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1.
The thermal histories of Martian meteorite are important for the interpretation of petrologic, geochemical, geochronological, and paleomagnetic constraints that they provide on the evolution of Mars. In this paper, we quantify 40Ar/39Ar ages and Ar diffusion kinetics of Martian meteorites Allan Hills (ALH) 84001, Nakhla, and Miller Range (MIL) 03346. We constrain the thermal history of each meteorite and discuss the resulting implications for their petrology, paleomagnetism, and geochronology. Maskelynite in ALH 84001 yields a 40Ar/39Ar isochron age of 4163 ± 35 Ma, which is indistinguishable from recent Pb-Pb (Bouvier et al., 2009a) and Lu-Hf ages (Lapen et al., 2010). The high precision of this result arises from clear resolution of a reproducible trapped 40Ar/36Ar component in maskelynite in ALH 84001 (40Ar/36Ar = 632 ± 90). The maskelynite 40Ar/39Ar age predates the Late Heavy Bombardment and likely represents the time at which the original natural remanent magnetization (NRM) component observed in ALH 84001 was acquired. Nakhla and MIL 03346 yield 40Ar/39Ar isochron ages of 1332 ± 24 and 1339 ± 8 Ma, respectively, which we interpret to date crystallization. Multi-phase, multi-domain diffusion models constrained by the observed Ar diffusion kinetics and 40Ar/39Ar age spectra suggest that localized regions within both ALH 84001 and Nakhla were intensely heated for brief durations during shock events at 1158 ± 110 and 913 ± 9 Ma, respectively. These ages may date the marginal melting of pyroxene in each rock, mobilization of carbonates and maskelynite in ALH 84001, and NRM overprints observed in ALH 84001. The inferred peak temperatures of the shock heating events (>1400 °C) are sufficient to mobilize Ar, Sr, and Pb in constituent minerals, which may explain some of the dispersion observed in 40Ar/39Ar, Rb-Sr, and U-Th-Pb data toward ages younger than ∼4.1 Ga. The data also place conservative upper bounds on the long-duration residence temperatures of the ALH 84001 and Nakhla protolith to be  °C and  °C over the last ∼4.16 Ga and ∼1.35 Ga, respectively. MIL 03346 has apparently not experienced significant shock-heating since it crystallized, consistent with the fact that various chronometers yield concordant ages.  相似文献   

2.
Portales Valley, Sombrerete, and Northwest Africa (NWA) 176 are three unrelated meteorites, which consist of silicate mixed with substantial amounts of metal and which likely formed at elevated temperatures as a consequence of early impacts on their parent bodies. Measured 39Ar-40Ar ages of these meteorites are 4477 ± 11 Ma and 4458 ± 16 Ma (two samples of Portales Valley), 4541 ± 12 Ma, and 4524 ± 13 Ma, respectively (Ma = million years; all one-sigma errors). The Ar-Ar data for Portales Valley show no evidence of later open system behavior suggested by some other chronometers. Measured 129I-129Xe ages of these three meteorites are 4559.9 ± 0.5 Ma, 4561.9 ± 1.0 Ma, and ∼4544 Ma, respectively (relative to Shallowater = 4562.3 ± 0.4 Ma). From stepwise temperature release data, we determined the diffusion characteristics for Ar and Xe in our samples and calculated approximate closure temperatures for the K-Ar and I-Xe chronometers. Adopting results and interpretations about these meteorites from some previous workers, we evaluated all these data against various thermal cooling models. We conclude that Portales Valley formed 4560 Ma ago, cooled quickly to below the I-Xe closure temperature, then cooled deep within the parent body at a rate of ∼4 °C/Ma through K-Ar closure. We conclude that Sombrerete formed 4562 Ma ago and cooled relatively quickly. NWA 176 likely formed and cooled quickly ∼4544 Ma ago, or later than formation times of most meteorite parent bodies. For all three meteorites, the Ar-Ar ages are in better agreement with I-Xe ages and preferred thermal models if we increase these Ar-Ar ages by ∼20 Ma. Such age corrections would be consistent with probable errors in 40K decay parameters in current use, as suggested by others. The role of impact heating and possible disruption and partial reassembly of meteorite parent bodies to form some meteorites likely was an important process in the early solar system.  相似文献   

3.
The 40Ar/39Ar stepwise crushing technique is applied for the first time to date garnet from ultra-high-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) eclogites. Three garnet samples from the Bixiling eclogites analyzed by 40Ar/39Ar stepwise crushing yield regular, predictable age spectra, and a clear separation between excess 40Ar and concordant plateau and isochron ages. All three age spectra begin with high apparent ages followed by step by step decreasing ages, and finally age plateaux with apparent ages in the range from 427 ± 20 to 444 ± 10 Ma. The data points constituting the age plateaux yield excellent isochrons with radiogenic intercept ages ranging from 448 ± 34 to 459 ± 58 Ma, corresponding to initial 40Ar/36Ar ratios from 292.1 ± 4.5 to 294.5 ± 6.7, statistically indistinguishable from the modern air. The high initial ages are interpreted to derive from secondary fluid inclusions containing excess 40Ar, whereas the plateau ages are attributed to gas from small primary fluid inclusions without significant excess 40Ar. The plateau ages are interpreted to approximate the time of garnet growth during initial UHPM metamorphism. Phengite analyzed by laser stepwise heating yielded a complicated two-saddle age spectrum with a scattered isochron corresponding to age of 463 ± 116 Ma and initial 40Ar/36Ar ratio of 1843 ± 1740 indicative of the presence of extraneous 40Ar within phengite. These concordant isochron ages measured on minerals diagnostic of eclogite grade metamorphism strongly suggest that Dabie UHPM eclogites were first formed in the early Paleozoic, during the same event that caused the Qinling-Northern Qaidam Basin-Altyn Tagh eclogites.  相似文献   

4.
Ion-microprobe was used to measure Li abundances and isotopic compositions in pyroxenes from three Martian meteorites belonging to the nakhlite family. The profiles performed across augite crystals from Northwest Africa 817 show a large isotopic zoning from crystal cores (δ7Li ∼ 0‰) to rims (δ7Li ∼ +20‰) while Li abundances are almost constant (∼9.2 μg/g). Unlike NWA 817, the pyroxene studied in the Miller Range 03346 nakhlite shows a zoning in Li abundance, with concentrations increasing from ∼2.5 μg/g in the core to ∼9 μg/g in the rim. The augite rim (δ7Li = +7‰) is slightly enriched in 7Li with regard to the core (δ7Li = +4‰), but most of the isotopic variations observed occur at an intermediate position along the profile, where δ7Li falls down to ∼−11‰. In the case of Nakhla, Li concentrations in augite increase from cores (∼3.5 μg/g) to rims (∼6.5 μg/g), while the δ7Li variation is restricted (i.e., between δ7Li = +6.0 and +12.6‰). For the three meteorites the Li abundances were also measured in the groundmass, which was found to be enriched in lithium (∼10 μg/g). Conventional magmatic and post-magmatic processes such as alteration and fractional crystallization, fail to explain the dataset obtained on nakhlites. Degassing processes, which were previously proposed to explain the Li distribution in shergottite crystals, cannot result in the strong decoupling between Li abundances and isotopic composition observed in nakhlites. We suggest that the original magmatic Li distributions (concentrations and isotopic compositions) in nakhlites have been modified by diffusion of Li from the Li-rich groundmass towards the pyroxene crystals during sub-solidus cooling. Diffusion appears to have been efficient for NWA 817 and MIL 03346 but, apparently, did not produce a significant migration of Li in Nakhla, possibly because of the lower abundance of groundmass in the latter. Diffusion induced Li redistributions may also affect terrestrial porphyric rocks but very specific cooling rates are required to quench the diffusion profiles as observed in two of the present nakhlites.  相似文献   

5.
Multiple lines of evidence show that the Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Ar-Ar isotopic systems individually give robust crystallization ages for basaltic (or diabasic) shergottite Northwest Africa (NWA) 1460. In contrast to other shergottites, NWA 1460 exhibits minimal evidence of excess 40Ar, thus allowing an unambiguous determination of its Ar-Ar age. The concordant Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Ar-Ar results for NWA 1460 define its crystallization age to be 346 ± 17 Ma (2σ). In combination with petrographic and trace element data for this specimen and paired meteorite NWA 480, these results strongly refute the suggestion by others that the shergottites are ∼4.1 Ga old. Current crystallization and cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age data permit identification of a maximum of nine ejection events for Martian meteorites (numbering more than 50 unpaired specimens as of 2008) and plausibly as few as five such events. Although recent high resolution imaging of the Martian surface has identified limited areas of sparsely cratered terrains, the meteorite data suggest that either these areas are representative of larger areas from which the meteorites might come, or that the cratering chronology needs recalibration. Time-averaged 87Rb/86Sr = 0.16 for the mantle source of the parent magma of NWA 1460/480 over the ∼4.56 Ga age of the planet is consistent with previously estimated values for bulk silicate Mars in the range 0.13-0.16, and similar to values of ∼0.18 for the “lherzolitic” shergottites. Initial εNd for NWA 1460/480 at 350 ± 16 Ma ago was +10.6 ± 0.5, which implies a time-averaged 147Sm/144Nd of 0.217 in the Martian mantle prior to mafic melt extraction, similar to values of 0.211-0.216 for the “lherzolitic” shergottites. These time-averaged values do not imply a simple two-stage mantle/melt evolution, but must result from multiple episodes of melt extractions from the source regions. Much higher “late-stage” εNd values for the depleted shergottites imply similar processes carried to a greater degree. Thus, NWA 1460/480, the “lherzolitic” shergottites and perhaps EET 79001 give the best (albeit imperfect) estimate of the Sr- and Nd-isotopic characteristics of bulk silicate Mars.  相似文献   

6.
Rubidium-strontium and samarium-neodymium isotopes of lunar meteorite LaPaz Icefield (LAP) 02205 are consistent with derivation of the parent magma from a source region similar to that which produced the Apollo 12 low-Ti olivine basalts followed by mixing of the magma with small amounts (1-2 wt%) of trace element-enriched material similar to lunar KREEP-rich sample SaU 169. The crystallization age of LAP 02205 is most precisely dated by an internal Rb-Sr isochron of 2991 ± 14 Ma, with an initial 87Sr/88Sr at the time of crystallization of 0.699836 ± 0.000010. Leachable REE-rich phosphate phases of LAP 02205 do not plot on a Sm-Nd mineral isochron, indicating contamination or open system behavior of the phosphates. Excluding anomalous phases from the calculation of a Sm-Nd isochron yields a crystallization age of 2992 ± 85 (initial ε143Nd = +2.9 ± 0.8) that is within error of the Rb-Sr age, and in agreement with other independent age determinations for LAP 02205 from Ar-Ar and U-Pb methods. The calculated 147Sm/144Nd source ratios for LAP 02205, various Apollo 12 and 15 basalts, and samples with strong affinities to KREEP (SaU 169, NWA 773, 15386) are uncorrelated with their crystallization ages. This finding does not support the involvement of a common KREEP component as a heat source for lunar melting events that occurred after crystallization of the lunar magma ocean.  相似文献   

7.
Radiometric age data for shergottites yield ages of 4.0 Ga and 180-575 Ma; the interpretation of these ages has been, and remains, a subject of debate. Here, we present new 39Ar-40Ar laser probe data on lherzolitic shergottites Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 and Northwest Africa (NWA) 1950. These two meteorites are genetically related, but display very different degrees of shock damage. On a plot of 40Ar/36Ar versus 39Ar/36Ar, the more strongly shocked ALH 77005 (45-55 GPa) does not yield an array of values indicating an isochron, but the data are highly scattered with the shock melts yielding 40Ar/36Ar ratios of 1600-2026. Apparent ages calculated from these extractions range from 374-8183 Ma, with 50% of the data, particularly from the shock melts, yielding impossibly old ages (>4.567 Ga). On the same plot, extractions from igneous minerals in the less shocked NWA 1950 (30-44 GPa) yield a fitted age of 382 ± 36 Ma. Argon extractions from the shock melts are well distinguished from minerals, with the melts exhibiting the highest 40Ar/36Ar ratios (1260-1488) and the oldest apparent ages. Laser step heating was also performed on maskelynite separates from NWA 1950 yielding ages of 1000 Ma at the lowest release temperatures, and ages of 360 and 362 Ma at higher temperature steps. Stepped heating data from previous studies have yielded ages of 500 and 700 Ma to 1.7 Ga for ALH 77005 maskelynite separates. If the ages obtained from igneous minerals represent undegassed argon from an ancient (4.0 Ga) rock, then the ages are expected to anticorrelate with the degree of shock heating. The data do not support this inference. Our data support young crystallization ages for minerals and Martian atmosphere as the origin of excess 40Ar in the shock melts.The shock features of shergottites are also reviewed in the context of what is known of the geologic history of the Martian surface through remote observation. The oldest, most heavily cratered surfaces of Mars are thought to be ?4.0 Ga; we contend that ancient rocks from Mars (Noachian >3.5 Ga) are likely to record multiple impact events reflecting megaregolith formation and the cumulative effects of erosion and aqueous alteration occurring during or since that era. Young rocks (Late Amazonian, <0.6 Ga) should record a relatively simple history of emplacement and ejection from the near surface. We show that although shergottites are strongly shocked, they are relatively pristine crystalline igneous rocks and not pervasively altered breccias. The petrography of shergottites is at odds with an ancient age interpretation. A model in which young coherent rocks are preferentially sampled by hypervelocity impact because of material strength is considered highly plausible.  相似文献   

8.
Spatially resolved argon isotope measurements have been performed on neutron-irradiated samples of two Martian basalts (Los Angeles and Zagami) and two Martian olivine-phyric basalts (Dar al Gani (DaG) 476 and North West Africa (NWA) 1068). With a ∼50 μm diameter focused infrared laser beam, it has been possible to distinguish between argon isotopic signatures from host rock (matrix) minerals and localized shock melt products (pockets and veins). The concentrations of argon in analyzed phases from all four meteorites have been quantified using the measured J values, 40Ar/39Ar ratios and K2O wt% in each phase. Melt pockets contain, on average, 10 times more gas (7-24 ppb 40Ar) than shock veins and matrix minerals (0.3-3 ppb 40Ar). The 40Ar/36Ar ratio of the Martian atmosphere, estimated from melt pocket argon extractions corrected for cosmogenic 36Ar, is: Los Angeles (∼1852), Zagami (∼1744) and NWA 1068 (∼1403). In addition, Los Angeles shows evidence for variable mixing of two distinct trapped noble gas reservoirs: (1) Martian atmosphere in melt pockets, and (2) a trapped component, possibly Martian interior (40Ar/36Ar: 480-490) in matrix minerals. Average apparent 40Ar/39Ar ages determined for matrix minerals in the four analyzed meteorites are 1290 Ma (Los Angeles), 692 Ma (Zagami), 515 Ma (NWA 1068) and 1427 Ma (DaG 476). These 40Ar/39Ar apparent ages are substantially older than the ∼170-474 Ma radiometric ages given by other isotope dating techniques and reveal the presence of trapped 40Ar. Cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages were measured using spallogenic 36Ar and 38Ar production. Los Angeles (3.1 ± 0.2 Ma), Zagami (2.9 ± 0.4 Ma) and NWA 1068 (2.0 ± 0.5 Ma) yielded ages within the range of previous determinations. DaG 476, however, yielded a young CRE age (0.7 ± 0.25 Ma), attributed to terrestrial alteration. The high spatial variation of argon indicates that the incorporation of Martian atmospheric argon into near-surface rocks is controlled by localized glass-bearing melts produced by shock processes. In particular, the larger (mm-size) melt pockets contain near end-member Martian atmospheric argon. Based on petrography, composition and argon isotopic data we conclude that the investigated melt pockets formed by localized in situ shock melting associated with ejection. Three processes may have led to atmosphere incorporation: (1) argon implantation due to atmospheric shock front collision with the Martian surface, (2) transformation of an atmosphere-filled cavity into a localized melt zone, and (3) shock implantation of atmosphere trapped in cracks, pores and fissures.  相似文献   

9.
We report elemental abundances and the isotopic systematics of the short-lived 26Al-26Mg (half-life of ∼0.73 Ma) and long-lived U-Pb radiochronometers in the ungrouped basaltic meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 2976. The bulk geochemical composition of NWA 2976 is clearly distinct from that of the eucrites and angrites, but shows broad similarities to that of the paired NWA 001 and 2400 ungrouped achondrites indicating that it is likely to also be paired with these two samples. The major and trace element abundances in NWA 2976 further indicate that it formed by extensive melting and magmatic fractionation processes on its parent body. The Al-Mg and Pb-Pb isotope systematics indicate that this meteorite represents the earliest stages of crust formation on a differentiated parent body in the early Solar System. The absolute Pb-Pb internal isochron age of NWA 2976, obtained from acid leaching residues of three whole-rock samples and two pyroxene separates, is 4562.89 ± 0.59 Ma (MSWD = 0.02). This Pb-Pb age is calculated using the measured 238U/235U ratio of a NWA 2976 whole-rock of 137.751 ± 0.018 (2σ) which was determined relative to the recently revised value of 137.840 ± 0.008 for the SRM 950a U isotope standard. The Al-Mg systematics reveal the presence of 26Mg isotopic anomalies produced by the decay of 26Al with an (26Al/27Al)0 of (3.94 ± 0.16) × 10−7, and indicate a time of formation of 0.26 ± 0.18 Ma after the D’Orbigny angrite. Using the revised Pb-Pb age of 4563.36 ± 0.34 Ma for the D’Orbigny anchor (corrected for its U isotopic composition), we deduce an Al-Mg model age of 4563.10 ± 0.38 Ma for NWA 2976, which is consistent with its Pb-Pb internal isochron age.The concordance of the Pb-Pb and Al-Mg chronometers, when taking into account the differences in the U isotopic compositions of the D’Orbigny and NWA 2976 achondrites (whose parent bodies likely formed in distinct regions of early Solar System as indicated by their different oxygen isotopic compositions), implies that 26Al was homogeneously distributed in the early Solar System. It also suggests that igneous processes on planetesimals, as represented by the formation of various basaltic meteorite groups that likely originated on distinct parent bodies (e.g., eucrites and angrites, as well as ungrouped achondrites), were widespread throughout the protoplanetary disk within the first ∼5 Ma of the history of the Solar System.  相似文献   

10.
In order to better constrain the thermochronological evolution of the IAB parent body we performed a 40Ar/39Ar age study on individual silicate inclusions of the IAB irons Caddo County, Campo del Cielo, Landes, and Ocotillo. In contrast to earlier studies, several plagioclase separates of different grain sizes and quality grades were extracted from each inclusion to reduce the complexity of the age spectra and study the influence of these parameters on the Ar-Ar ages. In nearly all inclusions we found significantly different Ar-Ar ages among the separates (Caddo County: 4.472 ± 0.02-4.562 ± 0.02 Ga; Campo del Cielo 2: 4.362 ± 0.04-4.442 ± 0.03 Ga; Landes 2: 4.412 ± 0.05-4.522 ± 0.04 Ga; Ocotillo: 4.382 ± 0.04-4.462 ± 0.03 Ga). These ages were calculated using the new 40K decay constant published by [Mundil R., Renne P. R., Min K. and Ludwig K. R. (2006) Resolvable miscalibration of the 40Ar/39Ar geochronometer. Eos Trans. AGU 87, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V21A-0543]. The ages did not systematically correlate with the respective grain size of the separate as expected, i.e., smaller grains did not necessarily show younger ages due to later closure to Ar diffusion or easier re-opening of the system in the course of a reheating event compared to larger grains. Based on the large range of Ar-Ar ages we suggest that the individual inclusions are composed of silicate grains from different locations within the IAB parent body. While some grains remained in a hot (deep) environment that allowed Ar diffusion over an extended time period—in some cases combined with grain coarsening—, others cooled significantly earlier (near surface) through the K/Ar blocking temperature. These different grains where brought together during an impact followed by mixing and reassembly of the debris as proposed by Benedix et al. [Benedix G. K., McCoy T. J., Keil K. and Love S. G. (2000) A petrologic study of the IAB iron meteorites: constraints on the formation of the IAB-Winonaite parent body. Meteorit. Planet. Sci.35, 1127-1141]. Due to rapid cooling after the impact some of the age differences among the grains could be preserved. Based mainly on our Caddo County Ar-Ar age information, the IAB parent body was destroyed by impact and reassembled between ∼4.5 and 4.47 Ga. However, IAB silicate Ar-Ar ages should depend much more on the pre- and post-impact cooling rate and burial depth than on the time of the actual impact. This is supported by a compilation of our and literature IAB and winonaite Ar-Ar ages ranging smoothly from the time of accretion of the chondritic IAB parent body down to the time of its final cooling through the K-Ar blocking temperature after impact and reassembly, instead of showing a peak in Ar-Ar ages at the time of the destructive impact.  相似文献   

11.
The seven nakhlite meteorites are augite-rich igneous rocks that formed in flows or shallow intrusions of basaltic magma on Mars. They consist of euhedral to subhedral crystals of augite and olivine (to 1 cm long) in fine-grained mesostases. The augite crystals have homogeneous cores of Mg′=63% and rims that are normally zoned to iron enrichment. The core-rim zoning is cut by iron-enriched zones along fractures and is replaced locally by ferroan low-Ca pyroxene. The core compositions of the olivines vary inversely with the steepness of their rim zoning - sharp rim zoning goes with the most magnesian cores (Mg′=42%), homogeneous olivines are the most ferroan. The olivine and augite crystals contain multiphase inclusions representing trapped magma. Among the olivine and augite crystals is mesostasis, composed principally of plagioclase and/or glass, with euhedra of titanomagnetite and many minor minerals. Olivine and mesostasis glass are partially replaced by veinlets and patches of iddingsite, a mixture of smectite clays, iron oxy-hydroxides and carbonate minerals. In the mesostasis are rare patches of a salt alteration assemblage: halite, siderite, and anhydrite/gypsum. The nakhlites are little shocked, but have been affected chemically and biologically by their residence on Earth.Differences among the chemical compositions of the nakhlites can be ascribed mostly to different proportions of augite, olivine, and mesostasis. Compared to common basalts, they are rich in Ca, strongly depleted in Al, and enriched in magmaphile (incompatible) elements, including the LREE. Nakhlites contain little pre-terrestrial organic matter. Oxygen isotope ratios are not terrestrial, and are different in anhydrous silicates and in iddingsite. The alteration assemblages all have heavy oxygen and heavy carbon, while D/H values are extreme and scattered. Igneous sulfur had a solar-system isotopic ratio, but in most minerals was altered to higher and lower values. High precision analyses show mass-independent fractionations of S isotopes. Nitrogen and noble gases are complex and represent three components: two mantle sources (Chas-E and Chas-S), and fractionated Martian atmosphere.The nakhlites are igneous cumulate rocks, formed from basaltic magma at ∼1.3 Ga, containing excess crystals over what would form from pure magma. After accumulation of their augite and olivine crystals, they were affected (to various degrees) by crystallization of the magma, element diffusion among minerals and magma, chemical reactions among minerals and magma, magma movement among the crystals, and post-igneous chemical equilibration. The extent of these modifications varies, from least to greatest, in the order: MIL03346, NWA817, Y000593, Nakhla=Governador Valadares, Lafayette, and NWA998.Chemical, isotopic, and chronologic data confirm that the nakhlites formed on Mars, most likely in thick lava flows or shallow intrusions. Their crystallization ages, referenced to crater count chronologies for Mars, suggest that the nakhlites formed on the large volcanic constructs of Tharsis, Elysium, or Syrtis Major. The nakhlites were suffused with liquid water, probably at ∼620 ma. This water dissolved olivine and mesostasis glass, and deposited iddingsite and salt minerals in their places. The nakhlites were ejected from Mars at ∼10.75 Ma by an asteroid impact and fell to Earth within the last 10,000 years.Although the nakhlites are enriched in incompatible elements, their source mantle was strongly depleted. This depletion event was ancient, as the nakhlites’ source mantle was fractionated while short-lived radionuclides (e.g., ) were still active. This differentiation event may have been core formation coupled with a magma ocean, as is inferred for the moon.  相似文献   

12.
40Ar/39Ar ages on the Hat Creek Basalt (HCB) and stratigraphically related lava flows show that latest Pleistocene tholeiitic basalt with very low K2O can be dated reliably. The HCB underlies ∼ 15 ka glacial gravel and overlies four andesite and basaltic andesite lava flows that yield 40Ar/39Ar ages of 38 ± 7 ka (Cinder Butte; 1.65% K2O), 46 ± 7 ka (Sugarloaf Peak; 1.85% K2O), 67 ± 4 ka (Little Potato Butte; 1.42% K2O) and 77 ± 11 ka (Potato Butte; 1.62% K2O). Given these firm age brackets, we then dated the HCB directly. One sample (0.19% K2O) clearly failed the criteria for plateau-age interpretation, but the inverse isochron age of 26 ± 6 ka is seductively appealing. A second sample (0.17% K2O) yielded concordant plateau, integrated (total fusion), and inverse isochron ages of 26 ± 18, 30 ± 20 and 24 ± 6 ka, all within the time bracket determined by stratigraphic relations; the inverse isochron age of 24 ± 6 ka is preferred. As with all isotopically determined ages, confidence in the results is significantly enhanced when additional constraints imposed by other isotopic ages within a stratigraphic context are taken into account.  相似文献   

13.
The lunar meteorites Northwest Africa (NWA) 3163, 4881, and 4483 are paired stones classified as granulitic breccias. At 2.4 kg, these three stones constitute one of the largest known lunar meteorite masses. Here we describe the petrography, mineralogy, and chemistry of NWA 3163, 4881, and 4483, and present 40Ar-39Ar data for two of the meteorites. Two-pyroxene thermometry indicates that the rocks equilibrated at 1050 ± 50 °C, which represents the high-temperature, low-pressure event that generated their characteristic recrystallization textures and reset their Ar systematics. Stepped-heating, in situ infrared laser microprobe 40Ar-39Ar geochronology yields a mean age of 3327 ± 29 Ma for NWA 3163, and a more disturbed release spectrum for NWA 4881. NWA 4881 shows an upward-trending pattern, suggesting that it may have had a 40Ar-39Ar age of >3.0 Ga, but that it was partially reset at ∼2.6 Ga. NWA 3163 et al. exhibit shock effects, including maskelynitized plagioclase, shock veins, and melt pockets, which are absent in the Apollo granulitic breccias. Although the Apollo and meteorite samples are texturally similar and have comparable bulk compositions and equilibration temperatures, their trace and siderophile element contents point to distinct parental lithologies derived from different regions of the Moon. Based on mineralogical and geochemical differences between the Apollo and meteorite samples, we conclude that the parent rock(s) of the paired NWA meteorites came from an area outside the Imbrium region and that they underwent high-temperature (granulite event) metamorphism long after the Late Heavy Bombardment.  相似文献   

14.
Studies of meteorites are based mostly on samples that fell to Earth in the recent past (i.e., a few million years at most). The Morokweng LL-chondrite meteorite is a particularly interesting specimen as its fall is much older (ca. 145 Ma) than most other meteorites and because it is the only macro-meteorite clast (width intersected in drill core: 25 cm) found in a melt sheet of a large impact structure. When applied to the Morokweng meteorite, 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology provides an opportunity to study (1) effects associated with pre-impact and post-impact processes and (2) collision events within a potentially distinct and as yet unsampled asteroid population.A single multi-grain aliquot yielded an inverse isochron age of 625 ± 163 Ma. This suggests a major in-space collisional event at this time. We have modeled the diffusion of 40Ar∗ within the meteorite and plagioclase during and after the ∼145 Ma impact on Earth to tentatively explain why pre-terrestrial impact 40Ar∗ has been preserved within the plagioclase grains. The ∼145 Ma terrestrial impact age is recorded in the low-retentivity sites of the meteorite plagioclase grains that yielded a composite inverse isochron age at 141 ± 15 Ma and thus, confirms that age information about major (terrestrial or extraterrestrial) impacts can be recorded in the K-rich mineral phases of a meteorite and measured by the 40Ar/39Ar technique. More studies on fossil meteorites need to be carried out to understand if the rough 0.6 Ga age proposed here corresponds to major LL-chondrite asteroid population destructions or, rather, to an isolated collision event.  相似文献   

15.
Combined 147Sm-143Nd and 176Lu-176Hf chronology of the martian meteorite Larkman Nunatak (LAR) 06319 indicates an igneous crystallization age of 193 ± 20 Ma (2σ weighted mean). The individual 147Sm-143Nd and 176Lu-176Hf internal isochron ages are 183 ± 12 Ma and 197 ± 29 Ma, respectively, and are concordant with two previously determined 147Sm-143Nd and 87Rb-87Sr internal isochron ages of 190 ± 26 Ma and 207 ± 14 Ma, respectively (Shih et al., 2009). With respect to the 147Sm-143Nd isotope systematics, maskelynite lies above the isochron defined by primary igneous phases and is therefore not in isotopic equilibrium with the other phases in the rock. Non-isochronous maskelynite is interpreted to result from shock-induced reaction between plagioclase and partial melts of pyroxene and phosphate during transformation to maskelynite, which resulted in it having unsupported 143Nd relative to its measured 147Sm/144Nd ratio. The rare earth element (REE) and high field strength element (HFSE) compositions of major constituent minerals can be modeled as the result of progressive crystallization of a single magma with no addition of secondary components. The concordant ages, combined with igneous textures, mineralogy, and trace element systematics indicate that the weighted average of the radiometric ages records the true crystallization age of this rock. The young igneous age for LAR 06319 and other shergottites are in conflict with models that advocate for circa 4.1 Ga crystallization ages of shergottites from Pb isotope compositions, however, they are consistent with updated crater counting statistics indicating that young volcanic activity on Mars is more widespread than previously realized (Neukum et al., 2010).  相似文献   

16.
New 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology results and thermal modeling support the hypothesis of Hollister et al. (2004), that reheating of the mid-Cretaceous Ecstall pluton by intrusion of the Coast Mountains Batholith (CMB) was responsible for spatially variable remagnetization of the Ecstall pluton. 40Ar/39Ar ages from hornblende and biotite from 12 locations along the Skeena River across the northern part of the Ecstall pluton decrease with proximity to the Quottoon plutonic complex, the nearest member of the CMB to the Ecstall pluton. The oldest 40Ar/39Ar ages are found farthest from the Quottoon plutonic complex, and are 90 ± 3 Ma for hornblende, and 77.9 ± 1.2 Ma for biotite. The youngest 40Ar/39Ar ages are found closest to the Quottoon plutonic complex, and are 51.6 ± 1.2 Ma for hornblende, and 45.3 ± 1.7 Ma for biotite. No obvious relationship between grain size and age is seen in the Ecstall pluton biotites. Spatial trends in 40Ar/39Ar ages are consistent with model results for reheating by a thermal wall at the location of the Quottoon plutonic complex. Although no unique solution is suggested, our results indicate that the most appropriate thermal history for the Ecstall pluton includes both reheating and northeast side up tilting of the Ecstall pluton associated with intrusion of the Quottoon plutonic complex. Estimates of northward translation from shallow paleomagnetic inclinations in the western part of the Ecstall pluton are reduced to ∼3000 km, consistent with the Baja-BC hypothesis, when northeast side up tilting is accounted for.  相似文献   

17.
Late Quaternary, post-shield lavas from the Mauna Kea and Kohala volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii have been dated using the 40Ar/39Ar and U-Th/He methods. The objective of the study is to compare the recently demonstrated U-Th/He age method, which uses basaltic olivine phenocrysts, with 40Ar/39Ar ages measured on groundmass from the same samples. As a corollary, the age data also increase the precision of the chronology of volcanism on the Big Island. For the U-Th/He ages, U, Th and He concentrations and isotopes were measured to account for U-series disequilibrium and initial He. Single analyses U-Th/He ages for Hamakua lavas from Mauna Kea are 87 ± 40 to 119 ± 23 ka (2σ uncertainties), which are in general equal to or younger than 40Ar/39Ar ages. Basalt from the Polulu sequence on Kohala gives a U-Th/He age of 354 ± 54 ka and a 40Ar/39Ar age of 450 ± 40 ka. All of the U-Th/He ages, and all but one spurious 40Ar/39Ar ages conform to the previously proposed stratigraphy and published 14C and K-Ar ages. The ages also compare favorably to U-Th whole rock-olivine ages calculated from 238U-230Th disequilibria. The U-Th/He and 40Ar/39Ar results agree best where there is a relatively large amount of radiogenic 40Ar (>10%), and where the 40Ar/36Ar intercept calculated from the Ar isochron diagram is close to the atmospheric value. In two cases, it is not clear why U-Th/He and 40Ar/39Ar ages do not agree within uncertainty. U-Th/He and 40Ar/39Ar results diverge the most on a low-K transitional tholeiitic basalt with abundant olivine. For the most alkalic basalts with negligible olivine phenocrysts, U-Th/He ages were unattainable while 40Ar/39Ar results provide good precision even on ages as low as 19 ± 4 ka. Hence, the strengths and weaknesses of the U-Th/He and 40Ar/39Ar methods are complimentary for basalts with ages of order 100-500 ka.  相似文献   

18.
The 40Ar/39Ar dating technique is based on the knowledge of the age of neutron fluence monitors (standards). Recent investigations have improved the accuracy and precision of the ages of most of the Phanerozoic-aged standards (e.g. Fish Canyon Tuff sanidine (FCs), Alder Creek sanidine, GA1550 biotite and LP-6 biotite); however, no specific study has been undertaken on the older standards (i.e. Hb3gr hornblende and NL-25 hornblende) generally used to date Precambrian, high Ca/K, and/or meteoritic rocks.In this study, we show that Hb3gr hornblende is relatively homogenous in age, composition (Ca/K) and atmospheric contamination at the single grain level. The mean standard deviation of the 40Ar?/39ArK (F-value) derived from this study is 0.49%, comparable to the most homogeneous standards. The intercalibration factor (which allows direct comparison between standards) between Hb3gr and FCs is RFCsHb3gr = 51.945 ± 0.167. Using an age of 28.02 Ma for FCs, the age of Hb3gr derived from the R-value is 1073.6 ± 5.3 Ma (1σ; internal error only) and ± 8.8 Ma (including all sources of error). This age is indistinguishable within uncertainty from the K/Ar age previously reported at 1072 ± 11 Ma [Turner G., Huneke, J.C., Podosek, F.A., Wasserburg, G.J., 1971. 40Ar-39Ar ages and cosmic ray exposure ages of Apollo 14 samples. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 12, 19-35].The R-value determined in this study can also be used to intercalibrate FCs if we consider the K/Ar date of 1072 Ma as a reference age for Hb3gr. We derive an age of 27.95 ± 0.19 Ma (1σ; internal error only) for FCs which is in agreement with the previous determinations. Altogether, this shows that Hb3gr is a suitable standard for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology.  相似文献   

19.
The lunar meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 032 is a low-Ti basalt that has incompatible-element abundances and Th/Sm ratios characteristic of the involvement of late stage magma ocean crystallization products (urKREEP) in its petrogenesis. This sample is very fine-grained and contains terrestrial weather products. A progressive leaching procedure was therefore developed and applied to magnetic separates and whole rock fractions to obtain Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd ages. Although many of the leachates, as well as the unleached mineral and whole rock fractions contain terrestrial alteration products, selected residue fractions yield concordant Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd ages. Rubidium-Sr isotopic analyses yield an age of 2947 ± 16 Ma with an initial 87Sr/86Sr of 0.700057 ± 17. These characteristics indicate NWA 032 is derived from a source region with an 87Rb/86Sr ratio of 0.044 ± 0.001. This value is higher than all but those determined for KREEP basalts, and suggests that NWA 032 is derived from a source region that has higher incompatible-element abundances than other low-Ti basalts. Samarium-neodymium isotopic analysis yield a concordant age of 2931 ± 92 Ma and an initial εNd of +9.71 ± 0.74 corresponding to a source region with 147Sm/144Nd ratio of 0.246 ± 0.004. The initial Nd isotopic composition stands in contrast to the initial Sr isotopic composition by requiring NWA 032 to be derived from a source with lower incompatible-element abundances than most low-Ti basalts. The source of NWA 032 is therefore unlike those of other lunar basalts.Modeling of magma ocean cumulate formation demonstrates that unlike other low-Ti basalt source regions the NWA 032 source is a mixture of olivine, pigeonite, and clinopyroxene bearing cumulates and only a small amount of urKREEP. Furthermore, unlike other mare basalt sources, the NWA 032 source does not contain appreciable quantities of plagioclase. Partial melting models demonstrate that the incompatible-element characteristics of the NWA 032 result from formation by smaller degrees of partial melting than other mare basalts. Thus, the incompatible-element geochemical signature that is observed in NWA 032 appears to reflect the combined effects of generation from an unusual plagioclase-free incompatible-element-depleted source region by very small degrees of partial melting. This study demonstrates that both the presence of urKREEP in the source region and small degrees of partial melting generate magmas with similar, but not identical, incompatible-element characteristics. In addition, it underscores the fact that there is significantly more geochemical diversity on the Moon than is represented by samples collected by the American and Soviet lunar missions.  相似文献   

20.
Asuka 881394 is a unique basaltic meteorite that originated in the crust of a differentiated planetesimal in the early Solar System. We present high precision Pb, Mg, and Cr isotopic compositions of bulk samples and mineral separates from this achondrite. A 207Pb-206Pb internal isochron obtained from the radiogenic pyroxene and whole-rock fractions of Asuka 881394 yields an absolute age of 4566.5 ± 0.2 Ma, which we consider to be the best estimate for the crystallization age of this basaltic achondrite. The 26Al-26Mg systematics show some evidence of disturbance, but 5 of the 6 analyzed whole-rock and mineral fractions define an isochron corresponding to a 27Al/26Al ratio of (1.28 ± 0.07) × 10−6. Comparison with the 26Al-26Mg and Pb-Pb systematics in the D’Orbigny achondrite translates to a 26Al-26Mg age of 4565.4 ± 0.2 Ma for Asuka 881394. The 53Mn-53Cr systematics in whole-rock, silicate and chromite fractions correspond to a 53Mn/55Mn ratio of (3.85 ± 0.23) × 10−6. Compared to the most precise 53Mn-53Cr and Pb-Pb systematics available for the D’Orbigny angrite, this translates to a 53Mn-53Cr age of 4565.3 ± 0.4 Ma; similarly, a comparison with the NWA 4801 angrite yields a 53Mn-53Cr age of 4565.5 ± 0.4 Ma, in agreement with the age obtained relative to D’Orbigny. While the 26Al-26Mg and 53Mn-53Cr ages appear to be concordant in Asuka 881394, these ages are ∼1 Ma younger than its 207Pb-206Pb age. This discordance might have been caused by one or more of several reasons, including differences in the closure temperatures for Pb versus Cr and Mg diffusion in their host minerals combined with slow cooling of the parent body as well as differential resetting of isotopic systems by a process other than volume diffusion, e.g., shock metamorphism. The ancient age of Asuka 881394 suggests that basaltic volcanism on its parent planetesimal occurred within ∼3 Ma of the formation of earliest solids in the Solar System, essentially contemporaneously with chondrule formation. This requires that the Asuka 881394 parent body was fully accreted within ∼500,000 yrs of Solar System formation.  相似文献   

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