image: 'The solar system begins with (1) a primordial molecular cloud, which (2) collapses into (3) a protoplanetary disk filled with gas where planetary precursors begin to form, potentially via (4) chondrule accretion, eventually aggregating into (5) compositionally and radially distinct objects.' view more
Credit: Jean Bollard/Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris.
Elemental analysis of dated meteorite chondrules, which record the early history of the Solar System, suggest that until around 4.567 billion years ago, oxygen and volatile element delivery from the outer Solar System to the inner Solar System increased; following this time point, oxygen from water began to decrease whereas volatiles continued to increase, lending support to a model of early formation of Mars under oxidizing conditions and accretion of Earth under relatively reducing conditions.
Article #18-07263: "Volatile element evolution of chondrules through time," by Brandon Mahan et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brandon Mahan, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, FRANCE; tel: +33 7 62 93 56 12; e-mail: <mahan@ipgp.fr>; Frédéric Moynier, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, FRANCE; tel: +33 1 83 95 77 88; e-mail: <moynier@ipgp.fr>
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences