¹William S.Cassata
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 479, 322-329 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.09.034]
¹Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore CA, 94550, USA
Copyright Elsevier

The evolution of Mars’ atmosphere to its currently thin state incapable of supporting liquid water remains poorly understood and has important implications for Martian climate history. Martian meteorites contain trapped atmospheric gases that can be used to constrain both the timing and effectiveness of atmospheric escape processes. In this paper, measurements of xenon isotopes in two ancient Martian meteorites, ALH 84001 and NWA 7034, are reported. The data indicate an early episode of atmospheric escape that mass fractionated xenon isotopes culminated within a few hundred million years of planetary formation, and little change to the atmospheric xenon isotopic composition has occurred since this time. In contrast, on Earth atmospheric xenon fractionation continued for at least two billion years (Pujol et al., 2011). Such differences in atmospheric Xe fractionation between the two planets suggest that climate conditions on Mars may have differed significantly from those on Archean Earth. For example, the hydrogen escape flux may not have exceeded the threshold required for xenon escape on Mars after 4.2–4.3 Ga, which indicates that Mars may have been significantly drier than Earth after this time.

¹H.Genda, ¹R.Brasser, ^2,3S.J.Mojzsis
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 480, 25-32 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.09.041]
¹Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
²Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, UCB 399, 2200 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80309-0399, USA
³Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 45 Budaörsi Street, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
Copyright Elsevier

Overabundances in highly siderophile elements (HSEs) of Earth’s mantle can be explained by conveyance from a singular, immense (D∼3000km) “Late Veneer” impactor of chondritic composition, subsequent to lunar formation and terrestrial core-closure. Such rocky objects of approximately lunar mass (∼0.01 M⊕) ought to be differentiated, such that nearly all of their HSE payload is sequestered into iron cores. Here, we analyze the mechanical and chemical fate of the core of such a Late Veneer impactor, and trace how its HSEs are suspended – and thus pollute – the mantle. For the statistically most-likely oblique collision (∼45°), the impactor’s core elongates and thereafter disintegrates into a metallic hail of small particles (∼10 m). Some strike the orbiting Moon as sesquinary impactors, but most re-accrete to Earth as secondaries with further fragmentation. We show that a single oblique impactor provides an adequate amount of HSEs to the primordial terrestrial silicate reservoirs via oxidation of (<m-sized) metal particles with a hydrous, pre-impact, early Hadean Earth.

^1,2,3Koichiro Umemoto, ^4,5,6Renata M. Wentzcovitch, ^3,7Shunqing Wu, ³Min Ji, ³Cai-Zhuang Wang, ³Kai-Ming Ho
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 478, 40-45 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.08.032]
¹Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
²Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, 310 Pillsbury drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
³Ames Laboratory, US DOE and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
⁴Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
⁵Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
⁶Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
⁷Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Copyright Elsevier

The highest pressure form of the major Earth-forming mantle silicate is MgSiO₃ post-perovskite (PPv). Understanding the fate of PPv at TPa pressures is the first step for understanding the mineralogy of super-Earths-type exoplanets, arguably the most interesting for their similarities with Earth. Modeling their internal structure requires knowledge of stable mineral phases, their properties under compression, and major element abundances. Several studies of PPv under extreme pressures support the notion that a sequence of pressure induced dissociation transitions produce the elementary oxides SiO₂and MgO as the ultimate aggregation form at ∼3 TPa. However, none of these studies have addressed the problem of mantle composition, particularly major element abundances usually expressed in terms of three main variables, the Mg/Si and Fe/Si ratios and the Mg#, as in the Earth. Here we show that the critical compositional parameter, the Mg/Si ratio, whose value in the Earth’s mantle is still debated, is a vital ingredient for modeling phase transitions and internal structure of super-Earth mantles. Specifically, we have identified new sequences of phase transformations, including new recombination reactions that depend decisively on this ratio. This is a new level of complexity that has not been previously addressed, but proves essential for modeling the nature and number of internal layers in these rocky mantles.

¹Eugene Gurov,²Nikolay Nikolaenko,¹Helena Shevchuk,¹Anatoly Yamnichenko
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12951]
¹Institute of Geological Sciences, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
²Expedition No. 37 of Municipal Company “Kirovgeologiya,” Gorniy, Kirovograd, Ukraine
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

The Kamenetsk impact structure is a deeply eroded simple crater that formed in crystalline rocks of the Ukrainian Shield. This study presents structural, lithologic, and shock metamorphic evidence for an impact origin of the Kamenetsk structure, which was previously described as a paleovolcano. The Kamenetsk structure is an oval depression that is 1.0–1.2 km in diameter and 130 m deep. The structure is deeply eroded, and only the lower part of the sequence of lithic breccia has been preserved in the deepest part of the crater to recent time, while the predominant part of impact rocks and postimpact sediments was eroded. Manifestations of shock metamorphism of minerals, especially planar deformation features in quartz and feldspars, were determined by petrographic investigations of lithic breccia that allowed us to determine the impact origin of the Kamenetsk structure. The erosion of the crater and surrounding target to a minimal depth of 220 m preceded the deposition of the postimpact sediments. The time of the formation of the Kamenetsk structure is bracketed within a wide interval from 2.0 to 2.1 Ga, the age of the crystalline target rocks, to the Late Miocene age of the sediments overlaying the crater. The deep erosion of the structure suggests it is probably Paleozoic in age.

¹Shuo Ding, ²Taylor Hough, ¹Rajdeep Dasgupta
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.10.025https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.10.025]
¹Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS 126, Houston, TX 77005, USA
²Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Copyright Elsevier

In order to constrain sulfur concentration in intermediate to high-Ti mare basalts at sulfide saturation (SCSS), we experimentally equilibrated FeS melt and basaltic melt using a piston cylinder at 1.0-2.5 GPa and 1400-1600 °C, with two silicate compositions similar to high-Ti (Apollo 11: A11, ∼11.1 wt.% TiO2, 19.1 wt.% FeO∗, and 39.6 wt.% SiO2) and intermediate-Ti (Luna 16, ∼5 wt.% TiO2, 18.7 wt.% FeO∗, and 43.8 wt.% SiO2) mare basalts. Our experimental results show that SCSS increases with increasing temperature, and decreases with increasing pressure, which are similar to the results from previous experimental studies. SCSS in the A11 melt is systematically higher than that in the Luna 16 melt, which is likely due to higher FeO∗, and lower SiO2 and Al2O3 concentration in the former. Compared to the previously constructed SCSS models, including those designed for high-FeO∗ basalts, the SCSS values determined in this study are generally lower than the predicted values, with overprediction increasing with increasing melt TiO2 content. We attribute this to the lower SiO2 and Al2O3 concentration of the lunar magmas, which is beyond the calibration range of previous SCSS models, and also more abundant FeTiO3 complexes in our experimental melts that have higher TiO2 contents than previous models’ calibration range. The formation of FeTiO3 complexes lowers the activity of FeO∗, View the MathML source, and therefore causes SCSS to decrease. To accommodate the unique lunar compositions, we have fitted a new SCSS model for basaltic melts of >5wt.% FeO∗ and variable TiO2 contents. Using previous chalcophile element partitioning experiments that contained more complex Fe-Ni-S sulfide melts, we also derived an empirical correction that allows SCSS calculation for basalts where the equilibrium sulfides contain variable Ni contents of 10-50 wt.%. At the pressures and temperatures of multiple saturation points, SCSS of lunar magmas with compositions from picritic glasses, mare basalts, to young lunar meteorites vary from 2600 to 4800 ppm for basalt equilibration with a pure FeS melt and from 1400 to 2600 ppm for basalt equilibration with a Fe-rich sulfide melt containing 30 wt.% Ni. The measured S contents in these proposed near-primary lunar magmas are lower than the predicted SCSS at the conditions of their last equilibration with the lunar mantle, indicating no sulfide retention in the lunar mantle source during partial melting. Sulfide exhaustion during partial melting in the lunar mantle also supports the theory that the bulk silicate moon is depleted in highly siderophile elements. Based on the measured S contents and the estimated degree of melting, the estimated S contents for the mantle source of A15 green glass and A15 mare basalts is 10-23 ppm; for A17 orange glass is 25-62 ppm, for A12 mare basalts is 27-92 ppm, and for A11 basalt is 35-120 ppm. Consideration of SCSS decrease due to the presence of Ni in the sulfide melt does not change these mantle S abundance estimates for <30 wt.% Ni in the sulfide. The inferred S contents support the notion that the lunar mantle is heterogeneous in terms of S. Although variable among different groups, the inferred S abundance of up to 120 ppm in the lunar mantle falls near the lower end of the S content of the depleted terrestrial mantle such as the MORB source.

¹Gerrit Budde, ^1,2Thomas S. Kruijer, ¹Thorsten Kleine
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.10.014]
¹Institut für Planetologie, University of Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany
²Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, United States
Copyright Elsevier

Renazzo-type carbonaceous (CR) chondrites are distinct from most other chondrites in having younger chondrule 26Al-26Mg ages, but the significance of these ages and whether they reflect true formation times or spatial variations of the 26Al/27Al ratio within the solar protoplanetary disk are a matter of debate. To address these issues and to determine the timescales of metal-silicate fractionation and chondrule formation in CR chondrites, we applied the short-lived 182Hf-182W chronometer to metal, silicate, and chondrule separates from four CR chondrites. We also obtained Mo isotope data for the same samples to assess potential genetic links among the components of CR chondrites, and between these components and bulk chondrites.

All investigated samples plot on a single Hf-W isochron and constrain the time of metal-silicate fractionation in CR chondrites to 3.6±0.6 million years (Ma) after the formation of Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs). This age is indistinguishable from a ∼3.7 Ma Al-Mg age for CR chondrules, suggesting not only that metal-silicate fractionation and chondrule formation were coeval, but also that these two processes were linked to each other. The good agreement of the Hf-W and Al-Mg ages, combined with concordant Hf-W and Al-Mg ages for angrites and CV chondrules, provides strong evidence for a disk-wide, homogeneous distribution of 26Al in the early solar system. As such, the young Al-Mg ages for CR chondrules do not reflect spatial 26Al/27Al heterogeneities but indicate that CR chondrules formed ∼1–2 Ma later than chondrules from most other chondrite groups.

Metal and silicate in CR chondrites exhibit distinct nucleosynthetic Mo and W isotope anomalies, which are caused by the heterogeneous distribution of the same presolar s-process carrier. These data suggest that the major components of CR chondrites are genetically linked and therefore formed from a single reservoir of nebular dust, most likely by localized melting events within the solar protoplanetary disk. Taken together, the chemical, isotopic, and chronological data for components of CR chondrites imply a close temporal link between chondrule formation and chondrite accretion, indicating that the CR chondrite parent body is one of the youngest meteorite parent bodies. The relatively late accretion of the CR parent body is consistent with its isotopic composition (for instance the elevated 15N/14N) that suggests a formation at a larger heliocentric distance, probably beyond the orbit of Jupiter. As such, the accretion age of the CR chondrite parent body of ∼3.6 Ma after CAI formation provides the earliest possible time at which Jupiter’s growth could have led to scattering of carbonaceous meteorite parent bodies from beyond its orbit into the inner solar system.

Carl PALK^1,4, Rasmus ANDREASEN^1,5, Mark REHKAMPER¹, Alison STUNT¹,Katharina KREISSIG¹, Barry COLES¹, Maria SCHONBACHLER², and Caroline SMITH³
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12989]
¹Department of Earth Science & Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
²Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 25, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
³Department of Mineralogy, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
⁴Present address: School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
⁵Present address: Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Publishedby arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

New Tl, Pb, and Cd concentration and Tl, Pb isotope data are presented for enstatite as well as L- and LL-type ordinary chondrites, with additional Cd stable isotope results for the former. All three chondrite suites have Tl and Cd contents that vary by more than 1–2 orders of magnitude but Pb concentrations are more uniform, as a result of terrestrial Pb contamination. Model calculations based on Pb isotope compositions indicate that for more than half of the samples, more than 50% of the measured Pb contents are due to addition of modern terrestrial Pb. In part, this is responsible for the relatively young and imprecise Pb-Pb ages determined for EH, L, and LL chondrites, which are hence only of limited chronological utility. In contrast, four particularly pristine EL chondrites define a precise Pb-Pb cooling age of 4559 ± 6 Ma. The enstatite chondrites (ECs) have highly variable ε^114/110Cd of between about +3 and +70 due to stable isotope fractionation from thermal and shock metamorphism. Furthermore, nearly all enstatite meteorites display ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −3.3 to +0.8, while a single anomalous sample is highly fractionated in both Tl and Cd isotopes. The majority of the ECs thereby define a correlation of ε²⁰⁵Tl with ε^114/110Cd, which suggests that at least some of the Tl isotope variability reflects stable isotope fractionation rather than radiogenic ingrowth of ²⁰⁵Tl from ²⁰⁵Pb decay. Considering L chondrites, most ε²⁰⁵Tl values range between −4 and +1, while two outliers with ε²⁰⁵Tl ≤ −10 are indicative of stable isotope fractionation. Considering only those L chondrites which are least likely to feature Pb contamination or stable Tl isotope effects, the results are in accord with the former presence of live ²⁰⁵Pb on the parent body, with an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = (1.5 ± 1.4) × 10⁻⁴, which suggests late equilibration of the Pb-Tl system 26–113 Ma after carbonaceous chondrites (CCs). The LL chondrites display highly variable ε²⁰⁵Tl values from −12.5 to +14.9, also indicative of stable isotope effects. However, the data for three pristine LL3/LL4 chondrites display an excellent correlation between ε²⁰⁵Tl and ²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰³Tl. This defines an initial ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of (1.4 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁴, equivalent to a ²⁰⁵Pb-²⁰⁵Tl cooling age of 55 + 12/−24 Ma (31–67 Ma) after CCs.

Bradley T. De Gregorio¹, Rhonda M. Stroud¹, Larry R. Nittler², and A. L. David Kilcoyne³
Astrophysical Journal 848, 113 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa8c07]
¹Materials Science and Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6366, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA
²Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
³Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Mailstop 7R0222, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Geochemical indicators in meteorites imply that most formed under relatively oxidizing conditions. However, some planetary materials, such as the enstatite chondrites, aubrite achondrites, and Mercury, were produced in reduced nebular environments. Because of large-scale radial nebular mixing, comets and other Kuiper Belt objects likely contain some primitive material related to these reduced planetary bodies. Here, we describe an unusual assemblage in a dust particle from comet 81P/Wild 2 captured in silica aerogel by the NASA Stardust spacecraft. The bulk of this ~20 μm particle is comprised of an aggregate of nanoparticulate Cr-rich magnetite, containing opaque sub-domains composed of poorly graphitized carbon (PGC). The PGC forms conformal shells around tiny 5–15 nm core grains of Fe carbide. The C, N, and O isotopic compositions of these components are identical within errors to terrestrial standards, indicating a formation inside the solar system. Magnetite compositions are consistent with oxidation of reduced metal, similar to that seen in enstatite chondrites. Similarly, the core–shell structure of the carbide + PGC inclusions suggests a formation via FTT reactions on the surface of metal or carbide grains in warm, reduced regions of the solar nebula. Together, the nanoscale assemblage in the cometary particle is most consistent with the alteration of primary solids condensed from a C-rich, reduced nebular gas. The nanoparticulate components in the cometary particle provide the first direct evidence from comets of reduced, carbon-rich regions that were present in the solar nebula.

S. Gärtner¹ et al. (>10)
Astrophysical Journal 848, 96 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa8c7f]
¹School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

Models and observations suggest that ice-particle aggregation at and beyond the snowline dominates the earliest stages of planet formation, which therefore is subject to many laboratory studies. However, the pressure–temperature gradients in protoplanetary disks mean that the ices are constantly processed, undergoing phase changes between different solid phases and the gas phase. Open questions remain as to whether the properties of the icy particles themselves dictate collision outcomes and therefore how effectively collision experiments reproduce conditions in protoplanetary environments. Previous experiments often yielded apparently contradictory results on collision outcomes, only agreeing in a temperature dependence setting in above ≈210 K. By exploiting the unique capabilities of the NIMROD neutron scattering instrument, we characterized the bulk and surface structure of icy particles used in collision experiments, and studied how these structures alter as a function of temperature at a constant pressure of around 30 mbar. Our icy grains, formed under liquid nitrogen, undergo changes in the crystalline ice-phase, sublimation, sintering and surface pre-melting as they are heated from 103 to 247 K. An increase in the thickness of the diffuse surface layer from ≈10 to ≈30 Å (≈2.5 to 12 bilayers) proves increased molecular mobility at temperatures above ≈210 K. Because none of the other changes tie-in with the temperature trends in collisional outcomes, we conclude that the surface pre-melting phenomenon plays a key role in collision experiments at these temperatures. Consequently, the pressure–temperature environment, may have a larger influence on collision outcomes than previously thought.

H. Genda^a, R. Brasser^a, S. J. Mojzsis^b,c
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 478, 143-149 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.09.041]
^aEarth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
^bDepartment of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, UCB 399, 2200 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80309-0399, USA
^cInstitute for Geological and Geochemical Research, Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 45 Budaörsi Street, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
Copyright Elsevier

Overabundances in highly siderophile elements (HSEs) of Earth’s mantle can be explained by conveyance from a singular, immense (D~3000km) “Late Veneer” impactor of chondritic composition, subsequent to lunar formation and terrestrial core-closure. Such rocky objects of approximately lunar mass (∼0.01 M_⊕) ought to be differentiated, such that nearly all of their HSE payload is sequestered into iron cores. Here, we analyze the mechanical and chemical fate of the core of such a Late Veneer impactor, and trace how its HSEs are suspended – and thus pollute – the mantle. For the statistically most-likely oblique collision (∼45°), the impactor’s core elongates and thereafter disintegrates into a metallic hail of small particles (∼10 m). Some strike the orbiting Moon as sesquinary impactors, but most re-accrete to Earth as secondaries with further fragmentation. We show that a single oblique impactor provides an adequate amount of HSEs to the primordial terrestrial silicate reservoirs via oxidation of (<m-sized) metal particles with a hydrous, pre-impact, early Hadean Earth.