Abstract
IT has been suggested that one of the first major chemical differentiations in a planetary body such as the Earth will involve segregation of an Fe-FeS liquid1,2. This is because the eutectic temperature of this system (referred to here as Fe-S) is 990° C and is much lower than the temperature required to melt silicates (∼1,100° C). The eutectic temperature is relatively insensitive to pressures3 of at least 30 kbar.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Murthy, V. Rama, and Hall, H. T., Phys. Earth Planet. Interiors, 2, 276 (1970).
Anderson, D. L., Sammis, C., and Jordan, T., Science, 171, 1103 (1971).
Brett, P. R., and Bell, P. M., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 6, 479 (1969).
Papanastassiou, D. A., Wasserburg, G. J., and Burnett, D. S., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 8, 1 (1970).
Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 9, 137 (1970).
Sonnett, C. P., Smith, B. F., Colburn, D. S., Schubert, G., Schwartz, K., Dyal, P., and Parkin, C. W., Nature, 230, 359 (1971).
Opik, E. J., Astron. J., 66, 60 (1961).
Baldwin, R. B., The Measure of the Moon, 149 (Chicago, 1965).
Smith, J. V., Anderson, A. T., Newton, R. C., Olsen, E. J., and Wyllie, P. J., J. Geol., 78, 381 (1970).
Koziel, K., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 296, 248 (1967).
Elsasser, W. M., in Earth Science and Meteoritics (edit. by Geiss, J., and Goldberg, E. D.), 1 (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1963).
Muller, P. M., and Sjogren, W. L., Science, 161, 680 (1968).
Gilvarry, J. J., Nature, 224, 732 (1969).
O'Hara, M. J., Biggar, G. M., Richardson, S. W., Ford, C. E., and Jamieson, B. G., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 1, 695 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Wood, J. A., Dickey, jun., J. S., Marvin, U. B., and Powell, B. N., Proceedings of the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 1, 965 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Booker, J. R., Kovach, R. L., and Lu, L., J. Geophys. Res., 75, 6558 (1970).
Morgan, W. J., J. Geophys. Res., 70, 6175 (1965).
Urey, H. C., Science, 162, 1408 (1968).
Lewis, J. L., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 11, 130 (1971).
Hall, H. T., and Murthy, V. Rama, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 11, 239 (1971).
Wakita, H., and Schmitt, R. A., Science, 170, 969 (1970).
Ganapathy, R., Keays, R. R., Laul, J. C., and Anders, E., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 2, 1117 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Gast, P. W., Hubbard, N. J., and Wiesmann, H., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 2, 1143 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Ringwood, A. E., and Essene, E., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 1, 769 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Tatsumoto, M., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 2, 1595 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Murthy, V. Rama, Evenson, N. M., and Coscio, jun., M. R., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (edit. by Levinson, A. A.), 2, 1393 (Pergamon, New York, 1970).
Urey, H. C., and MacDonald, G. J. F., Sci. J., 5, 60 (1969).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MURTHY, V., EVENSON, N. & HALL, H. Model of Early Lunar Differentiation. Nature 234, 267 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/234267a0
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/234267a0
This article is cited by
-
Indigenous abundances of siderophile elements in the lunar highlands: Implications for the origin of the moon
The Moon and the Planets (1978)
-
Lunar magnetometry and mantle convection
Nature (1974)
-
Lunar evolution: How well do we know it now?
The Moon (1973)
-
The Angra dos Reis (stone) Mineral Assemblage and the Genesis of Stony Meteorites
Nature Physical Science (1972)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.