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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Dec; 77(12): 6973–6977.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.6973
PMCID: PMC350422
PMID: 16592930

Chemical composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury

John W. Morgan* and Edward Anders†
Author information Copyright and License information PMC Disclaimer

Abstract

Model compositions of Earth, Venus, and Mercury are calculated from the premise that planets and chondrites underwent four identical fractionation processes in the solar nebula. Because elements of similar properties stay together in these processes, five constraints suffice to define the composition of a planet: mass of the core, abundance of U, and the ratios K/U, Tl/U, and FeO/(FeO + MgO). Complete abundance tables, and normative mineralogies, are given for all three planets. Review of available data shows only a few gross trends for the inner planets: FeO decreases with heliocentric distance, whereas volatiles are depleted and refractories are enriched in the smaller planets.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences