The Bulk Composition of the Eucrite Parent Asteroid and its Bearing on Planetary Evolution

Abstract It is shown that howardites fit extraordinary well into a binary mixing diagram for both their major and trace element compositions. Eucrites and diogenites would be suitable endmembers. In the mixing diagram computed from the elemental compositions of howardites, we find at a certain position a composition with very special features. This composition designated PR* contains all refractory incompatible elements in almost C 1, i.e. primitive, abundances. If 43% olivine is added to PR* in order to match the C 1 value for the Mg/Si ratio, a composition is obtained which has almost exact C 1 abundance values for all lithophile elements of non-volatile character. Because of its probable genetic relation we have used an olivine composition equal to that of pallasites. An eucrite parent body (EPB) with eucrites, diogenites and pallasites as the major building blocks has been previously suggested by various authors.The bulk composition of the EPB, resulting from our computations is found to be almost chondritic, but with a considerable depletion of volatile and moderately volatile elements. A comparison of the bulk composition of the EPB with that of Earth and Moon reveals a number of remarkable differences. Thus, the similarity of the composition of the silicate phases of Earth and Moon becomes even more remarkable and must be taken as strong indication for the genetic relationship of Earth and Moon.

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Constitution of terrestrial planets

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.1981.0203 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 303 (1477) ◽

pp. 287-302 ◽

Cited By ~ 282

Keyword(s):

Bulk Composition ◽

Parent Body ◽

The Moon ◽

Volatile Elements ◽

Earth’S Mantle ◽

The Earth ◽

History Of ◽

Relationship Of ◽

Reduced State

Reliable estimates of the bulk composition are so far restricted to the three planetary objects from which we have samples for laboratory investigation, i.e. the Earth, the Moon and the eucrite parent asteroid. The last, the parent body of the eucrite— diogenite family of meteorites, an object that like Earth and Moon underwent magmatic differentiations, seems to have an almost chondritic composition except for a considerable depletion of all moderately volatile (Na, K, Rb, F, etc.) and highly volatile (Cl, Br, Cd, Pb, etc.) elements. The Moon is also depleted in moderately volatile and volatile elements compared to carbonaceous chondrites of type 1 (Cl) and also compared to the Earth. Again normalized to Cl and Si the Earth’s mantle and the Moon are slightly enriched in refractory lithophile elements and in magnesium. It might be that this enrichment is fictitious and only due to the normalization to Si and that both Earth’s mantle and Moon are depleted in Si, which partly entered the Earth’s core in metallic form. The striking depletion of the Earth’s mantle for the elements V, Cr and Mn can also be explained by their partial removal into the core. The similar abundances of V, Cr and Mn in the Moon and in the Earth’s mantle indicate the strong genetic relationship of Earth and Moon. Apart from their contents of metallic iron, all siderophile elements, moderately volatile and volatile elements, Earth and Moon are chemically very similar. It might well be that, with these exceptions and that of a varying degree of oxidation, all the inner planets have a similar chemistry. The chemical composition of the Earth’s mantle, for which reliable and accurate data have recently been obtained from the study of ultramafic nodules, yields important information about the accretion history of the Earth and that of the inner planets. It seems that accretion started with highly reduced material, with all Fe as metal and even Si and Cr, V and Mn partly in reduced state, followed by the accretion of more and more oxidized matter.

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Chemical composition and accretion history of terrestrial planets

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.1988.0067 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 325 (1587) ◽

pp. 545-557 ◽

Cited By ~ 274

Keyword(s):

Bulk Composition ◽

Parent Body ◽

Conclusive Evidence ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Volatile Elements ◽

The Earth ◽

Material Component ◽

History Of ◽

Siderophile Elements ◽

High Concentrations

The high concentrations of moderately siderophile elements (Ni, Co, etc.) in the Earth’s mantle and the similarity of their Cl normalized abundances to those of moderately volatile elements (F, Na, K, Rb) and some elements such as In, which under solar nebula conditions are highly volatile, are striking. To account for the observed abundances, inhomogeneous accretion of the Earth from two components has been proposed. In this model accretion started with the highly reduced component A devoid of all elements more volatile than Na, followed by accretion of more and more oxidized material (component B), containing all elements in Cl abundances. Recent observations have brought almost conclusive evidence that SNC meteorites are martian surface rocks ejected by huge impacts. By assuming that Mars is indeed the parent body of SNC meteorites, the bulk composition of Mars is estimated. The data on the composition of Mars obtained in this way clearly show that the two-component model is also valid for Mars. The striking depletion of all elements with chalcophile character in the martian mantle indicates that, contrary to the Earth, Mars accreted almost homogeneously (H. Wanke, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond . A 303, 287 (1981)).

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A 4,565-My-old andesite from an extinct chondritic protoplanet

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2026129118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (11) ◽

pp. e2026129118

Author(s):

Jean-Alix Barrat ◽

Marc Chaussidon ◽

Akira Yamaguchi ◽

Pierre Beck ◽

Johan Villeneuve ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar System ◽

Partial Melting ◽

Bulk Composition ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Parent Body ◽

Spectral Features ◽

Magma Ocean ◽

Iron Meteorites ◽

Almost All ◽

High Degree

The age of iron meteorites implies that accretion of protoplanets began during the first millions of years of the solar system. Due to the heat generated by 26Al decay, many early protoplanets were fully differentiated with an igneous crust produced during the cooling of a magma ocean and the segregation at depth of a metallic core. The formation and nature of the primordial crust generated during the early stages of melting is poorly understood, due in part to the scarcity of available samples. The newly discovered meteorite Erg Chech 002 (EC 002) originates from one such primitive igneous crust and has an andesite bulk composition. It derives from the partial melting of a noncarbonaceous chondritic reservoir, with no depletion in alkalis relative to the Sun’s photosphere and at a high degree of melting of around 25%. Moreover, EC 002 is, to date, the oldest known piece of an igneous crust with a 26Al-26Mg crystallization age of 4,565.0 million years (My). Partial melting took place at 1,220 °C up to several hundred kyr before, implying an accretion of the EC 002 parent body ca. 4,566 My ago. Protoplanets covered by andesitic crusts were probably frequent. However, no asteroid shares the spectral features of EC 002, indicating that almost all of these bodies have disappeared, either because they went on to form the building blocks of larger bodies or planets or were simply destroyed.

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