ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
Earth Science
Zusammenfassung:
Refractory lithophile elements are generally considered to occur in chondritic relative abundances in terrestrial planets. This assumption forms the basis for using isotope systems such as 176Lu-176Hf and 146, 147Sm-142, 143Nd as tracers of planetary evolution. However, on the basis of high-precision 142Nd measurements, higher-than-chondritic Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf values have been recently proposed for the Earth, Moon, and Mars. This hypothesis can be tested using the combined 147Sm-143Nd and 176Lu-176Hf isotope systematics of the Moon. Here we show that the Hf isotope compositions of lunar samples are strongly affected by capture of secondary neutrons produced during cosmic ray exposure on the Moon, and present a model to correct these effects. After correction for neutron capture effects, the Lu-Hf model age for the formation of KREEP from a Moon having chondritic Lu/Hf is ca. 4.35-4.43 Ga, in good agreement with other independent constraints on the timing of lunar differentiation. The combined Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf isotope systematics of low- and high-Ti mare basalts and KREEP-rich samples provide powerful evidence for chondritic Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf in the Moon and do not support higher-than-chondritic values for these two ratios. Given the strong genetic link between the Earth and Moon, this finding implies that the bulk Earth is also characterized by chondritic Lu/Hf and Sm/Nd.
