Pb–Pb dating constraints on the accretion and cooling history of chondrites

Abstract

We have analyzed the Pb isotopic compositions of whole-rocks and various components (CAIs, chondrules, and/or mineral separates) of two carbonaceous chondrites, Allende (CV3) and Murchison (CM2), and nine ordinary chondrites, Sainte Marguerite (H4), Nadiabondi and Forest City (H5), Kernouvé (H6), Bjurböle (L/LL4), Elenovka and Ausson (L5), Tuxtuac (LL5), and Saint-Séverin (LL6) by MC-ICP-MS. Three CAI fractions from Allende define an isochron with an age of 4568.1 ± 9.4 Ma (MSWD = 0.08) and plot on the same isochron as fragments of the Efremovka inclusion E60 analyzed by Amelin et al. [Amelin, Y., Krot, A. N., Hutcheon, I. D., and Ulyanov, A. A. (2002a). Lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions. Science 297, 1679–1683]. When these two groups of samples are combined, the isochron yields an age of 4568.5 ± 0.5 (MSWD = 0.90), which is our best estimate of the age of the Solar System. Chondrules and pyroxene–olivine fractions from the ordinary chondrites yield ages that reflect the blocking of Pb isotope equilibration with the nebular gas. The combination of these ages with the corresponding metamorphic phosphate ages provides constraints on the thermal history of the different chondrite parent bodies. Among the H chondrites, Sainte Marguerite cooled to below ∼1100 K within a few My at 4565 Ma and to ∼800 K at 4563 Ma. Nadiabondi appears to have experienced a slightly more protracted cooling history with the corresponding interval lasting from 4559 to 4556 Ma. The data from Forest City and Kernouvé show evidence of late-stage perturbation with resulting U/Pb fractionation. Likewise, Pb isotopes in Tuxtuac (LL5) record a cooling history lasting from ∼4555 to 4544 Ma, which may indicate that the cooling history for the LL parent body was more prolonged than for the H parent body. We suggest a thermal evolution model for the growth of the planetary bodies based on the release of radiogenic heat from 26Al and 60Fe. This model incorporates the accretion rate, which determines the time at which the radiogenic heat becomes efficiently trapped, and the terminal size of the parent body, which controls its overall thermal inertia. The parent bodies of carbonaceous chondrites, which show little indication of metamorphic transformation, collect cooler nebular material at a relatively late stage. Small asteroids of ∼10–50 km radius accreting within 1–3 My could be the parent bodies of H and LL chondrites. The parent body of the L chondrites is likely to be a larger asteroid ( r > 100 km) or possibly the product of collisions of smaller planetary bodies.