The Earth’s missing lead may not be in the core

M. Lagos (), C. Ballhaus, C. Münker, C. Wohlgemuth–Ueberwasser, J. Berndt and Dmitry V. Kuzmin
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M. Lagos: Steinmann-Institut, Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53115 Bonn, Germany
C. Ballhaus: Steinmann-Institut, Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53115 Bonn, Germany
C. Münker: Steinmann-Institut, Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53115 Bonn, Germany
C. Wohlgemuth–Ueberwasser: Steinmann-Institut, Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53115 Bonn, Germany
J. Berndt: Institut für Mineralogie, Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 24, 48149 Münster, Germany
Dmitry V. Kuzmin: Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, 55128 Mainz, Germany

Nature, 2008, vol. 456, issue 7218, 89-92

Abstract: A new lead on missing lead The unique lead isotope ratios of Earth's mantle — differing from those of the CI chondrite meteorites thought to have been the building blocks of the terrestrial planets — suggest that some lead was lost about 50 to 130 million years after Solar System formation. This 'missing lead' has commonly been thought to have migrated, along with a sulphide melt, to the Earth's core. This scenario assumes that lead has an affinity for sulphide. But now Lagos et al. report partitioning experiments in metal–sulphide–silicate systems that show that lead's affinities for both iron and sulphur are too low to explain the high U/Pb ratio of Earth's mantle in terms of lead pumping to the core. As an alternative, the authors propose that the missing lead may have been lost by early degassing 50 million years after Solar System formation, possibly triggered by the giant impact that resulted in the formation of the Moon.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07375

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