Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton

Application of the 147Sm–143Nd and 146Sm–142Nd chronometers has suggested that the initial differentiation of Earth’s mantle into enriched and depleted reservoirs may have begun within the first 100–200 million years of Earth’s history1. However, little is known about the differentiation of the earl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tessalina, Svetlana, Bourdon, B., Van Kranendonk, M., Brick, J., Philippot, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44645
_version_ 1848757060713316352
author Tessalina, Svetlana
Bourdon, B.
Van Kranendonk, M.
Brick, J.
Philippot, P.
author_facet Tessalina, Svetlana
Bourdon, B.
Van Kranendonk, M.
Brick, J.
Philippot, P.
author_sort Tessalina, Svetlana
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Application of the 147Sm–143Nd and 146Sm–142Nd chronometers has suggested that the initial differentiation of Earth’s mantle into enriched and depleted reservoirs may have begun within the first 100–200 million years of Earth’s history1. However, little is known about the differentiation of the early crust; although evidence has suggested the presence of enriched crustal material2, 3, 4, 5, data regarding the nature and composition of this crust are limited. Here we present 147Sm–143Nd data from the weakly metamorphosed basalt and layered chert–barite successions from the Dresser Formation of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The Sm–Nd isochron indicates an age of 3.49±0.10 billion years, in agreement with previous estimates from Pb–Pb (ref. 6) and U–Pb (ref. 7) dating, which indicates that the Sm–Nd system has not been reset. Our measured εNd value of −3.3±1.0 for the rocks at this site is consistent with formation from an older protolith. On the basis of our modelling of trace element and isotopic compositions from these rocks, we suggest that the older component was crustal in nature, and differentiated from the convective mantle more than 4.3 billion years ago.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:22:06Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-44645
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:22:06Z
publishDate 2010
publisher Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Publishers Ltd
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-446452017-09-13T14:10:55Z Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton Tessalina, Svetlana Bourdon, B. Van Kranendonk, M. Brick, J. Philippot, P. Application of the 147Sm–143Nd and 146Sm–142Nd chronometers has suggested that the initial differentiation of Earth’s mantle into enriched and depleted reservoirs may have begun within the first 100–200 million years of Earth’s history1. However, little is known about the differentiation of the early crust; although evidence has suggested the presence of enriched crustal material2, 3, 4, 5, data regarding the nature and composition of this crust are limited. Here we present 147Sm–143Nd data from the weakly metamorphosed basalt and layered chert–barite successions from the Dresser Formation of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. The Sm–Nd isochron indicates an age of 3.49±0.10 billion years, in agreement with previous estimates from Pb–Pb (ref. 6) and U–Pb (ref. 7) dating, which indicates that the Sm–Nd system has not been reset. Our measured εNd value of −3.3±1.0 for the rocks at this site is consistent with formation from an older protolith. On the basis of our modelling of trace element and isotopic compositions from these rocks, we suggest that the older component was crustal in nature, and differentiated from the convective mantle more than 4.3 billion years ago. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44645 10.1038/ngeo772 Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Publishers Ltd restricted
spellingShingle Tessalina, Svetlana
Bourdon, B.
Van Kranendonk, M.
Brick, J.
Philippot, P.
Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title_full Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title_fullStr Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title_full_unstemmed Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title_short Influence of Hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the Pilbara Craton
title_sort influence of hadean crust evident in basalts and cherts from the pilbara craton
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44645