Pb-isotopic evidence for an early, enriched crust on Mars

- Pb isotopic investigation of the oldest Martian samples.
- Evidence for a new geochemical reservoir on Mars.
- Likely providing evidence for an enriched, differentiated crust on Mars.

Martian meteorite NWA 7533 is a regolith breccia that compositionally resembles the Martian surface measured by orbiters and landers. NWA 7533 contains monzonitic clasts that have zircon with U-Pb ages of 4.428 Ga. The Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase and alkali feldspars, as well as U-Pb isotopic compositions of chlorapatite in the monzonitic clasts of NWA 7533 have been measured by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The U-Pb isotopic compositions measured from the chlorapatite in NWA 7533 yield an age of 1.357±81 Ga (2σ). The least radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions measured in plagioclase and K-feldspar lie within error of the 4.428 Ga Geochron. These data indicate that the monzonitic clasts in NWA 7533 are a product of a differentiation history that includes residence in a reservoir that formed prior to 4.428 Ga with a μ-value (238U/204Pb) of at least 13.4±1.7(2σ) and a κ-value (232Th/238U) of ∼4.3. This μ-value is more than three times higher than any other documented Martian reservoir. These results indicate either the Martian mantle is significantly more heterogeneous than previously thought (μ-value of 1-14 vs. 1-5) and/or the monzonitic clasts formed by the melting of Martian crust with a μ-value of at least 13.4. Therefore, NWA 7533 may contain the first isotopic evidence for an enriched, differentiated crust on Mars.