Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

The great isotopic dichotomy of the early Solar System

Journal Article · · Nature Astronomy
The isotopic composition of meteorites and terrestrial planets holds important clues about the earliest history of the Solar System and the processes of planet formation. Recent work has shown that meteorites exhibit a fundamental isotopic dichotomy between non-carbonaceous (NC) and carbonaceous (CC) groups, which most likely represent material from the inner and outer Solar System, respectively. Here we review the isotopic evidence for this NC–CC dichotomy, discuss its origin and highlight the far-reaching implications for the dynamics of the solar protoplanetary disk. The NC–CC dichotomy combined with the chronology of meteorite parent-body accretion mandate an early and prolonged spatial separation of inner (NC) and outer (CC) disk reservoirs, lasting between ~1 and ~4 Myr after Solar System formation. This is most easily reconciled with the early and rapid growth of Jupiter’s core, inhibiting substantial exchange of material from inside and outside its orbit. Here, the growth and migration of Jupiter also led to the later implantation of CC bodies into the inner Solar System and, therefore, can explain the co-occurrence of NC and CC bodies in the asteroid belt, and the delivery of volatile and water-rich CC bodies to the terrestrial planets.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1592039
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--798366; 1000953
Journal Information:
Nature Astronomy, Journal Name: Nature Astronomy Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 4; ISSN 2397-3366
Publisher:
Springer NatureCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (106)

Formation of the Giant Planets by Concurrent Accretion of Solids and Gas journal November 1996
Chemical fractionation in iron meteorites and its interpretation journal November 1972
Presolar Grains book January 2014
Pb–Pb dating of chondrules from CV chondrites by progressive dissolution journal February 2009
Nickel isotope heterogeneity in the early Solar System journal July 2008
26Al–26Mg and 207Pb–206Pb systematics of Allende CAIs: Canonical solar initial 26Al/27Al ratio reinstated journal July 2008
U–Pb chronology of the Solar System's oldest solids with variable 238U/235U journal December 2010
Stable-isotopic anomalies and the accretionary assemblage of the Earth and Mars: A subordinate role for carbonaceous chondrites journal November 2011
Molybdenum isotope anomalies in meteorites: Constraints on solar nebula evolution and origin of the Earth journal December 2011
The origins and concentrations of water, carbon, nitrogen and noble gases on Earth journal January 2012
Well-resolved variations in the formation ages for Ca–Al-rich inclusions in the early Solar System journal May 2012
Turbulent metal–silicate mixing, fragmentation, and equilibration in magma oceans journal April 2014
Nucleosynthetic W isotope anomalies and the Hf–W chronometry of Ca–Al-rich inclusions journal October 2014
Early accretion of protoplanets inferred from a reduced inner solar system 26Al inventory journal June 2015
Planetesimal differentiation revealed by the Hf–W systematics of ureilites journal November 2015
Molybdenum isotopic evidence for the origin of chondrules and a distinct genetic heritage of carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous meteorites journal November 2016
Characterizing cosmochemical materials with genetic affinities to the Earth: Genetic and chronological diversity within the IAB iron meteorite complex journal June 2017
Nucleosynthetic molybdenum isotope anomalies in iron meteorites – new evidence for thermal processing of solar nebula material journal September 2017
Radial mixing and Ru–Mo isotope systematics under different accretion scenarios journal January 2018
Origin of the non-carbonaceous–carbonaceous meteorite dichotomy journal April 2019
U–Pb ages of angrites journal January 2008
Hf–W mineral isochron for Ca,Al-rich inclusions: Age of the solar system and the timing of core formation in planetesimals journal December 2008
Hf–W chronology of the accretion and early evolution of asteroids and terrestrial planets journal September 2009
Chronology of the angrite parent body and implications for core formation in protoplanets journal May 2012
Hf–W chronology of the eucrite parent body journal May 2015
A link between oxygen, calcium and titanium isotopes in 26Al-poor hibonite-rich CAIs from Murchison and implications for the heterogeneity of dust reservoirs in the solar nebula journal September 2016
Distribution of 26Al in the CR chondrite chondrule-forming region of the protoplanetary disk journal March 2017
26 Al– 26 Mg systematics in chondrules from Kaba and Yamato 980145 CV3 carbonaceous chondrites journal March 2017
Mn–Cr ages and formation conditions of fayalite in CV3 carbonaceous chondrites: Constraints on the accretion ages of chondritic asteroids journal February 2017
Magnesium and chromium isotope evidence for initial melting by radioactive decay of 26Al and late stage impact-melting of the ureilite parent body journal July 2017
Angrite meteorites record the onset and flux of water to the inner solar system journal September 2017
Hf-W chronology of CR chondrites: Implications for the timescales of chondrule formation and the distribution of 26Al in the solar nebula journal February 2018
Time and duration of chondrule formation: Constraints from 26Al-26Mg ages of individual chondrules journal January 2019
Combined U-corrected Pb-Pb dating and 26Al-26Mg systematics of individual chondrules – Evidence for a reduced initial abundance of 26Al amongst inner Solar System chondrules journal September 2019
Elemental and isotopic variability in solar system materials by mixing and processing of primordial disk reservoirs journal September 2019
On the width and shape of gaps in protoplanetary disks journal April 2006
How rapidly did Mars accrete? Uncertainties in the Hf–W timing of core formation journal November 2007
Fossilized condensation lines in the Solar System protoplanetary disk journal March 2016
Origin of water in the inner Solar System: Planetesimals scattered inward during Jupiter and Saturn’s rapid gas accretion journal November 2017
Jupiter's Influence on the Building Blocks of Mars and Earth journal June 2018
Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth's formation journal August 2001
Young chondrules in CB chondrites from a giant impact in the early Solar System journal August 2005
Iron meteorites as remnants of planetesimals formed in the terrestrial planet region journal February 2006
Hf–W–Th evidence for rapid growth of Mars and its status as a planetary embryo journal May 2011
A low mass for Mars from Jupiter’s early gas-driven migration journal June 2011
Impact jetting as the origin of chondrules journal January 2015
Growing the gas-giant planets by the gradual accumulation of pebbles journal August 2015
The isotopic nature of the Earth’s accreting material through time journal January 2017
Isotopic evolution of the protoplanetary disk and the building blocks of Earth and the Moon journal March 2018
Evidence for the late formation of hydrous asteroids from young meteoritic carbonates journal January 2012
Early aqueous activity on the ordinary and carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies recorded by fayalite journal June 2015
Broad bounds on Earth’s accretion and core formation constrained by geochemical models journal May 2010
The formation of Jupiter by hybrid pebble–planetesimal accretion journal August 2018
Evidence for very early migration of the Solar System planets from the Patroclus–Menoetius binary Jupiter Trojan journal September 2018
Molybdenum isotopic evidence for the late accretion of outer Solar System material to Earth journal May 2019
Lopsided dust rings in transition disks journal January 2013
Separating gas-giant and ice-giant planets by halting pebble accretion journal November 2014
Forming the cores of giant planets from the radial pebble flux in protoplanetary discs journal December 2014
Evidence for supernova injection into the solar nebula and the decoupling of r-process nucleosynthesis journal October 2013
Isotopic evidence for primordial molecular cloud material in metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites journal February 2016
Tungsten isotopic constraints on the age and origin of chondrules journal February 2016
Meteoritic Evidence for the Infall of Large Interstellar Dust Aggregates during the Formation of the Solar System journal August 1998
Refractory Phases in Primitive Meteorites Devoid of [TSUP]26[/TSUP]A[CLC]l[/CLC] and [TSUP]41[/TSUP]C[CLC]a[/CLC]:Representative Samples of First Solar System Solids? journal December 1998
Rapid Timescales for Accretion and Melting of Differentiated Planetesimals Inferred from 26 Al- 26 Mg Chronometry journal September 2005
Chronology of the Solar System's Oldest Solids journal February 2008
The 2014 alma long Baseline Campaign: First Results from high Angular Resolution Observations Toward the hl tau Region journal July 2015
Aerodynamics of solid bodies in the solar nebula journal September 1977
A model for planetesimal meltdown by 26 Al and its implications for meteorite parent bodies journal January 2006
Pb isotopic age of the Allende chondrules journal August 2007
Evolution of protoplanetary disk inferred from 26Al chronology of individual chondrules: Disk evolution and 26Al chronology of chondrules journal October 2011
The effects of disk building on the distributions of refractory materials in the solar nebula: Refractory objects transport in the solar nebula journal January 2012
Correlated accretion ages and ε 54 Cr of meteorite parent bodies and the evolution of the solar nebula journal April 2014
Pb-Pb dating of individual chondrules from the CB a chondrite Gujba: Assessment of the impact plume formation model journal June 2015
Timing of the formation and migration of giant planets as constrained by CB chondrites journal December 2016
Early formation of planetary building blocks inferred from Pb isotopic ages of chondrules journal August 2017
Lead Isotopic Ages of Chondrules and Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions journal September 2002
The Formation Conditions of Chondrules and Chondrites journal June 2008
Homogeneous Distribution of 26Al in the Solar System from the Mg Isotopic Composition of Chondrules journal August 2009
238U/235U Variations in Meteorites: Extant 247Cm and Implications for Pb-Pb Dating journal December 2009
The Oxygen Isotopic Composition of the Sun Inferred from Captured Solar Wind journal June 2011
The Provenances of Asteroids, and Their Contributions to the Volatile Inventories of the Terrestrial Planets journal July 2012
The Absolute Chronology and Thermal Processing of Solids in the Solar Protoplanetary Disk journal November 2012
Protracted core formation and rapid accretion of protoplanets journal June 2014
Early accretion of water in the inner solar system from a carbonaceous chondrite-like source journal October 2014
Lifetime of the solar nebula constrained by meteorite paleomagnetism journal February 2017
Building Terrestrial Planets journal May 2012
Mass Fractionation Laws, Mass-Independent Effects, and Isotopic Anomalies journal June 2016
Tungsten Isotopes in Planets journal August 2017
Characterizing the Variable Dust Permeability of Planet-induced Gaps journal February 2018
The Effect of Jupiter's Formation on the Distribution of Refractory Elements and Inclusions in Meteorites journal September 2018
Making the Planetary Material Diversity during the Early Assembling of the Solar System journal November 2018
A low mass for Mars from Jupiter's early gas-driven migration text January 2012
Building Terrestrial Planets text January 2012
Lopsided dust rings in transition disks text January 2013
Turbulent metal-silicate mixing, fragmentation, and equilibration in magma oceans text January 2014
The origins and concentrations of water, carbon, nitrogen and noble gases on Earth text January 2014
Separating gas-giant and ice-giant planets by halting pebble accretion text January 2014
Growing the gas-giant planets by the gradual accumulation of pebbles text January 2015
Fossilized condensation lines in the Solar System protoplanetary disk text January 2015
Origin of water in the inner Solar System: Planetesimals scattered inward during Jupiter and Saturn's rapid gas accretion text January 2017
Jupiter's influence on the building blocks of Mars and Earth text January 2018
Elemental and isotopic variability in solar system materials by mixing and processing of primordial disk reservoirs text January 2019
On the width and shape of gaps in protoplanetary disks text January 2005
Time and duration of chondrule formation: Constraints from 26Al-26Mg ages of individual chondrules text January 2019
The formation of Jupiter by hybrid pebble–planetesimal accretion text January 2018
Hf–W chronology of the accretion and early evolution of asteroids and terrestrial planets text January 2009

Similar Records

The Non-carbonaceous–Carbonaceous Meteorite Dichotomy
Journal Article · Tue May 12 00:00:00 UTC 2020 · Space Science Reviews · OSTI ID:1844068

Isotopic Evolution of the Inner Solar System Inferred from Molybdenum Isotopes in Meteorites
Journal Article · Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 UTC 2020 · The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online) · OSTI ID:1823221