Pb-isotopic evidence for an early, enriched crust on Mars
Access Status
Authors
Date
2014Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
School
Collection
Abstract
Martian meteorite NWA 7533 is a regolith breccia that compositionally resembles the Martian surface measured by orbiters and landers. NWA 7533 contains monzonitic clasts that have zircon with U–Pb ages of 4.428 Ga. The Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase and alkali feldspars, as well as U–Pb isotopic compositions of chlorapatite in the monzonitic clasts of NWA 7533 have been measured by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The U–Pb isotopic compositions measured from the chlorapatite in NWA 7533 yield an age of 1.357 ±81Ga (2σ). The least radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions measured in plagioclase and K-feldspar lie within error of the 4.428 Ga Geochron. These data indicate that the monzonitic clasts in NWA 7533 are a product of a differentiation history that includes residence in a reservoir that formed prior to 4.428 Ga with a µ-value (238U/204Pb) of at least 13.4 ±1.7 (2σ) and a k-value (232Th/238U) of ~4.3. This µ-value is more than three times higher than any other documented Martian reservoir. These results indicate either the Martian mantle is significantly more heterogeneous than previously thought (µ-value of 1–14 vs. 1–5) and/or the monzonitic clasts formed by the melting of Martian crust with a µ-value of at least 13.4. Therefore, NWA 7533 may contain the first isotopic evidence for an enriched, differentiated crust on Mars.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Bellucci, J.; Nemchin, A.; Whitehouse, M.; Snape, J.; Kielman, R.; Bland, Phil; Benedix, G. (2016)© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Determining the chronology and quantifying various geochemical reservoirs on planetary bodies is fundamental to understanding planetary accretion, differentiation, and global mass transfer. The Pb ...
-
Hewins, R.; Zanda, B.; Humayun, M.; Nemchin, Alexander; Lorand, J.; Pont, S.; Deldicque, D.; Bellucci, J.; Beck, P.; Leroux, H.; Marinova, M.; Remusat, L.; Göpel, C.; Lewin, E.; Grange, Marion; Kennedy, Allen; Whitehouse, M. (2017)Northwest Africa 7533, a polymict Martian breccia, consists of fine-grained clast-laden melt particles and microcrystalline matrix. While both melt and matrix contain medium-grained noritic-monzonitic material and crystal ...
-
Humayun, M.; Nemchin, Alexander; Zanda, B.; Hewins, R.; Grange, Marion; Kennedy, Allen; Lorand, J.; Gopel, C.; Fieni, C.; Pont, S.; Deldicque, D. (2013)The ancient cratered terrain of the southern highlands of Mars is thought to hold clues to the planet’s early differentiation [1,2] but until now no meteoritic regolith breccias have been recovered from Mars. Here we show ...