Abstract
Meteorite chronometry based on the 182Hf–182W system can provide powerful constraints on the timing of planetary accretion and differentiation1,2,3,4, although the full potential of this method has yet to be realized. For example, no measurements have been made on the silicate-rich portions of planets and planetesimals other than the Earth and Moon. Here we report tungsten isotope compositions for two eucrites, thought to be derived from asteroid 4 Vesta, and from eight other basaltic achondritic meteorites that are widely considered to be from Mars. The eucrites, which are among the oldest differentiated meteorites, yield exceedingly radiogenic tungsten, indicating rapid accretion, differentiation and core formation on Vesta within the first 5–15 Myr of Solar System history, whereas the range of radiogenic tungsten measurements on the martian meteorites points towards tungsten depletion via melting and core formation within the first 30 Myr of the Solar System. The survival of tungsten isotope heterogeneity in the martian upper mantle implies that no giant impacts or large-scale convective mixing took place since this time. These results contrast with those obtained for the Earth–Moon system2,3 for which accretion and core formation related to giant impacts appears to have continued for at least an additional 20 Myr.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Harper, C. L. & Jacobsen, S. B. Evidence for 182Hf in the early Solar System and constraints on the timescale of terrestrial accretion and core formation. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 1131–1153 (1996).
Lee, D. -C. & Halliday, A. N. Hafnium–tungsten chronometry and the timing of terrestrial core formation. Nature 378, 771–774 (1995).
Halliday, A. N., Rehkämper, M., Lee, D. -C. & Yi, W. Early evolution of the Earth and Moon: new constraints from Hf–W isotope geochemistry. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 142, 75–89 (1996).
Lee, D. -C. & Halliday, A. N. Hf–W isotopic evidence for rapid accretion and differentiation in the early solar system. Science 274, 1876–1879 (1996).
Righter, K. & Drake, M. J. Core formation in Earth's Moon, Mars and Vesta. Icarus 124, 513–529 (1996).
Wänke, H. & Dreibus, G. Chemical composition and accretion history of terrestrial planets. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 325, 545–557 (1988).
Binzel, R. P. & Xu, S. Chips off of asteroid 4 Vesta: evidence for the parent body of basaltic achondrite meteorites. Science 260, 186–191 (1993).
Shukolyukov, A. & Lugmair, G. W. 60Fe in eucrites. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 119, 159–166 (1993).
Lugmair, G. W. & MacIsaac, Ch. Radial heterogeneity of 53Mn in the early solar system? Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVI, 879–880 (1995).
Lugmair, G. W. & Shukolyukov, A. 53Mn–53Cr isotope systematics of the HED parent body. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXVIII, 651–852 (1997).
Shukolyukov, A. & Begemann, F. Pu–Xe dating of eucrites. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 2453–2471 (1996).
Newsom, H. E., White, W. M., Jochum, K. P. & Hofmann, A. W. Siderophile and chalcophile element abundances in oceanic basalts, Pb isotope evolution and growth of the earth's core. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 88, 299–313 (1986).
Lugmair, G. W. & Galer, S. J. G. Age and isotopic relationships among the angrites Lewis Cliff 86010 and Angra dos Reis. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 1673–1694 (1992).
Göpel, C., Manhès, G. & Allègre, C. J. Constraints on the time of accretion and thermal evolution of chondrite parent bodies by precise U–Pb dating of phosphates. Meteorites 26, 73 (1991).
McSween, H. Y. What we have learned about Mars from SNC meteorites. Meteoritics 29, 757–779 (1994).
Jagoutz, E., Sorowka, A., Vogel, J. D. & Wänke, H. ALH84001: alien or progenitor of the SNC family? Meteoritics 9, 478–479 (1994).
Nakamura, N., Unruh, D. M. & Tatsumoto, M. Origin and evolution of the Nakhla meteorite inferred from the Sm–Nd and U–Pb systematics and REE, Ba, Sr, Rb and K abundances. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46, 1555–1573 (1982).
Shih, C. -Y.et al. Chronology and petrogenesis of young achondrites, Shergotty, Zagami, and ALHA77005: late magmatism on a geologically active planet. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 46, 2323–2344 (1982).
Chen, J. H. & Wasserburg, G. J. Formation ages and evolution of Shergotty and its parent planet from U–Th–Pb systematics. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 955–968 (1986).
Jagoutz, E. & Wänke, H. Sr and Nd isotopic systematics of Shergotty meteorites. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 939–953 (1986).
Treiman, A. H.et al. Core formation in the Earth and shergottite parent body (SPB): chemical evidence from basalts. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 1071–1091 (1986).
Harper, C. L.et al. Rapid accretion and early differentiation of Mars indicated by 142Nd/144Nd in SNC meteorites. Science 267, 213–217 (1995).
Stevenson, D. J. in Origin of the Earth(eds Newsom, H. E. & Jones, J. H.) 231–249 (Oxford Univ. Press, London, (1990)).
Sleep, N. H. Martian plate tectonics. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 5639–5655 (1994).
Breuer, D., Spohn, T. & Wüllner, U. Mantle differentiation and the crustal dichotomy of Mars. Planet. Space Sci. 41, 269–283 (1993).
Breuer, D., Yuen, D. A. & Spohn, T. Phase transitions in the Martian mantle: implications for partially layered convection. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 148, 457–469 (1997).
Bertka, C. M. & Fei, Y. Mineralogy of the Martian interior up to core-mantle boundary pressures. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 5251–5264 (1997).
Harder, H. & Christensen, U. R. Aone-plume model of martian mantle convection. Nature 380, 507–509 (1996).
Salters, V. J. M. & Hart, S. R. The mantle sources of ocean ridges, islands and arcs: the Hf-isotope connection. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 104, 364–380 (1994).
Lee, D. -C. & Halliday, A. N. Precise determinations of the isotopic compositions and atomic weights of molybednum, tellurium, tin and tungsten using ICP magnetic sector multiple collector mass spectrometry. Int. J. Mass Spec. Ion Proc. 146/147, 35–46 (1995).
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Lindstrom, L. Nyquist, G. MacPherson, C. Perron and M. Wadhwa for access to their meteorite collections at NASA, Smithsonian Institution of Washington, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle at Paris, and Field Museum in Chicago. We also thank J. Christensen, E. Essene, H. Pollack, M. Rehkämper, P. van Keken and Y. Zhang for their comments, M. Johnson and C. Hall for their assistance, and K. Righter and M. Drake for access to unpublished papers. This work was supported by NSF, DOE, NASA and the University of Michigan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, DC., Halliday, A. Core formation on Mars and differentiated asteroids. Nature 388, 854–857 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/42206
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/42206
This article is cited by
-
Common feedstocks of late accretion for the terrestrial planets
Nature Astronomy (2021)
-
Reconstructing the late-accretion history of the Moon
Nature (2019)
-
Mars: a small terrestrial planet
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (2016)
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.