Abstract
Osmium isotope measurements reported by Allègre and Luck1,2 indicate that terrestrial osmiridiums evolved in a mantle source region in which the osmium/rhenium ratio falls strictly within the range found in chondrites. This suggests that the highly siderophile elements in the Earth's mantle were introduced by a late influx of chondritic material and are not a result of endogenous processes. I have now examined the available data in more detail and conclude that the inferred Os/Re ratio of the Earth's mantle matches the E group and C3 chondrites, but that C1 and probably C2 chondrites were not major components of the material accreted in the late stages of mantle formation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Luck, J. M. & Allègre, C. J. Nature 302, 130–132 (1983).
Allègre, C. J. & Luck, J. M. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 48, 148–154 (1980).
Ringwood, A. E. in Advances in Earth Science (ed. Hurley, P.) 287–356 (MIT Press, Cambridge, 1966).
Brett, R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 35, 203–221 (1971).
Kimura, K., Lewis, R. S. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 38, 683–701 (1974).
Chou, C. L. Proc. 9th lunar planet. Sci. Conf., 219–230 (1978).
Jagoutz, E. et al. Proc. 10th lunar planet. Sci. Conf. 2031–2050 (1979).
Mitchell, R. H. & Keays, R. R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 45, 2425–2442 (1981).
Morgan, J. W., Wandless, G. A., Petrie, R. K. & Irving, A. J. Tectonophysics 75, 47–67 (1981).
Morgan, J. W. & Baedecker, P. A. Lunar and Planetary Science XIV, 513–514 (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, 1983).
Wänke, H. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A303, 287–302 (1981).
Newsom, H. E. & Palme, H. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 69, 354–364 (1984).
Brett, R. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 48, 1183–1188 (1984).
Jones, J. H. & Drake, M. J. Lunar and Planetary Science XV, 413–414 (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, 1984).
Luck, J. M., Birck, J. L. & Allègre, C. J. Nature 283, 256–259 (1980).
Herr, W. & Merz, E. Z. Naturforsch. 1a, 613–615 (1955).
Herr, W., Hoffmeister, W., Hirt, B., Geiss, J. & Houtermans, F. G. Z. Naturforsch. 16a, 1053–1058 (1961).
Herr, W., Wolfle, R., Eberhardt, P. & Koppe, E. in Radioactive Dating and Methods of Low-Level Counting, 499–508 (IAEA, Vienna, 1967).
Takahashi, H., Janssens, M. J., Morgan, J. W. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 42, 97–106 (1978).
Wolf, R., Richter, G. R., Woodrow, A. B. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 44, 711–717 (1980).
Ebihara, M., Wolf, R. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 46, 1849–1861 (1982).
Hertogen, J., Janssens, M. J., Takahashi, H., Morgan, J. W. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 47, 2241–2255 (1983).
Morgan, J. W., Janssens, M. J., Takahashi, H., Hertogen, J. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 49, 247–259 (1985).
Anders, E. & Owen, T. Science 198, 453–465 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morgan, J. Osmium isotope constraints on Earth's late accretionary history. Nature 317, 703–705 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317703a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/317703a0
