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Updated: May 24, 2026

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 15, 2013
182W evidence for long-term preservation of early mantle differentiation products
Mathieu Touboul1, Igor S Puchtel, Richard J Walker
1Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. mtouboul@umd.edu
Abstract:
Late accretion, early mantle differentiation, and core-mantle interaction are processes that could have created subtle (182)W isotopic heterogeneities within Earth's mantle. Tungsten isotopic data for Kostomuksha komatiites dated at 2.8 billion years ago show a well-resolved (182)W excess relative to modern terrestrial samples, whereas data for Komati komatiites dated at 3.5 billion years ago show no such excess. Combined (182)W, (186,187)Os, and (142,143)Nd isotopic data indicate that the mantle source of the Kostomuksha komatiites included material from a primordial reservoir that represents either a deep mantle region that underwent metal-silicate equilibration or a product of large-scale magmatic differentiation of the mantle. The preservation, until at least 2.8 billion years ago, of this reservoir-which likely formed within the first 30 million years of solar system history-indicates that the mantle may have never been well mixed.
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Classifying Matter by Composition
According to its composition, the matter can be classified into two broad categories — pure substances and mixtures.
A pure substance is a form of matter that has a constant composition throughout with uniform properties. For example, any sample of sucrose has the same composition and same physical properties, such as melting point, color, and sweetness, regardless of the source from which it is isolated.
A mixture is composed of two or more types of...

