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Ratios of S, Se and Te in the silicate Earth require a volatile-rich late veneer

Nature volume 499, pages 328–331 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The excess of highly siderophile (iron-loving) elements (HSEs) and the chondritic ratios of most HSEs in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) may reflect the accretion of a chondritic ‘late veneer’ of about 0.5 per cent of Earth’s mass after core formation1,2. The amount of volatiles contained in the late veneer is a key constraint on the budget and the origin of the volatiles in Earth. At high pressures and temperatures, the moderately volatile chalcogen elements sulphur (S), selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) are moderately to highly siderophile; thus, if depleted by core formation their mantle abundances should reflect the volatile composition of the late veneer3,4. Here we report ratios and abundances of S, Se and Te in the mantle determined from new isotope dilution data for post-Archaean mantle peridotites. The mean S/Se and Se/Te ratios of mantle lherzolites overlap with CI (Ivuna-type) carbonaceous chondrite values5,6. The Se/Te ratios of ordinary and enstatite chondrites are significantly different. The chalcogen/HSE ratio of the BSE is similar to that of CM (Mighei-type) carbonaceous chondrites, consistent with the view that the HSE signature of the BSE reflects a predominance of slightly volatile-depleted, carbonaceous-chondrite-like material, possibly with a minor proportion of non-chondritic material7. Depending on the estimates for the abundances of water and carbon in the BSE8, the late veneer may have supplied 20 to 100 per cent of the budget of hydrogen and carbon in the BSE.

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Figure 1: Correlation of S and Se contents of terrestrial peridotites with Al2O3 contents as indicator of depletion.
Figure 2: Correlations of Te with Se and Pd contents.
Figure 3: CI-chondrite-normalized ratios of moderately volatile chalcogens relative to the refractory highly siderophile element Ir.

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Acknowledgements

Some peridotite and meteorite samples were provided by S. Gao, J.-P. Lorand, G. MacPherson and M. Wadhwa. We thank F. Wombacher and C. Funk for discussions and M. Feth, K. Hammerschmidt and M. Weynell for technical assistance. This work was supported by funds from Freie Universität Berlin and a China Scholarship Council fellowship to Z.W.

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  1. Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Malteserstrasse 74-100, 12249 Berlin, Germany,

    Zaicong Wang & Harry Becker

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  1. Zaicong Wang
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Z.W. and H.B. wrote the paper. H.B. designed the project. Z.W. developed the analytical methods and performed the analyses.

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Correspondence to Zaicong Wang or Harry Becker.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Wang, Z., Becker, H. Ratios of S, Se and Te in the silicate Earth require a volatile-rich late veneer. Nature 499, 328–331 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12285

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