI-normalized patterns that are elevated in Re, Ru and Pd relative to Ir and Pt. The restricted range of lithophile element compositions combined with the coherent siderophile element signatures indicate formation of these breccias in a single impact event involving an EH chondrite asteroid, probably as melt sheet deposits from the Serenitatis Basin. One exceptional sample, a split from melt breccia 77035, has a distinctive lithophile element composition and a siderophile element signature more like that of ordinary chondrites, indicating a discrete impact event. The recognition of multiple impact events, and the clear signatures of specific types of meteoritic impactors in the Apollo 17 melt breccias, shows that the lunar crust was not comprehensively reworked by prior impacts from 3.9 to 4.5 Ga, an observation more consistent with a late cataclysm than a smoothly declining accretionary flux. Late accretion of enstatite chondrites during a 3.8-4.0 Ga cataclysm may have contributed to siderophile element heterogeneity on the Earth, but would not have made a significant contribution to the volatile budget of the Earth or oxidation of the terrestrial mantle. Siderophile element patterns of Apollo 17 poikilitic breccias become more fractionated with decreasing concentrations, trending away from known meteorite compositions to higher Re/Ir and Pd/Pt ratios. The compositions of these breccias may be explained by a two-stage impact melting process involving: (1) deep penetration of the Serenitatis impactor into meteorite-free lower crust, followed by (2) incorporation of upper crustal lithologies moderately contaminated by prior meteoritic infall into the melt sheet. Trends to higher Re/Ir with decreasing siderophile element concentrations may indicate an endogenous lunar crustal component, or a non-chondritic late accretionary veneer in the pre-Serenitatis upper crust.  相似文献   

Core formation and chemical equilibrium in the Earth—II: Chemical consequences for the mantle and core     

V. Rama Murthy  Shun-ichiro Karato 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1997,100(1-4):81-95

We present here a new model of core formation which is based on the current understanding of planetary accretion and discuss its implications for the chemistry of the Earth's mantle and core. Formation of the Earth by hierarchical accretion of progressively larger bodies on a time scale much longer than that of solid body differentiation in the nebula indicates that a significant fraction of metal in the core could be inherited from preterrestrially differentiated planetesimals. An analysis of the segregation of this iron to form the core suggests that most of the metal settles to the core without interaction with silicates; only a small fraction of the metal chemically equilibrates at high temperatures and pressures with the silicates. The siderophile element abundances in the mantle are considered to be a consequence of a two-step equilibration with iron, once preterrestrially in the planetesimals at low temperatures and pressures, and later in the Earth at high temperatures and pressures. The highly siderophile elements such as Re, Au and the platinum group elements in the mantle are essentially excluded from silicates from the preterrestrial equilibration. We attribute the abundances of these elements in the mantle to the later equilibration in the Earth at substantially reduced metal-silicate partition coefficients (D^met/sil), for which there is a considerable experimental evidence now. Mass balance considerations constrain the fraction of core metal involved in such an equilibration at approximately 0.3 – 0.5%. The model accounts for the levels and the near-chondritic ratios of the highly siderophile elements in the mantle. The mantle abundances of the less siderophile elements are largely determined by preterrestrial metal-silicate equilibrium and are not significantly affected by the second equilibration. The extreme depletion of sulfur and the lack of silicate melt-sulfide signature in the noble metal abundances in the mantle are natural consequences of this mode of core formation. Sulfur was added to the magma ocean during the high-T, high-P equilibration in the Earth, not extracted from it by sulfide segregation to the core. Except for Ni and Co, the overall siderophile abundances of the mantle can be well matched in this two-step equilibration model.

The mantle characteristics of Ni and Co are unique to the Earth and hence suggest a terrestrial process as the likely cause. One such process is the flotation and addition of olivine to the primitive upper mantle. In our model of core formation, neither the elemental and isotopic data of Re---Os, nor the low sulfur content of the mantle remains as an objection to the existence of a magma ocean and olivine flotation.

The small fraction of core metal that equilibrates with silicates at high T and P suggests that the light elements O, Si or H are unimportant in the core, leaving S (and possibly C) as prime candidates. Sulfur, as FeS associated with incoming iron metal, is directly sequestered to the core along with the bulk of the iron metal. It appears unlikely that other light elements can be added to the core after its formation. U and Th are excluded from the core but the model allows for entry of some K; however, the extent to which K serves as a heat source in the core remains uncertain.

The model is testable in two ways. One is by investigation of the metal-silicate partitioning at high temperatures and pressures under magma ocean conditions to determine if the (D^met/sil) values are lowered to the levels required in the model. The other is by experiments to determine if a solvus closure between metal and silicate liquids occurs at high temperatures relevant to a magma ocean.  相似文献   

Trace elements in ocean ridge basalts     

R.W. Kay  N.J. Hubbard 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1978,38(1):95-116

A correlary of sea floor spreading is that the production rate of ocean ridge basalts exceeds that of all other volcanic rocks on the earth combined. Basalts of the ocean ridges bring with them a continuous record in space and time of the chemical characteristics of the underlying mantle. The chemical record is once removed, due to chemical fractionation during partial melting. Chemical fractionations can be evaluated by assuming that peridotite melting has proceeded to an olivine-orthopyroxene stage, in which case the ratios of a number of magmaphile elements in the extracted melt closely match the ratios in the mantle. Comparison of ocean ridge basalts and chondritic meteorites reveals systematic patterns of element fractionation, and what is probably a double depletion in some elements. The first depletion is in volatile elements and is due to high accretion temperatures of a large percentage of the earth from the solar nebula. The second depletion is in the largest, most highly charged lithophile elements (“incompatible elements”), probably because the mantle source of the basalts was melted previously, and the melt, enriched in these elements, was removed. Migration of melt relative to solid under ocean ridges and oceanic plates, element fractionation at subduction zones, and fractional melting of amphibolite in the Precambrian are possible mechanisms for depleting the mantle in incompatible elements. Ratios of transition metals in the mantle source of ocean ridge basalts are close to chondritic, and contrast to the extreme depletion of refractory siderophile elements, the reason for which remains uncertain. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry along the length of the ridge has been correlated with ridge elevation. Thus chemically anomalous ridge segments up to 1000 km long appear to broadly coincide with regions of high magma production (plumes, hot spots). Basalt heterogeneity at a single location indicates mantle heterogeneity on a smaller scale. Variation of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with time has not been established, in fact, criteria for recognizing old oceanic crust in ophiolite terrains are currently under debate. The similarity of rare earth element patterns in basalt from ocean ridges, back-arc basins, some young island arcs, and some continental flood basalts illustrates the dangers of tectonic labeling by rare earth element pattern.  相似文献   

Electromagnetic evidence for lateral inhomogeneities within the Earth's upper mantle     

R.G. Roberts 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1983,33(3):198-212

The composition of the upper mantle is of great significance to our understanding of plate tectonics and global evolution. Information about the physical properties of the Earth at upper mantle depths, including lateral variations in electrical conductivity, can be deduced from measurements of the electric and magnetic fields at the Earth's surface. Electromagnetic methods appear to give poorer resolution than do some other methods, for example seismics, but as they are sensitive to quite different properties of a medium they provide a different and complementary class of information.The basic theory of electromagnetic sounding methods is briefly reviewed below, and evidence regarding lateral conductivity inhomogeneities in the Earth's upper mantle is examined. While lateral electrical conductivity inhomogeneities appear to be the rule rather than the exception, the interpretation of electromagnetic data still presents difficulties and the results from many regions are not as yet unambiguous. Where the data are of sufficient resolution, a rapid increase in electrical conductivity can usually be identified within the upper mantle. The depth to this highly conductive zone is different in different tectonic environments, but is broadly consistent between analogous but widely separated tectonic environments. A comparatively shallow conducting region is found beneath the ocean lithosphere. The depth of this region is dependent on lithospheric age. Many of the more shallow conducting regions in both continental and oceanic environments are associated with high heat flow values and seismic low velocity zones. These highly conducting regions may be zones of partial melt.  相似文献   

Internal constitution and evolution of the moon     

Sean C. Solomon  M. Nafi Toksöz 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1973,7(1):15-38

The composition, structure and evolution of the moon's interior are narrowly constrained by a large assortment of physical and chemical data. Models of the thermal evolution of the moon that fit the chronology of igneous activity on the lunar surface, the stress history of the lunar lithosphere implied by the presence of mascons, and the surface concentrations of radioactive elements, involve extensive differentiation early in lunar history. This differentiation may be the result of rapid accretion and large-scale melting or of primary chemical layering during accretion; differences in present-day temperatures for these two possibilities are significant only in the inner 1000 km of the moon and may not be resolvable. If the Apollo 15 heat-flow result is representative of the moon, the average uranium concentration in the moon is 0.05–0.08 p.p.m.Density models for the moon, including the effects of temperature and pressure, can be made to satisfy the mass and moment of inertia of the moon and the presence of a low-density crust inferred from seismic refraction studies only if the lunar mantle is chemically or mineralogically inhomogeneous. The upper mantle must exceed the density of the lower mantle at similar conditions by at least 5%. The average mantle density is that of a pyroxenite or olivine pyroxenite, though the density of the upper mantle may exceed 3.5 g/cm³. The density of the lower mantle is less than that of the combined crust and upper mantle at similar temperature and pressure, thus reinforcing arguments for early moon-wide differentiation of both major and minor elements. The suggested density inversion is gravitationally unstable and implies stresses in the mantle 2–5 times those associated with the lunar gravitational field, a difficulty that can be explained or avoided by: (1) adopting lower values for the moment of inertia and/or crustal thickness, or (2) postulating that the strength of the lower mantle increases with depth or with time, either of which is possible for certain combinations of composition and thermal evolution.A small iron-rich core in the moon cannot be excluded by the moon's mass and moment of inertia. If such a core were molten at the time lunar surface rocks acquired remanent magnetization, then thermal-history models with initially cold interiors strongly depleted in radioactive heat sources as a primary accretional feature must be excluded. Further, the presence of ～||pre|40 K in a FeFeS core could significantly alter the thermal evolution and estimated present-day temperatures of the deep lunar interior.  相似文献   

Martian mantle mineralogy investigated by the Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd systematics of shergottites     

V. Debaille  Q.-Z. Yin  A.D. Brandon  B. Jacobsen 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2008,269(1-2):186-199

Chemical heterogeneities in the Martian mantle are believed to result from the crystallization of a magma ocean in the first 100 million years of its history. Shergottite meteorites from Mars are thought to retain a compositional record of such early differentiation and the resulting mineralogy at different depths. The coupled ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd isotope systematics in 9 shergottites are used here to investigate these issues. Three compositional groups in the shergottites display distinct isotope systematics. One group, commonly termed as depleted, is characterized by positive ¹⁷⁶Hf_i from + 46.2 to + 50.4 and ¹⁴³Nd_i from + 36.2 to + 39.1. Another, termed as enriched, has negative ¹⁷⁶Hf_i = − 16.5 to − 13.2 and ¹⁴³Nd_i = − 7.0 to − 6.5. The third group is intermediate between the depleted and enriched groups with positive ¹⁷⁶Hf_i = + 30.0 to + 33.4 and ¹⁴³Nd_i = + 16.9. Together, they describe mixing curves between ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, Lu/Hf, and Sm/Nd, implying that they sample two distinct sources in the Martian mantle. All shergottites are characterized by (Sm/Nd)_source < (Sm/Nd)_sample, but (Lu/Hf)_source > (Lu/Hf)_sample. This decoupling can be explained by two successive partial melting episodes in the depleted shergottite source and localized in the Martian upper mantle. The genesis of shergottites can be modeled using non-modal equilibrium partial melting in a source initially composed of 60% olivine, 21% clinopyroxene, 9% orthopyroxene, and 10% garnet, with degrees of partial melting of 8.8% and 3.9%, respectively, for the two successive events. The enriched end-member of the shergottite mixing curve is best modeled by late-stage quenched residual melt resulting from the crystallization of a magma ocean. The depleted shergottite source may be modeled as a mixture of cumulates and residual melt, as convection in the Martian magma ocean is expected to reduce the incompatible trace element heterogeneity in the final solidified layers. Consequently, equilibrium crystallization is preferred to model the crystallization of the Martian magma ocean. The models that best explain the shergottite data are those where the magma ocean is at a depth of at least 1350 km in Mars.  相似文献   

Effect of enstatite activity and oxygen partial pressure on the point-defect chemistry of olivine     

R.L. Stocker  D.M. Smyth 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1978,16(2):145-156

The variation of the point-defect concentrations in olivine with changes in enstatite activity and oxygen partial pressure are derived from formal thermodynamic arguments. Two models for these variations are constructed; the models differ in the choice of the approximate charge-neutrality condition in the near-stoichiometric regime. Under favorable circumstances, the effect of the oxygen partial pressure on olivine's point-defect chemistry can provide a diagnostic technique. Activity differences within the upper mantle may have a significant effect on olivine's transport properties because of their effect on the point-defect concentrations. The activity of enstatite plays an important role in the point-defect chemistry of olivine.  相似文献   

CO₂- and LREE-rich mantle below eastern Australia: a REE and isotopic study of alkaline magmas and apatite-rich mantle xenoliths from the Southern Highlands Province,Australia     

Martin A. Menzies  Suzanne Y. Wass 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1983,65(2):287-302

Alkaline magmatism in the Southern Highlands Province, New South Wales, Australia is associated with continental rifting. Near-primary liquids have a wide range in Nd and Sr isotope composition that indicates gross isotopic and chemical heterogeneities in a mantle source region depleted in light rare earth elements (LREE) for much of Earth's history. The large-ion lithophile element and LREE-enriched nature of the primary lavas ((Ce)_N = 95–182 and (Yb)_N = 8.5–13.3) is consistent with an enriched mantle source region. This elemental enrichment may be accomplished by veining of the subcontinental mantle with volatile-rich phases like amphibole, apatite and carbonate which provide the volatile flux necessary to trigger anatexis.Degassing of mantle CO₂ has led to migration of LREE-enriched fluids and local transformation of the lherzolitic mantle to pyroxenite veined by apatite ± kaersutite ± mica ± diopside. The mantle veining event may be related to upwelling of silica-undersaturated incompatible element-enriched magmas similar to the host magma of the Kiama xenoliths. In a relatively short period of time (100 m.y.), the Sr and Nd isotopes in essentially LREE-depleted mantle have evolved in response to low Sm/Nd and low Rb/Sr ratios, and now define a near-vertical vector on a isotope-isotope plot. From this rather unique signature we can infer that CO₂- and LREE-rich, Rb-poor mantle is a potentially suitable mantle source region for the genesis of alkali-potassic volcanic rocks characterized by a narrow range in⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio and a wide range in¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio (e.g. Leucite Hills).  相似文献   

Siderophile and chalcophile element abundances in oceanic basalts, Pb isotope evolution and growth of the Earth''s core   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

H.E. Newsom  W.M. White  K.P. Jochum  A.W. Hofmann 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1986,80(3-4):299-313

We have investigated the hypothesis that mantle Pb isotope ratios reflect continued extraction of Pb into the Earth's core over geologic time. The Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, and the abundance of siderophile and chalcophile elements (W, Mo and Pb) and incompatible lithophile elements have been determined for a suite of ocean island and mid-ocean ridge basalt samples. Over the observed range in Pb isotopic compositions for oceanic rocks, we found no systematic variation of siderophile or chalcophile element abundances relative to abundances of similarly incompatible, but lithophile, elements. The high sensitivity of theMo/Pr ratio to segregation of Fe-metal or S-rich metallic liquid (sulfide) and the observed constantMo/Pr ratio rules out the core formation model as an explanation for the Pb paradox. The mantle and crust have the sameMo/Pr and the sameW/Ba ratios, suggesting that these ratios reflect the ratio in the Earth's primitive mantle.

Our data also indicate that thePb/Ce ratio of the mantle is essentially constant, but the presentPb/Ce ratio in the mantle ( 0.036) is too low to represent the primitive value ( 0.1) derived from Pb isotope systematics. HigherPb/Ce ratios in the crust balance the lowPb/Ce of the mantle, and crust and mantle appear to sum to a reasonable terrestrialPb/Ce ratio. The constancy of thePb/Ce ratio in a wide variety of oceanic magma types from diverse mantle reservoirs indicates this ratio is not fractionated by magmatic processes. This suggests crust formation must have involved non-magmatic as well as magmatic processes. Hydrothermal activity at mid-ocean ridges may result in significant non-magmatic transport of Pb from mantle to crust and of U from crust to mantle, producing a higherU/Pb ratio in the mantle than in the total crust. We suggest that the lower crust is highly depleted in U and has unradiogenic Pb isotope ratios which balance the radiogenic Pb of upper crust and upper mantle. The differences between thePb/Ce ratio in sediments, this ratio in primitive mantle, and the observed ratio in oceanic basalts preclude both sediment recycling and mixing of primitive and depleted reservoirs from being important sources of chemical heterogeneities in the mantle.  相似文献   

The relationship between calc-alkaline volcanism and within-plate continental rift volcanism: evidence from Scottish Palaeozoic lavas     

Pauline L. Smedley   《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1986,77(1)

Lower Carboniferous lavas from the Midland Valley and adjacent regions of Scotland are mildly alkaline and intraplate in nature. The sequence is dominated by basalt and hawaiite, although mugearite, benmoreite, trachyte and rhyolite are also present. Basic volcanic rocks display the LIL element and LREE enrichment typical of intraplate alkali basalt terrains. Low initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7029–0.7046), high ε_Nd (−0.4 to +5.6) and moderately radiogenic²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.77–18.89) ratios are also comparable with alkali basalts from other continental rifts and oceanic islands.When the Carboniferous lavas are compared with subduction-related lavas of Old Red Sandstone age, erupted in and around the Midland Valley ca. 50 Ma earlier (at 410 Ma) remarkable similarities are apparent. Significant overlap occurs in Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. Sr isotopic compositions are, however, more radiogenic in the older subduction-related lavas. This, combined with high K and Rb concentrations in ORS lavas may be explained by the incorporation of a sediment component derived from the subducted slab, which by Lower Carboniferous times had been lost from the mantle source region by convection. A pronounced negative Nb anomaly in the ORS subduction-related lavas may be explained by the retention of a Nb-bearing phase in the mantle during hydrous melting of the mantle wedge above the subduction zone.Allowing for the effects of the added component from the subducted slab, there appears to be no necessity to invoke separate mantle source regions for the two suites of lavas: both may have been derived from chemically similar portions of mantle. If volcanic arc lavas are derived from the mantle wedge, the implication is that such a source lies at relatively shallow depth within the upper mantle: the same may therefore apply to the Carboniferous continental rift basalts. This evidence, combined with the fact that there is no evident hot-spot trail across the Midland Valley despite a long period of within-plate volcanism and rapid plate movements during the Carboniferous, suggests that the alkali basalt magmatism is not the product of a deep-seated mantle plume. Rather, the volcanism appears to owe more to passive rifting and to diapiric upwelling from a source region within the uppermost mantle.  相似文献   

Introduction     

H. Craig 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1984,71(2):354-355

We have recently measured the concentrations of W and Mo in a large number of terrestrial samples using a new neutron activation analysis method and from these data we have estimated the abundance of these elements in the mantle. The new Mo mantle abundance of 59 ppb is much lower, the W mantle abundance of 10 ppb is somewhat lower than previous estimates. The concentrations of W in some ocean floor basalts are much lower than previously reported. The good correlation of W with U confirms the highly incompatible behavior of W and the good correlation of Mo with Nd indicates a moderately incompatible nature for Mo.The new data on W and Mo provide important constraints regarding the possible mechanisms of core formation and accretion because W and Mo are refractory elements under reducing conditions which would have accreted in the Earth in chondritic proportions, unaffected by volatility. The Mo/W ratio of 5.9 in the mantle is less than a factor of two lower than the chondritic ratio of 9.8. The ratio of Mo to W is a sensitive indicator for metal or sulfide fractionation, because Mo is more siderophile and more chalcophile than W. This tightly limits the amount of metal or sulfide segregation from the mantle to less than 0.1% since the end of accretion. The data for the moderately siderophile elements Mo, W, Co and Ni suggest that core formation in the Earth was essentially complete after 85–95% of the Earth had accreted.  相似文献   

Siderophile element fractionation in enstatite chondrites     

Ermanno R. Rambaldi  Miguel Cendales 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1980,48(2):325-334

The concentration of 10 to 15 siderophile elements was determined in the magnetic and non-magnetic portions of Abee (E4) and Hvittis (E6). The results indicate that, with the exception of Cu, W and Fe, all elements are strongly concentrated in the metal phase. Unlike ordinary chondrites, the metal phase of Abee and Hvittis consists exclusively of kamacite, which is very homogeneous and shows no systematic variation in composition with grain size.Differences in siderophile element content between Abee and Hvittis can be accounted for exclusively by differences in metal content and composition. These differences reflect different degrees of refractory siderophile loss, metal-silicate fractionation and loss of moderately volatile elements. The Ir/Ni ratio is 25% lower in Abee than in Hvittis, indicating that more Ir (Os, Pt, etc.) was lost from Abee during the refractory element fractionation. Abee and the other E4–5 members have also lost no metal and are not depleted in moderately volatile elements. In Abee the non-refractory elements Fe to Ge are present in CI ratios, and this meteorite has also Ir/Re ratios ?CI.These differences, which are recorded in the composition of the metal phase, make a straightforward genetic relationship between the two enstatite chondrite groups difficult to accept. In particular, the different Ir/Ni ratios, which were established very early in the chemical history of these chondrites, at the time of the refractory element fractionation, force us to conclude that E4–5 and E6 chondrites evolved from two different reservoirs, and that exchange of material among them never occurred. However, members of both groups have similar cosmic ray exposure ages suggesting derivation from the same parent body, which poses some interesting problems.  相似文献   

Chemical structure and evolution of the mantle and continents determined by inversion of Nd and Sr isotopic data,I. Theoretical methods     

C.J. Allègre  S.R. Hart  J.-F. Minster 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1983

While the chemical structure of the earth's mantle is probably rather complex, multi-box models have been used as a first approximation to evaluate this structure. Most commonly, a three-box model is used, involving the continental crust, the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The depleted upper mantle and the continental crust are assumed to represe1nt complementary reservoirs, related by crust formation processes occurring during geologic history.Here we investigate the Rb/Sr and Sm/Nd isotopic systematics of several three-box models, using mass balance equations and the definition of the mean age of the reservoirs. The geochemical uniqueness of the models, chosen from a large family of possible models, is evaluated from elementary graph theory, and these models are then solved using a total inversion approach. This paper (Part I) describes the methodology of the procedure; the companion paper (Part II) discusses the application of this approach to multi-box mantle models.  相似文献   

Geodynamics and state of the earth's interior     

Heinz Stiller  Siegfried Franck  Diedrich Möhlmann 《Journal of Geodynamics》1984,1(1):79-100

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Birch's diagram: Some new observations     

Liu Lin-Gun 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1974,8(1):56-62

Birch's diagram plotting the hydrodynamic sound velocity versus density for several metals is used in many of his publications and a number of textbooks to demonstrate the chemical changes from the earth's mantle to the core. This diagram is thoroughly discussed in this paper on the basis of theory and the periodic property for the density of elements. Birch's conclusion that “even without information concerning chemical abundances, these relations indicate that the mantle is composed principally of light elements and the core of elements of the iron group” is not convincing in the view of the present study. A more detailed velocity-density plot for all the solid elements having their densities in the range 1.5 – 8 g/cm³ excludes any elements lighter (of lower atomic weight or number) than vanadium as likely candidates for core values.  相似文献   

Velocity-density systematics,mean atomic weight,and the interior of the moon     

J.Peter Watt 《Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors》1981,25(1):57-63

Mean atomic weight profiles for the lunar mantle have been calculated from velocity-density systematic relations using lunar density and seismic velocity models. Despite large variability among the models, the calculation including Poisson's ratio yields a range of mean atomic weight values between 22 and 23 g mol^?1 below 150 km. A similar calculation for the Earth's mantle produces a mean atomic weight of 21.1 ±0.4 g mol^?1. This suggests that the Moon cannot be derived directly from the Earth's mantle, or that it has had a differentiation history different from the Earth's. The lunar $\text{m}\text{'}\text{s}$ require an Fe mole fraction between 0.25 and 0.33 for a pure olivine mantle, or between 0.33 and 0.45 for pure pyroxene.The present profiles are 0.5–3.0 g mol^?1 higher than those calculated from lunar compositional models based on lunar rock compositions and petrology and assumed lunar histories, indicating inadequacies in either the seismic or compositional models, or in both. The mean atomic weight approach provides a method of comparing the consistency of seismic and compositional models of planetary interiors.  相似文献   

A komatiite component in Apollo 16 highland breccias: implications for the nickel-cobalt systematics and bulk composition of the moon     

A.E. Ringwood  Stefan Seifert  Heinrich Wnke 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》1987,81(2-3)

The lunar crust at the Apollo 16 landing site contains substantial amounts of a “primitive component” in which the ferromagnesian group of elements is concentrated. The composition of this component can be retrieved via an analysis of mixing relationships displayed by lunar breccias. It is found to be a komatiite which is compositionally similar to terrestrial komatiites both in major and minor elements. The komatiite component of the lunar crust is believed to have formed by extensive degrees of melting of the lunar interior at depths greater than were involved in the formation of the lunar magma ocean which was parental to the crust. After formation of the anorthositic crust, it was invaded by extensive flows and intrusions of komatiite magma from these deeper source regions. The komatiites became intimately mixed with the anorthosite by intensive meteoroid impacts about 4.5 b.y. ago, thereby accounting for the observed mixing relationships displayed by the crust. The compositional similarity between lunar and terrestrial komatiites strongly implies a corresponding similarity between the compositions of their source regions in the lunar interior and the Earth's upper mantle. The composition of the lunar interior can be modelled more specifically by combining the komatiite composition with its liquidus olivine composition (as determined experimentally) in proportions chosen so as to produce a cosmochemically acceptable range of Mg/Si ratios for the bulk Moon. Except for higher FeO and lower Na₂O, the range of compositions thereby obtained for the bulk moon is very similar to the composition of the Earth's upper mantle.The effects of meteoritic contamination on the abundances of cobalt and nickel in lunar highland breccias were subtracted on the assumption that the contaminating projectiles were chondritic. The cobalt and nickel residuals thereby obtained were found to correlate strongly with the (Mg + Fe) content of the breccias, demonstrating that the Co and Ni are associated with the ferromagnesian component of the breccias and are genuinely indigenous to the Moon. The lunar highland Co and Ni residuals also display striking Ni/Co versus Ni correlations which follow a similar trend to those displayed by terrestrial basalts, picrites and komatiites. The lunar trends provide further decisive evidence of the indigenous nature of the Co and Ni residuals and suggest the operation of extensive fractionation controlled by olivine-liquid equilibria in producing the primitive component of the lunar breccias. Indigenous nickel abundances at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites are much lower than at the Apollo 16 site, although rocks from all sites follow the same Ni/Co versus Ni trends. It is suggested that the primitive component at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites was generally of basaltic composition, in contrast to the komatiitic nature of the Apollo 16 primitive component.  相似文献   

Origin of volcanic rocks from Stromboli (Italy)     

C. Dupuy  J. Dostal  M. Girod  M. Liotard 《Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research》1981,10(1-3)

Quaternary volcanic rocks of Stromboli (Italy) can be divided into older calc-alkaline and younger shoshonitic series. The SiO₂ contents of the rocks range from 50% to 61% but the majority of them are basalts. The rocks show systematic variations in chemical composition which correlate with the volcanic stratigraphy, such that, at a given SiO₂ content, K and other incompatible elements such as REE increase with decreasing age. In addition, the La/Yb ratio increases while the K/Rb, K/Ba, Zr/Ce and Zr/Nb ratios decrease towards the top of the volcanic pile. On the other hand, the abundances of transition elements, V, Co, Sc and Zn, like most major elements are broadly similar in comparable rocks of different ages. It is suggested that the parent magmas were derived by partial melting from upper mantle peridotite enriched in incompatible elements by fluids released from the descending oceanic lithosphere. The temporal chemical variations may probably be related to the lengths of time during which fluids were in contact with the upper mantle source.  相似文献