A heterogeneous mantle and crustal structure formed during the early differentiation of Mars.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38820147.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adn9830 and PMC identifier 11141613.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Highly siderophile element abundances and Os isotopes of nakhlite and chassignite meteorites demonstrate that they represent a comagmatic suite from Mars. Nakhlites experienced variable assimilation of >2-billion-year-old altered high Re/Os basaltic crust. This basaltic crust is distinct from the ancient crust represented by meteorites Allan Hills 84001 or impact-contaminated Northwest Africa 7034/7533. Nakhlites and chassignites that did not experience crustal assimilation reveal that they were extracted from a depleted lithospheric mantle distinct from the deep plume source of depleted shergottites. The comagmatic origin for nakhlites and chassignites demonstrates a layered martian interior comprising ancient enriched basaltic crust derived from trace element-rich shallow magma ocean cumulates, a variably metasomatized mantle lithosphere, and a trace element-depleted deep mantle sampled by plume magmatism.