Noriko T. Kita

Chondrulelike Objects in Short-Period Comet 81P/Wild 2

The Stardust spacecraft returned cometary samples that contain crystalline material, but the origin of the material is not yet well understood. We found four crystalline particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 that were apparently formed by flash-melting at a high temperature and are texturally, mineralogically, and compositionally similar to chondrules. Chondrules are submillimeter particles that dominate chondrites and are believed to have formed in the inner solar nebula. The comet particles show oxygen isotope compositions similar to chondrules in carbonaceous chondrites that compose the middle-to-outer asteroid belt. The presence of the chondrulelike objects in the comet suggests that chondrules have been transported out to the cold outer solar nebula and spread widely over the early solar system.

A short duration of chondrule formation in the solar nebula: evidence from 26Al in Semarkona ferromagnesian chondrules

Abstract The 26 Al– 26 Mg systems of five ferromagnesian chondrules from the least metamorphosed ordinary chondrite Semarkona (LL3.0) were studied using a secondary ion mass spectrometer. Their glass or plagioclase portions contain excesses of 26 Mg, and in two chondrules the 26 Mg excesses are well correlated with 27 Al/ 24 Mg, which demonstrates the in-situ decay of 26 Al. The initial 26 Al/ 27 Al ratios in these chondrules obtained from the slope of isochrons show a narrow range of between 6 × 10 −6 and 9 × 10 −6 , indicating their short formation duration of less than 1 My. If the solar nebula was initially homogeneous in Al isotopes, the chondrule formation ages are ∼2 My younger than those of CAIs. Our results based on the study of the least metamorphosed UOC are consistent with the previous studies on Al-rich chondrules that the chondrule formation started at least 2 My after CAIs. Alternatively, the older records before 2 My were erased by chondrule recycling process. It further suggests that the young apparent ages (3 to >5 My after CAIs) for chondrules in type 3.4 UOCs are due to the disturbance of the 26 Al– 26 Mg system, possibly during parent body metamorphism. The result is not consistent with the extended nebular time scale of >5 My and the chondrule formation by planetary processes. The Ni isotopic analysis of the FeO-rich olivines in a type II chondrule in Semarkona did not show any detectable excess 60 Ni in spite of their high Fe/Ni ratios. The upper limit of the initial 60 Fe/ 56 Fe ratio of the solar system was estimated to be 3.4 × 10 −7 , which is consistent with the previous estimate (0.2–1.9 × 10 −7 ) from eucrites. This result confirms that the 60 Ni excess previously observed from CAIs was not due to the decay of the short-lived nuclide 60 Fe, but a Ni isotopic anomaly of nucleosynthetic origin.

60Fe in Chondrites: Debris from a Nearby Supernova in the Early Solar System?

60Fe decays to 60Ni with a half-life of 1.49 × 106 yr, so all of the original 60Fe atoms incorporated into the solar system have decayed. Because 60Fe is produced only in stars, its initial abundance in the solar system provides a constraint on the stellar contribution of radionuclides to the early solar system and on the nature of the stellar source. Because of its short half-life, 60Fe is also a potential high-resolution chronometer of early-solar-system events. The presence of 60Fe in primitive meteorites has been confirmed in sulfides, but the initial abundance of 60Fe in the solar system has been only loosely constrained because it is uncertain when the sulfides formed. We show that 60Fe was present with abundance ratios of 60Fe/56Fe = (2.2-3.7) × 10-7 when ferromagnesian chondrules formed. By applying the time difference of 1.5-2.0 million years between formation of ferromagnesian chondrules and Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), the oldest known solar system solids, a solar system initial 60Fe/56Fe ratio [(60Fe/56Fe)0] of (5-10) × 10-7 is estimated. This new solidly based (60Fe/56Fe)0 ratio is consistent with predictions for nucleosynthesis in a supernova or in an intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star just before the solar system formation, but is too high for the source to have been a low-mass AGB star. Considering the rarity of encounters between a molecular cloud and an AGB star, our results can be considered strong evidence of a contribution of material from a nearby supernova and of a role for a supernova in the origin of the solar system.

High-precision oxygen isotope analysis of picogram samples reveals 2 μm gradients and slow diffusion in zircon

Abstract Ion microprobe analysis with a sub-micrometer diameter spot reveals a sharp, 2 μm gradient in oxygen isotope ratio proving that oxygen diffusion in zircon is slow even under prolonged high-grade metamorphism. The data are consistent with an oxygen diffusion coefficient of 10-23.5±1 cm2/s. Furthermore, this gradient is found in a zircon that contains clear textural evidence of recrystallization in nearby regions. This finding shows that through careful textural and chemical analysis, primary information can be extracted from a zircon that has also undergone partial recrystallization. The oxygen isotope ratios found in zircon have been used to infer magmatic and pre-magmatic histories, including the presence of liquid water on the surface of earliest Earth. Recently, these interpretations have been questioned with the assertion that zircon may not retain its primary oxygen isotope signature through metamorphism. The slow diffusion confirmed by these results supports interpretations that assume preservation of magmatic compositions.

SHRIMP U-Pb and Cameca 1280 oxygen isotope results from ancient detrital zircons in the Caozhuang Quartzite, eastern Hebei, North China Craton; evidence for crustal reworking 3.8 Ga ago

The Caozhuang quartzite, located in Eastern Hebei Province in the eastern part of the North China Craton, has long been known to contain the oldest detrital zircon population in China. A suite of 30 zircons with preliminary ages >3.7 Ga were selected for detailed SHRIMP U-Pb and CAMECA 1280 oxygen isotope analyses. SHRIMP U-Pb dating reveals that ages range from 3860 to 3135 Ma, the former being the oldest 207Pb/206Pb zircon age so far obtained from the North China Craton. Values of δ18O range from 5.4 to 7.5 permil, similar to Archean igneous zircons worldwide, but the average value for the 30 zircons is 6.6 permil, which is ∼0.3 permil higher than suite averages for detrital zircons from the Jack Hills and Beartooth Mountains and nearly 1 permil higher than magmatic zircons from igneous rocks of the Superior Province and Barberton. These elevated values of δ18O suggest reworking of a significant amount of juvenile crust, older than 3.8 Ga, that underwent a low temperature supracrustal history and was distributed throughout the source region in north-east China.

Primitive oxygen-isotope ratio recorded in magmatic zircon from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Abstract The oxygen-isotope composition of the Earth’s upper mantle is an important reference for understanding mantle and crust geochemical cycles. Olivine is the most commonly used mineral for determining the influence of crustal processes on the oxygen-isotope ratio (δ18O) of primitive rocks, however it is an uncommon mineral in continental crust and readily alters at or near Earth’s surface. Here we report the first measurements of oxygen-isotope ratios in zircon from oceanic crust exposed at a mid-ocean ridge. Measurements of δ18O and trace elements were made by ion microprobe on zircon in polished rock chips of gabbro and veins in serpentinized peridotite drilled from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The zircon grains contain both oscillatory and sector growth zoning, features characteristic of magmatic zircon. Values of δ18O (zircon) = 5.3 ± 0.8‰ (2 st. dev., n = 68) for the population are consistent with the interpretation that these grains are igneous in origin and formed in high-temperature isotopic equilibrium with mantle oxygen. The δ18O values demonstrate that zircon in oceanic crust preserves primitive δ18O in spite of sub-solidus alteration of the whole rock. The fact that the primitive δ18O (zircon) values fall in a narrow range (5.3 ± 0.8‰) strengthens the use of oxygen isotopes in zircon as a tracer to identify processes of exchange in a wide range of modern and ancient crustal environments, including subducted oceanic crust (eclogite), and also in the oldest known pieces of Earth, >3900 million-year-old detrital zircon grains from Western Australia.

A novel symbiosis between chemoautotrophic bacteria and a freshwater cave amphipod

Symbioses involving animals and chemoautotrophic bacteria form the foundation of entire ecosystems at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, but have so far not been reported in terrestrial or freshwater environments. A rare example of a terrestrial ecosystem sustained by chemoautotrophy is found within the sulfide-rich Frasassi limestone cave complex of central Italy. In this study, we report the discovery of abundant filamentous bacteria on the exoskeleton of Niphargus ictus, a macroinvertebrate endemic to Frasassi. Using 16S rDNA sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we show that N. ictus throughout the large cave complex are colonized by a single phylotype of bacteria in the sulfur-oxidizing clade Thiothrix. The epibiont phylotype is distinct from Thiothrix phylotypes that form conspicuous biofilms in the cave streams and pools inhabited by N. ictus. Using a combination of 13C labeling, FISH, and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), we show that the epibiotic Thiothrix are autotrophic, establishing the first known example of a non-marine chemoautotroph-animal symbiosis. Conditions supporting chemoautotrophy, and the N. ictus-Thiothrix association, likely commenced in the Frasassi cave complex between 350 000 and 1 million years ago. Therefore, the N. ictus-Thiothrix symbiosis is probably significantly younger than marine chemoautotrophic symbioses, many of which have been evolving for tens to hundreds of million years.

Oxygen‐isotope and trace element constraints on the origins of silica‐rich melts in the subarc mantle

Peridotitic xenoliths in basaltic andesites from Batan island in the Luzon arc contain silica-rich (broadly dacitic) hydrous melt inclusions that were likely trapped when these rocks were within the upper mantle wedge underlying the arc. These melt inclusions have been previously interpreted to be slab-derived melts. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the oxygen isotope compositions of these inclusions with an ion microprobe. The melt inclusions from Batan xenoliths have δ 18OVSMOW values of 6.45 ± 0.51‰. These values are consistent with the melts having been in oxygen isotope exchange equilibrium with average mantle peridotite at temperatures of ≥875°C. We suggest the δ 18O values of Batan inclusions, as well as their major and trace element compositions, can be explained if they are low-degree melts (or differentiation products of such melts) of peridotites in the mantle wedge that had previously undergone extensive melt extraction followed by metasomatism by small amounts (several percent or less) of slab-derived components. A model based on the trace element contents of Batan inclusions suggests that this metasomatic agent was an aqueous fluid extracted from subducted basalts and had many characteristics similar to slab-derived components of the sources of arc-related basalts at Batan and elsewhere. Batan inclusions bear similarities to “adakites,” a class of arc-related lava widely considered to be slab-derived melts. Our results suggest the alternative interpretation that at least some adakite-like liquids might be generated from low-degree melting of metasomatized peridotites.

Early Solar Nebula Condensates with Canonical, Not Supracanonical, Initial 26Al/27Al Ratios

The short-lived radionuclide 26 Al existed throughout the solar nebula 4.57 Ga ago, and the initial abundance ratio ( 26 Al/ 27 Al)0, as inferred from magnesium isotopic compositions of calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) in chondritic meteorites, has become a benchmark for understanding early solar system chronology. Internal mineral isochrons in most CAIs measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) give ( 26 Al/ 27 Al)0 ∼ (4–5) × 10 −5 , called “canonical.” Some recent high-precision analyses of (1) bulk CAIs measured by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS), (2) individual CAI minerals and their mixtures measured by laserablation MC-ICPMS, and (3) internal isochrons measured by multicollector (MC)-SIMS indicated a somewhat higher “supracanonical” ( 26 Al/ 27 Al)0 ranging from (5.85 ± 0.05) × 10 −5 to >7 × 10 −5 . These measurements were done on coarse-grained Type B and Type A CAIs that probably formed by recrystallization and/or melting of fine-grained condensate precursors. Thus the supracanonical ratios might record an earlier event, the actual nebular condensation of the CAI precursors. We tested this idea by performing in situ high-precision magnesium isotope measurements of individual minerals in a fine-grained CAI whose structures and volatility-fractionated trace element abundances mark it as a primary solar nebula condensate. Such CAIs are ideal candidates for the fine-grained precursors to the coarse-grained CAIs, and thus should best preserve a supracanonical ratio. Yet, our measured internal isochron yields ( 26 Al/ 27 Al)0 = (5.27 ± 0.17) × 10 −5 . Thus our data do not support the existence of supracanonical ( 26 Al/ 27 Al)0 = (5.85–7) × 10 −5 . There may not have been a significant time interval between condensation of the CAI precursors and their subsequent melting into coarse-grained CAIs.

Creation of a continent recorded in zircon zoning

We have discovered a robust microcrystalline record of the early genesis of North American lithosphere preserved in the U-Pb age and oxygen isotope zoning of zircons from a lower crustal paragneiss in the Neoarchean Superior province. Detrital igneous zircon cores with δ 18 O values of 5.1‰–7.1‰ record creation of primitive to increasingly evolved crust from 2.85 ± 0.02 Ga to 2.67 ± 0.02 Ga. Sharp chemical unconformity between cores and higher δ 18 O (8.4‰–10.4‰) metamorphic overgrowths as old as 2.66 ± 0.01 Ga dictates a rapid sequence of arc unroofing, burial of detrital zircons in hydrosphere-altered sediment, and transport to lower crust late in upper plate assembly. The period to 2.58 ± 0.01 Ga included ∼80 m.y. of high-temperature (∼700–650 °C), nearly continuous overgrowth events reflecting stages in maturation of the subjacent mantle root. Huronian continental rifting is recorded by the youngest zircon tip growth at 2512 ± 8 Ma (∼ 600 °C) signaling magma intraplating and the onset of rigid plate behavior. This >150 m.y. microscopic isotope record in single crystals demonstrates the sluggish volume diffusion of U, Pb, and O in zircon throughout protracted regional metamorphism, and the consequent advances now possible in reconstructing planetary dynamics with zircon zoning.