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Osmium isotope constraints on Earth's late accretionary history

Nature volume 317, pages 703–705 (1985)Cite this article

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 22092, USA

    John W. Morgan

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  1. John W. Morgan
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Morgan, J. Osmium isotope constraints on Earth's late accretionary history. Nature 317, 703–705 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317703a0

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