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Mixing, volatile loss and compositional change during impact-driven accretion of the Earth

Nature volume 427, pages 505–509 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The degree to which efficient mixing of new material or losses of earlier accreted material to space characterize the growth of Earth-like planets is poorly constrained and probably changed with time. These processes can be studied by parallel modelling of data from different radiogenic isotope systems. The tungsten isotope composition of the silicate Earth yields a model timescale for accretion that is faster than current estimates based on terrestrial lead and xenon isotope data and strontium, tungsten and lead data for lunar samples. A probable explanation for this is that impacting core material did not always mix efficiently with the silicate portions of the Earth before being added to the Earth's core. Furthermore, tungsten and strontium isotope compositions of lunar samples provide evidence that the Moon-forming impacting protoplanet Theia was probably more like Mars, with a volatile-rich, oxidized mantle. Impact-driven erosion was probably a significant contributor to the variations in moderately volatile element abundance and oxidation found among the terrestrial planets.

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Figure 1: The change in mass fraction of the Earth as a function of time.
Figure 2: The age information that can be derived from W isotope data for the Earth and Moon at the present time is strongly model dependent.
Figure 3: The effects of disequilibrium on tungsten isotopic changes in the BSE can be large.
Figure 4: Inner Solar System primitive mantles.

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Acknowledgements

This paper benefited from discussions with, and comments from, T. Ahrens, W. Benz, R. Canup, R. Carlson, M. Drake, T. Grove, M. Humayun, T. Kleine, K. Mezger, C. Münker, H. Palme, D. Porcelli, M. Schönbächler, D. Stevenson, M. Walter, R. Wieler and H. Williams and was supported by ETH and Swiss National Science Foundation.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zentrum, NO, Sonneggstrasse 5, CH8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Alex N. Halliday

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Halliday, A. Mixing, volatile loss and compositional change during impact-driven accretion of the Earth. Nature 427, 505–509 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02275

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