Evidence against a chondritic Earth
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Citations
Cosmochemical Estimates of Mantle Composition
Ingassing, Storage, and Outgassing of Terrestrial Carbon through Geologic Time
Origin and evolution of the atmospheres of early Venus, Earth and Mars
Fractionation of Nb and Ta by biotite and phengite: Implications for the "missing Nb paradox"
Geochemical arguments for an Earth-like Moon-forming impactor.
References
Solar System Abundances and Condensation Temperatures of the Elements
The Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd isotopic composition of CHUR: Constraints from unequilibrated chondrites and implications for the bulk composition of terrestrial planets
Major and trace element composition of the depleted MORB mantle (DMM)
Flood Basalts and Hot-Spot Tracks: Plume Heads and Tails
Related Papers (5)
142Nd Evidence for Early (>4.53 Ga) Global Differentiation of the Silicate Earth
Frequently Asked Questions (15)
Q2. What is the chondrites’ affinities to the Earth?
CV carbonaceous chondrites are the most volatile-depleted of the chondrites and EH enstatite chondrites are a class of chondrites sometimes considered to have affinities to the Earth because of their stable isotope ratios.
Q3. What is the paradigm that underpins modern geochemistry?
T he paradigm that underpins much of modern geochemistry isthat the integrated chemical composition of the whole Earthshould be that of the Sun, except for depletion in volatile elements, according to their volatility under the conditions of the solar nebula.
Q4. What is the simplest explanation for the observed drop in MgO?
The simplest explanation for the observed drop in MgO is that D99 formed as a stable layer about 2.5 Gyr ago, which insulated the mantle from the core.
Q5. What is the weakness of the hypothesis?
One weakness of the hypothesis is that it implies the loss of incompatibleelement-enriched material to space that no class of meteorite has sampled.
Q6. What is the effect of the halogens on the volatilities of the Earth?
In the case of the halogens, their volatilities are enhanced by relatively oxidizing conditions that prevailed after dispersion of the H-rich solar nebula.
Q7. What is the reason for the new techniques of isotopic analysis?
New techniques of isotopic analysis are revealing small anomalies in the isotopic make-up of heavy elements in bulk samples of chondrites, ascribed to less than perfect homogenization of different nucleosynthetic components in the solar nebula, such as Ti (ref. 4), Ni (ref. 5), Ba (refs 6 and 7) and Mo (ref. 8).
Q8. What is the e143Nd value for the EDR?
Archaean basalts associated with komatiites, whose Nb/U ratios indicate that they are free of crustal contamination47–50, commonly have flat REE patterns48–50, and basalts from Kambalda in Western Australia have an e143Nd value of 3 (ref. 47), which lies on the EDR growth curve for Nd at 2.7 Gyr ago.
Q9. What is the reason for the complexities of the depletion of elements in the Earth?
For elements that are both volatile and siderophile, the complexities of the volatile-element depletion in the Earth, as indicated by the full pattern (Fig. 2), prevents us from assigning how much of an element’s loss is due to volatility and how much is due to partitioning into the core.
Q10. What is the oldest evidence of the mantle?
Earth’s oldest rocks show evidence of being derived from a mantle with positive eNd and eHf before the formation of the first preserved continental crust.
Q11. What is the significance of the trace element system in the formation of the northern superior province?
R., Polat, A., Wyman, D. & Hollings, P. Trace element systematics of Mg- to Fe-tholeiitic basalt suites of the Superior Province: implications for Archaean mantle reservoirs and greenstone belt genesis.
Q12. What is the simplest explanation for the chondritic hypothesis?
The simplest is that the Earth is not chondritic after all, and the measured 142Nd/144Nd ratio of terrestrial samples is that of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE).
Q13. What is the simplest explanation for the drop in MgO in ocean island suites?
The isotopic trend in a number of ocean island suites, produced by melting plume tails, converges towards a common point called FOZO44.
Q14. What is the compelling evidence for the non-chondritic Earth?
The Sm/Nd ratio provides the most compelling evidence, but once the idea of a non-chondritic Earth is allowed, the resolution of other so-called geochemical paradoxes becomes achievable.
Q15. What is the difference between the two properties of the RLEs?
The RLEs are defined by two properties: they are refractory, because they condense from a gas of solar composition at temperatures higher than the main constituents of rocky planets, the magnesium silicates and iron metal; and they are lithophile, because they do not enter metal or sulphide phases, either in chondrites or into the metallic cores formed during planetary differentiation.