Benjamin Jacobsen

The Mg isotopic systematics of granitoids in continental arcs and implications for the role of chemical weathering in crust formation

Continental crust is too Si-rich and Mg-poor to derive directly from mantle melting, which generates basaltic rather than felsic magmas. Converting basalt to more felsic compositions requires a second step involving Mg loss, which is thought to be dominated by internal igneous differentiation. However, igneous differentiation alone may not be able to generate granites, the most silicic endmember making up the upper continental crust. Here, we show that granites from the eastern Peninsular Ranges Batholith (PRB) in southern California are isotopically heavy in Mg compared with PRB granodiorites and canonical mantle. Specifically, Mg isotopes correlate positively with Si content and O, Sr, and Pb isotopes and negatively with Mg content. The elevated Sr and Pb isotopes require that a component in the source of the granitic magmas to be ancient preexisting crust making up the prebatholithic crustal basement, but the accompanying O and Mg isotope fractionations suggest that this prebatholithic crust preserved a signature of low-temperature alteration. The protolith of this basement rock may have been the residue of chemical weathering, which progressively leached Mg from the residue, leaving the remaining Mg highly fractionated in terms of its isotopic signature. Our observations indicate that ancient continental crust preserves the isotopic signature of compositional modification by chemical weathering.

Micromagnetic coercivity distributions and interactions in chondrules with implications for paleointensities of the early solar system

[1] Chondrules in chondritic meteorites record the earliest stages of formation of the solar system, potentially providing information about the magnitude of early magnetic fields and early physical and chemical conditions. Using first-order reversal curves (FORCs), we map the coercivity distributions and interactions of 32 chondrules from the Allende, Karoonda, and Bjurbole meteorites. Distinctly different distributions and interactions exist for the three meteorites. The coercivity distributions are lognormal shaped, with Bjurbole distributions being bimodal or trimodal. The highest-coercivity mode in the Bjurbole chondrules is derived from tetrataenite, which interacts strongly with the lower-coercivity grains in a manner unlike that seen in terrestrial rocks. Such strong interactions have the potential to bias paleointensity estimates. Moreover, because a significant portion of the coercivity distributions for most of the chondrules is <10 mT, low-coercivity magnetic overprints are common. Therefore paleointensities based on the REM method, which rely on ratios of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) to the saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) without magnetic cleaning, will probably be biased. The paleointensity bias is found to be about an order of magnitude for most chondrules with low-coercivity overprints. Paleointensity estimates based on a method we call REMc, which uses NRM/IRM ratios after magnetic cleaning, avoid this overprinting bias. Allende chondrules, which are the most pristine and possibly record the paleofield of the early solar system, have a mean REMc paleointensity of 10.4 mT. Karoonda and Bjurbole chondrules, which have experienced some thermal alteration, have REMc paleointensities of 4.6 and 3.2 mT, respectively.

Dating the First Stage of Planet Formation

The 53Mn-53Cr chronometer applied to bulk carbonaceous chondrites constrains the solar nebula volatile element fractionation, chondrule formation, and stage I planetary accretion timescale to within +0.91 to –1.17 Myr at 4568 Myr ago. The difference between the initial 53Cr/52Cr ratio of ordinary chondrites, defined by Chainpur (LL3.4) chondrules, and carbonaeous chondrites suggests that the former is coming from an isotopically evolved reservoir.

Toward Consistent Chronology in the Early Solar System: High-Resolution 53Mn-53Cr Chronometry for Chondrules

New high-precision 53Mn-53Cr data obtained for chondrules extracted from a primitive ordinary chondrite, Chainpur (LL3.4), define an initial 53Mn/55 Mn ratio of (5.1 ± 1.6) × 10-6. As a result of this downward revision from an earlier higher value of (9.4 ± 1.7) × 10-6 for the same meteorite (Nyquist et al. 2001), together with an assessment of recent literature, we show that a consistent chronology with other chronometers such as the 26Al-26Mg and 207Pb-206Pb systems emerges in the early solar system.

Coupled 182W-142Nd constraint for early Earth differentiation

Recent high precision 142Nd isotope measurements showed that global silicate differentiation may have occurred as early as 30–75 Myr after the Solar System formation [Bennett V, et al. (2007) Science 318:1907–1910]. This time scale is almost contemporaneous with Earth’s core formation at ∼30 Myr [Yin Q, et al. (2002) Nature 418:949–952]. The 182Hf-182W system provides a powerful complement to the 142Nd results for early silicate differentiation, because both core formation and silicate differentiation fractionate Hf from W. Here we show that eleven terrestrial samples from diverse tectonic settings, including five early Archean samples from Isua, Greenland, of which three have been previously shown with 142Nd anomalies, all have a homogeneous W isotopic composition, which is ∼2ε-unit more radiogenic than the chondritic value. By using a 3-stage model calculation that describes the isotopic evolution in chondritic reservoir and core segregation, as well as silicate differentiation, we show that the W isotopic composition of terrestrial samples provides the most stringent time constraint for early core formation (27.5–38 Myr) followed by early terrestrial silicate differentiation (38–75 Myr) that is consistent with the terrestrial 142Nd anomalies.

Discovery, mineral paragenesis, and origin of wadalite in a meteorite

Abstract The mineral wadalite (ideal and simplified formula: Ca6Al5Si2O16Cl3) has been discovered for the first time in a meteorite, specifically in coarse-grained, igneous type B calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from the CV carbonaceous chondrite Allende. We report the results of electron microprobe, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses of wadalite-bearing assemblages in the Allende CAIs and propose that wadalite formed by metamorphic reaction between åkermanitic melilite and anorthite, likely mediated by chlorine-bearing fluids. Petrographic relationships support the likelihood of multistage alterations by fluids of different chemistries interspersed or coinciding with thermal metamorphic episodes on the Allende parent asteroid. Fluid involvement in metamorphism of Allende CAIs implies that these objects experienced open-system alteration after accretion into the CV chondrite parent asteroid, which may have resulted in disturbances of their oxygen- and magnesium-isotope systematics.