Citizen / General public
Researcher
Student / Future student
Company
Public partner
Journalist
Teacher / Pupil

Most of the platinum in the Earth’s mantle was brought by meteorites after the formation of the core

Most of the platinum in the Earth’s mantle was brought by meteorites after the formation of the core

© Péter Kövesi on Pexels

Publication date: 14/11/2016

Press, Research

Related themes : Origins

By analyzing, for the first time, the natural isotopic composition of platinum in meteorites as well as in ancient (over 3.85 billion years old) and modern terrestrial rocks, an international team including IPGP researchers has established the origin of terrestrial platinum. While the platinum contained in modern rocks was brought by meteorites after the formation of the Earth’s core, a fraction of the platinum contained in the oldest terrestrial rocks is primordial platinum, dating from before the formation of the Earth’s core. This suggests that modern-style plate tectonics began more than 3.85 billion years ago.

 

Ref : Creech, J.B., Baker, J.A., Handler, M.R., Lorand, J.-P., Storey, M., Wainwright, A.N., Luguet, A., Moynier, F., Bizzarro, M. (2017) Late accretion history of the terrestrial planets inferred from platinum stable isotopes. Geochem. Persp. Let. 3, 94-104.

Latest news
Jérôme Vergne becomes the new Director of the OVSM-IPGP
Jérôme Vergne becomes the new Director of the OVSM-IPGP
Committed to the various aspects of observing and monitoring telluric phenomena, Jérôme Vergne joined the IPGP on 1 July 2024 as Director of the Volca...
Evidence of magmatically induced faults at the East Pacific Rise
Evidence of magmatically induced faults at the East Pacific Rise
By comparison of ultra-high-resolution 3-D seismic imagery and bathymetry data collected at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) 9º50'N, researchers reveal the...
Charles Le Losq appointed member of the Institut Universitaire de France
Charles Le Losq appointed member of the Institut Universitaire de France
The role of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) is to encourage the development of high-level research in universities and to strengthen interd...
NASA will measure earthquakes on the Moon using technologies developed for the InSight mission on Mars
NASA will measure earthquakes on the Moon using technologies developed for the InSight mission on Mars
The technology of the two seismometers that are part of NASA's Farside Seismic Suite instrument has detected more than a thousand earthquakes on the R...