The composition of the Earth

http://earthscience.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AndersGrevesse.pdf

Abundances of the elements: Meteoritic and solar

Solar photospheric and meteoritic CI chondrite abundance determinations for all elements are summarized and the best currently available photospheric abundances are selected. The meteoritic and solar abundances of a few elements (e.g., noble gases, beryllium, boron, phosphorous, sulfur) are discussed in detail. The photospheric abundances give mass fractions of hydrogen (X ¼ 0:7491), helium (Y ¼ 0:2377), and heavy elements (Z ¼ 0:0133), leading to Z=X ¼ 0:0177, which is lower than the widely used Z=X ¼ 0:0245 from previous compilations. Recent results from standard solar models considering helium and heavy-element settling imply that photospheric abundances and mass fractions are not equal to protosolar abundances (representative of solar system abundances). Protosolar elemental and isotopic abundances are derived from photospheric abundances by considering settling effects. Derived protosolar mass fractions are X0 ¼ 0:7110, Y0 ¼ 0:2741, and Z0 ¼ 0:0149. The solar system and photospheric abundance tables are used to compute self-consistent sets of condensation temperatures for all elements. Subject headings: astrochemistry — meteors, meteoroids — solar system: formation — Sun: abundances — Sun: photosphere

/pdf/solar-system-abundances-and-condensation-temperatures-of-the-f7u38sk0l8.pdf

Solar System Abundances and Condensation Temperatures of the Elements

Direct physical evidence is presented for an unusual event at exactly the time of extinctions in the planktonic realm. Deep-sea limestones exposed in Italy, Denmark, and New Zealand indicate iridium increases of about 30, 160, and 20 times, respectively, above the background level at precisely the time of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinctions, 65 million years ago. Reasons are given that this iridium is of extraterrestrial origin, but did not come from a nearby supernova. A hypothesis is set forth which accounts for the extinctions and the iridium observations. One prediction of this hypothesis is verified, that the chemical composition of the boundary clay, which is thought to come from the stratospheric dust, is markedly different from that of clay mixed with the chemically similar Cretaceous and Tertiary limestones.

/pdf/extraterrestrial-cause-for-the-cretaceous-tertiary-2yoc56x8wn.pdf

Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction

Basaltic volcanism 'samples' the Earth's mantle to great depths, because solid-state convection transports deep material into the (shallow) melting region. The isotopic and trace-element chemistry of these basalts shows that the mantle contains several isotopically and chemically distinct components, which reflect its global evolution. This evolution is characterized by upper-mantle depletion of many trace elements, possible replenishment from the deeper, less depleted mantle, and the recycling of oceanic crust and lithosphere, but of only small amounts of continental material.

Mantle geochemistry: the message from oceanic volcanism

Rhenium and osmium concentrations and osmium isotopic ratios of group IIA, IIIA, IVA, and IVB iron meteorites were determined by negative thermal ionization mass spectrometry with modified digestion and equilibration techniques. Precise isochrons are defined for all four groups. An absolute age of 4558 million years is assumed for group IIIA irons, leading to closure ages of 4537 ± 8, 4456 ± 25, and 4527 ± 29 million years for the group IIA, IVA, and IVB irons, respectively. The initial osmium-187/osmium-188 ratios of the IIA, IIIA, and IVA groups, as a function of crystallization age, suggest that the rhenium/osmium ratio of the parental materials to these asteroidal cores was similar to that of ordinary chondrites. Data for IVB irons, in contrast, indicate a different mode of formation and derivation from a distinctly nonchondritic osmium reservoir.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/271/5252/1099.full.pdf

Re-Os Ages of Group IIA, IIIA, IVA, and IVB Iron Meteorites

The Re–Os (rhenium–osmium) chronometer applied to molybdenite (MoS2) is now demonstrated to be remarkably robust, surviving intense deformation and high-grade thermal metamorphism. Successful dating of molybdenite is dependent on proper preparation of the mineral separate and analysis of a critical quantity of molybdenite, unique to each sample, such that recognized spatial decoupling of 187Re parent and 187Os daughter within individual molybdenite crystals is overcome. Highly precise, accurate and reproducible age results are derived through isotope dilution and negative thermal ion mass spectrometry (ID-NTIMS). Spatial decoupling of parent–daughter precludes use of the laser ablation ICP-MS microanalytical technique for Re–Os dating of molybdenite. The use of a reference or control sample is necessary to establish laboratory credibility and for interlaboratory comparisons. The Rb–Sr, K–Ar and 40Ar/39Ar chronometers are susceptible to chemical and thermal disturbance, particularly in terranes that have experienced subsequent episodes of hydrothermal/magmatic activity, and therefore should not be used as a basis for establishing accuracy in Re–Os dating of molybdenite, as has been done in the past. Re–Os ages for molybdenite are almost always in agreement with observed geological relationships and, when available, with zircon and titanite U–Pb ages. For terranes experiencing multiple episodes of metamorphism and deformation, molybdenite is not complicated by overgrowths as is common for some minerals used in U–Pb dating (e.g. zircon, monazite, xenotime), nor are Re and Os mobilized beyond the margins of individual crystals during solid-state recrystallization. Moreover, inheritance of older molybdenite cores, incorporation of common Os, and radiogenic Os loss are exceedingly rare, whereas inheritance, common Pb and Pb loss are common complications in U–Pb dating techniques. Therefore, molybdenite ages may serve as point-in-time markers for age comparisons.

The remarkable Re-Os chronometer in molybdenite : how and why it works

Two Re-Os dating reference material molybdenites were prepared. Molybdenite JDC and molybdenite HLP are from a carbonate vein-type molybdenum-(lead)-uranium deposit in the Jinduicheng-Huanglongpu area of Shaanxi province, China. The samples proved to be homogeneous, based on the coefficient of variation of analytical results and an analysis of variance test. The sampling weight was 0.1 g for JDC and 0.025 g for HLP. An isotope dilution method was used for the determination of Re and Os. Sample decomposition and pre-concentration of Re and Os prior to measurement were accomplished using a variety of methods: acid digestion, alkali fusion, ion exchange and solvent extraction. Negative thermal ionisation mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry were used for the determination of Re and 187Os concentration and isotope ratios. The certified values include the contents of Re and Os and the model ages. For HLP, the Re content was 283.8 ± 6.2 μg g−1, 187Os was 659 ± 14 ng g−1 and the Re-Os model age was 221.4 ± 5.6 Ma. For JDC, the Re content was 17.39 ± 0.32 μg g−1, 187Os was 25.46 ± 0.60 ng g−1 and the Re-Os model age was 139.6 ± 3.8 Ma. Uncertainties for both certified reference materials are stated at the 95% level of confidence. Three laboratories (from three countries: PR. China, USA, Sweden) joined in the certification programme. These certified reference materials are primarily useful for Re-Os dating of molybdenite, sulfides, black shale, etc.

Preparation and certification of Re-Os dating reference materials: Molybdenites HLP and JDC

Model compositions of Earth, Venus, and Mercury are calculated from the premise that planets and chondrites underwent four identical fractionation processes in the solar nebula. Because elements of similar properties stay together in these processes, five constraints suffice to define the composition of a planet: mass of the core, abundance of U, and the ratios K/U, Tl/U, and FeO/(FeO + MgO). Complete abundance tables, and normative mineralogies, are given for all three planets. Review of available data shows only a few gross trends for the inner planets: FeO decreases with heliocentric distance, whereas volatiles are depleted and refractories are enriched in the smaller planets.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/77/12/6973.full.pdf

Chemical Composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury

THE elevated abundances of highly siderophile elements in the Earth's mantle, relative to what would be predicted from metal–silicate equilibrium, have often been cited as evidence for the accretion to the Earth of a 'late veneer' of chondritic material following core formation1. As rhenium and its decay-product osmium are both highly siderophile, the evolution of the Re–Os isotope system in a terrestrial reservoir provides a robust, time-averaged constraint on the siderophile abundances of the reservoir; thus, the broadly chondritic evolution of Os isotopes in the oceanic upper mantle provides strong support for the late accretion model2,3. But the Re–Os composition of the late veneer is still poorly defined, because the mantle has differentiated into 187Os-enriched and -depleted reservoirs4–7. Here we report a value for the Os isotopic composition of the modern 'primitive upper mantle' (PUM), a hypothetical undifferentiated upper-mantle reservoir. From suites of variably melt-depleted mantle xenoliths from three continents, we derive a minimum 187Os/188Os ratio for PUM of 0.1290 ± 0.0009, by using a correlation between 187Os/188Os and geochemical indices of 'fertility' to extrapolate to the Os isotope ratio of undepleted mantle. Comparing this value to the 187Os/188Os ratios measured in different classes of chrondritic meteorite, we infer that the late veneer had siderophile element abundances similar to those of enstatite or ordinary chondrites (187Os/188Os = 0.1286 ± 0.0010), rather than carbonaceous chondrites (0.1258 ± 0.0005).

John W. Morgan

Papers

Re-Os Ages of Group IIA, IIIA, IVA, and IVB Iron Meteorites

The remarkable Re-Os chronometer in molybdenite : how and why it works

Preparation and certification of Re-Os dating reference materials: Molybdenites HLP and JDC

Chemical Composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury

The osmium isotopic composition of the Earth's primitive upper mantle