No 182W evidence for early Moon formation

Journal Article · 12 September 2021 · Nature Geoscience

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00820-2 · OSTI ID:1863174

Kruijer, Thomas S.  ^[1]; Archer, Gregory J. ^[2]; Kleine, Thorsten  ^[2]

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1. Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin (Germany); Freie Univ., Berlin (Germany)
2. University of Münster (Germany)

The Moon-forming giant impact was probably the last major event in Earth’s accretion, so dating this event is critical to determine the timeline of terrestrial planet formation. Recently, Thiemens et al. used the short-lived ¹⁸²Hf–¹⁸²W system to argue that the Moon formed within the first 60 Myr of Solar System history. Here we demonstrate, however, that mixing processes during and after the giant impact modified the 182W compositions of the Earth and Moon, which hampers the use of the Hf–W system to date the Moon. Our results show that the lunar ¹⁸²W record is fully consistent with a recently determined, younger age of the Moon of 142 ± 25 Myr after Solar System formation.

• 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: 1863174
• Report Number(s): LLNL-JRNL-799370; 1002147
• Journal Information: Nature Geoscience, Journal Name: Nature Geoscience Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 14; ISSN 1752-0894
• Publisher: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English