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Silicon in the Earth’s core

Author

Listed:
  • R. Bastian Georg

    (University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, UK
    ETH Zentrum NW, Clausiusstrasse 25, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • Alex N. Halliday

    (University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, UK)

  • Edwin A. Schauble

    (University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1567, USA)

  • Ben C. Reynolds

    (ETH Zentrum NW, Clausiusstrasse 25, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland)

Abstract

Silicon to the core The Earth and Moon have iron isotopic abundances that are slightly 'heavy' compared with Mars, the asteroid Vesta and primitive meteorites. The reason for this has been unclear. One suggestion is that there was a large-scale isotopic equilibration during the 'giant impact', the collision between the early Earth and a Mars-sized body that created the Moon, but this has seemed unlikely given that most other elements do not show the effect. An analysis of 44 meteorite and terrestrial samples now shows that the silicon isotopic compositions of basaltic rocks from the Earth and Moon are also distinctly heavy. The finding is consistent with the isotopic equilibration model, and it suggests that silicon was already partitioned into the Earth's core as a light element before the Moon formed.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Bastian Georg & Alex N. Halliday & Edwin A. Schauble & Ben C. Reynolds, 2007. "Silicon in the Earth’s core," Nature, Nature, vol. 447(7148), pages 1102-1106, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:447:y:2007:i:7148:d:10.1038_nature05927
    DOI: 10.1038/nature05927
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