2017 Volume 51 Issue 1 Pages 81-94
Geochemical studies of shergottites (Martian basalts) based on Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Lu-Hf isotopic systematics have provided clues to understanding the geochemical evolution of the Martian mantle and identification of the source reservoirs. However, U-Pb isotopic systematics has been used to a limited extent for shergottite petrogenesis, because it is generally difficult to discriminate indigenous magmatic Pb components from secondary Martian near-surface components and terrestrial contamination. This study compiles and reassesses all the available Pb isotopic data of shergottites, as well as their Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Lu-Hf isotope systematics. The Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic systematics suggests that the geochemical variability of the shergottite suite (i.e., enriched, intermediate, and depleted shergottites) reflects a mixture of two distinct source reservoirs. In contrast, the Pb isotopic systematics does not support the two-component mixing model for shergottites, because the geochemically enriched, intermediate, and depleted shergottites do not participate in a two-component mixing array in Pb isotopic space. To reconcile the isotopic signatures of the Sr-Nd-Hf and Pb systems, we propose a new mixing model in which the geochemically enriched, intermediate, and depleted shergottites were derived from compositionally distinct mantle sources that had different μ (238U/204Pb) values. Moreover, a linear mixing trend defined by the enriched shergottites in Pb isotopic space is interpreted as the incorporation of a high-μ Martian crustal component into a parental magma derived from a fertilized Martian mantle source. Our model implies that the geochemical diversity of shergottites reflects heterogeneous mantle sources and an assimilated high-μ crustal component on Mars.
