Comparative Re-Os systematics of chondrites: Implications regarding early solar system processes

A suite of 47 carbonaceous, enstatite, and ordinary chondrites are examined for Re-Os isotopic systematics. There are significant differences in the Re/Os and Os/Os ratios of carbonaceous chondrites compared with ordinary and enstatite chondrites. The average Re/Os for carbonaceous chondrites is 0.392 0.015 (excluding the CK chondrite, Karoonda), compared with 0.422 0.025 and 0.421 0.013 for ordinary and enstatite chondrites (1 standard deviations). These ratios, recast into elemental Re/Os ratios, are as follows: 0.0814 0.0031, 0.0876 0.0052 and 0.0874 0.0027, respectively. Correspondingly, the Os/Os ratios of carbonaceous chondrites average 0.1262 0.0006 (excluding Karoonda), and ordinary and enstatite chondrites average 0.1283 0.0017 and 0.1281 0.0004, respectively (1 standard deviations). The new results indicate that the Re/Os ratios of meteorites within each group are, in general, quite uniform. The minimal overlap between the isotopic compositions of ordinary and enstatite chondrites vs. carbonaceous chondrites indicates long-term differences in Re/Os for these materials, most likely reflecting chemical fractionation early in solar system history. A majority of the chondrites do not plot within analytical uncertainties of a 4.56-Ga reference isochron. Most of the deviations from the isochron are consistent with minor, relatively recent redistribution of Re and/or Os on a scale of millimeters to centimeters. Some instances of the redistribution may be attributed to terrestrial weathering; others are most likely the result of aqueous alteration or shock events on the parent body within the past 2 Ga. The Os/Os ratio of Earth’s primitive upper mantle has been estimated to be 0.1296 8. If this composition was set via addition of a late veneer of planetesimals after core formation, the composition suggests the veneer was dominated by materials that had Re/Os ratios most similar to ordinary and enstatite chondrites. Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd