Abstract
During their formation, marine manganese (or more properly ferromanganese oxide) nodules include and commonly concentrate elements dissolved in seawater. This attribute makes them especially valuable recorders of the isotopic composition of elements supplied to the oceans having radiogenic isotopes, for these can be used in exploring crustal composition and evolution1–5. From measurements of 187Os/186Os ratios in marine manganese nodules and comparison with the 143Nd/144Nd ratios of the same nodules, we have calculated the Os isotopic composition and the osmium and rhenium concentrations of the weatherable portion of the continental crust, together with the proportions of ‘ultra-mafic’ and ‘granitic’ rock that constitute this crustal mass.
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 Springer Link
- 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
Chow, T. J. & Patterson, C. C. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 26, 263–308 (1962).
O'Nions, R. K., Carter, S. R., Cohen, R. S., Evenson, N. M. & Hamilton, P. J. Nature 273, 435–438 (1978).
Piepgras, D. J., Wasserburg, G. J. & Dasch, E. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 45, 223–236 (1979).
Goldstein, S. L. & O'Nions, R. K. Nature 292, 324–327 (1981).
Luck, J. M. & Turekian, K. K. Science 222, 613–615 (1983).
Turekian, K. K. & Luck, J. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 8032–8034 (1984).
Allegre, C. J. & Luck, J. M. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 48, 148–154 (1980).
Luck, J. M. thesis, Univ. Paris 7 (1982).
Turekian, K. K. Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 190, 243–247 (1981).
Brownlee, D. E., Bates, B. A. & Wheelock, M. M. Nature 309, 693–695 (1984).
Piepgras, D. J. & Wasserburg, G. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 72, 341–356 (1985).
Goldstein, S. L., O'Nions, R. K. & Hamilton, P. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 70, 221–236 (1984).
Barker, J. L. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 32, 627–645 (1968).
Hertogen, J., Janssens, M. J. & Palme, H. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 44, 2125–2143 (1980).
Chou, C. L., Shaw, D. M. & Crocket, J. H. J. geophys. Res. Vol. 88 Suppl., A507–A518 (1983).
Bonatti, E. & Hamlyn, P. R. in The Sea Vol. 4 (ed. Emiliani, C.) (Wiley, New York, 1981).
Udintsev, G. B. & Dmitriev, L. V. in The Sea Vol. 4 (ed. Maxwell, A. E.) (Wiley, New York, 1971).
Hebert, R., Bideau, D. & Hekinian, R. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 65, 107–125 (1983).
Dick, H. J. W., Fisher, R. L. & Bryan, W. B. Earth planet. Sei. Lett. 69, 88–106 (1984).
Frey, F. A. . in Rare Earth Element Geochemistry (ed. Henderson, P.) (Eisevier, Amsterdam, 1984).
Luck, J. M. & Allègre, C. J. Earth planet. Sei. Lett. 61, 291–296 (1982).
Newsom, H. E. & Palme, H. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 69, 354–364 (1984).
Manheim, F. T. in Handbook of Geochemistry II-4 (ed. Wedepohl, K. H.) (Springer, Berlin, 1969).
Daly, R. A. Igneous Rocks and the Depths of the Earth (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1933).
Knopf, A. J. Geol. 24, 620–622 (1916).
Shaw, D. M., Dostal, J. & Keays, R. D. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 40, 73–83 (1976).
Fenner, F. D. & Presley, B. J. Nature 312, 260–262 (1984).
White, W. H. & Hoffman, A. W. Nature 296, 821–825 (1982).
Zoller, W. H., Parington, J. R. & Phelan Kotra, J.M. Science 222, 1118–1121 (1983).
Sun, S. S. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 297 A, 409–445 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Palmer, M., Turekian, K. 187Os/186Os in marine manganese nodules and the constraints on the crustal geochemistries of rhenium and osmium. Nature 319, 216–220 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319216a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/319216a0
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.