Abstract All current models of formation of the Earth allow the occlusion of volatiles in the inner core but suggest their efficient removal from the accreting solids at formation of the outer core and the mantle. Analyses of upper mantle materials support this interpretation and indicate that the primitive mantle has an exceedingly low content of water and halogens compared to saturation in thermodynamic equilibrium. The volatiles emanating at the Earth's surface result from impregnation of the crust by the atmosphere and hydrosphere which seem to be as old as the planet. The progressive contamination of the upper mantle by the crust leads to a continuous net loss of oxygen to the interior of the Earth, which appears as a sink, not a source of volatiles.
Interaction of ocean-atmosphere with planetary interior
Advances in Space Research ; 1 , 7 ; 37-48
1981-01-01
12 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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