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Title: Core formation and core composition from coupled geochemical and geophysical constraints

Abstract

The formation of Earth’s core left behind geophysical and geochemical signatures in both the core and mantle that remain to this day. Seismology requires that the core be lighter than pure iron and therefore must contain light elements, and the geochemistry of mantle-derived rocks reveals extensive siderophile element depletion and fractionation. Both features are inherited from metal–silicate differentiation in primitive Earth and depend upon the nature of physiochemical conditions that prevailed during core formation. To date, core formation models have only attempted to address the evolution of core and mantle compositional signatures separately, rather than seeking a joint solution. Here we combine experimental petrology, geochemistry, mineral physics and seismology to constrain a range of core formation conditions that satisfy both constraints. We find that core formation occurred in a hot (liquidus) yet moderately deep magma ocean not exceeding 1,800 km depth, under redox conditions more oxidized than present-day Earth. This new scenario, at odds with the current belief that core formation occurred under reducing conditions, proposes that Earth’s magma ocean started oxidized and has become reduced through time, by oxygen incorporation into the core. As a result, this core formation model produces a core that contains 2.7–5% oxygen along withmore » 2–3.6% silicon, with densities and velocities in accord with radial seismic models, and leaves behind a silicate mantle that matches the observed mantle abundances of nickel, cobalt, chromium, and vanadium.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4]
  1. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris (France); Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, Lausanne (Switzlerland)
  2. Univ. College London, London (United Kingdom)
  3. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris (France)
  4. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Paris (France); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1343007
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-679548
Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-07NA27344
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 112; Journal Issue: 40; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; core formation; core composition; mineral physics; experimental petrology; earth's accretion

Citation Formats

Badro, James, Brodholt, John P., Piet, Helene, Siebert, Julien, and Ryerson, Frederick J. Core formation and core composition from coupled geochemical and geophysical constraints. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1505672112.
Badro, James, Brodholt, John P., Piet, Helene, Siebert, Julien, & Ryerson, Frederick J. Core formation and core composition from coupled geochemical and geophysical constraints. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1505672112
Badro, James, Brodholt, John P., Piet, Helene, Siebert, Julien, and Ryerson, Frederick J. 2015. "Core formation and core composition from coupled geochemical and geophysical constraints". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1505672112. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1343007.
@article{osti_1343007,
title = {Core formation and core composition from coupled geochemical and geophysical constraints},
author = {Badro, James and Brodholt, John P. and Piet, Helene and Siebert, Julien and Ryerson, Frederick J.},
abstractNote = {The formation of Earth’s core left behind geophysical and geochemical signatures in both the core and mantle that remain to this day. Seismology requires that the core be lighter than pure iron and therefore must contain light elements, and the geochemistry of mantle-derived rocks reveals extensive siderophile element depletion and fractionation. Both features are inherited from metal–silicate differentiation in primitive Earth and depend upon the nature of physiochemical conditions that prevailed during core formation. To date, core formation models have only attempted to address the evolution of core and mantle compositional signatures separately, rather than seeking a joint solution. Here we combine experimental petrology, geochemistry, mineral physics and seismology to constrain a range of core formation conditions that satisfy both constraints. We find that core formation occurred in a hot (liquidus) yet moderately deep magma ocean not exceeding 1,800 km depth, under redox conditions more oxidized than present-day Earth. This new scenario, at odds with the current belief that core formation occurred under reducing conditions, proposes that Earth’s magma ocean started oxidized and has become reduced through time, by oxygen incorporation into the core. As a result, this core formation model produces a core that contains 2.7–5% oxygen along with 2–3.6% silicon, with densities and velocities in accord with radial seismic models, and leaves behind a silicate mantle that matches the observed mantle abundances of nickel, cobalt, chromium, and vanadium.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1505672112},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1343007}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
issn = {0027-8424},
number = 40,
volume = 112,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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Cited by: 114 works
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Works referencing / citing this record:

Experimental Constraints on an MgO Exsolution‐Driven Geodynamo
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Investigating Earth's Formation History Through Copper and Sulfur Metal-Silicate Partitioning During Core-Mantle Differentiation
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Jupiter's influence on the building blocks of Mars and Earth
text, January 2018


FeO Content of Earth’s Liquid Core
journal, October 2019


Nitrogen Content in the Earth's Outer Core
journal, January 2019


Magma oceans as a critical stage in the tectonic development of rocky planets
journal, October 2018

  • Schaefer, Laura; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 376, Issue 2132
  • https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0109

Terrestrial magma ocean origin of the Moon
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The isotopic nature of the Earth’s accreting material through time
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Redox control on nitrogen isotope fractionation during planetary core formation
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Ab Initio Prediction of Potassium Partitioning Into Earth's Core
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Rotating double-diffusive convection in stably stratified planetary cores
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Small-Scale Metal/Silicate Equilibration During Core Formation: The Influence of Stretching Enhanced Diffusion on Mixing
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Equations of State and Anisotropy of Fe-Ni-Si Alloys
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An early geodynamo driven by exsolution of mantle components from Earth’s core
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