The core-merging giant impact in Earth’s accretion history and its implications

Zhou, You; Liu, Yun; Reinhardt, Christian; Deng, Hongping

doi:10.1007/s11631-021-00503-0

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The resolution level is sufficient to accurately model the stripping of mantle material as described in previous giant impact models (Meier et al., 2021), and it is therefore expected to adequately model energy deposition from the shock wave. The simulation time for most collisions is about 34 hr, thought a few high‐energy cases are extended to about 51 hr, consistent with previous simulations (e.g., Chau et al., 2021; Reinhardt et al., 2020, 2022; Zhou et al., 2021).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 87%

“…This may result in an overestimation of the temperature of core particles at the CMB. In the case of direct core‐merging collisions, the impactor metal core remains mostly intact and merges with proto‐Earth's core during the several hours’ impact simulation, implying minimal heat exchange with the mantle (Zhou et al., 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address this issue, we employ a relaxation process to ensure hydrostatic equilibrium in each SPH particle. This is achieved by applying a velocity damping method, setting the damper coefficient at 0.95 (e.g., Reinhardt & Stadel, 2017; Zhou et al., 2021). The resulting initial density, pressure, and temperature profiles of the proto‐Earth and impactor yield low noise, with the particle's average velocity being about 1.5 m/s, satisfying the requirements of giant impact simulations (see Figure S1 in Supporting Information ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Scaling Relation for Core Heating by Giant Impacts and Implications for Dynamo Onset

Zhou,

Driscoll,

Zhang

et al. 2024

JGR Planets

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Accretional heating of Earth's interior during formation is pivotal to its subsequent thermal and chemical evolution. In particular, impact heating of Earth's core is expected, but its amplitude and radial distribution within the core is unknown and could influence the onset of the geodynamo. The uncertainty is due, in part, to the lack of constraints on the temperature of the interior following formation due to the difficulty of preserving a record of such a high energy environment, and the assertion that super‐heating during formation would be rapidly lost through magma ocean cooling. Here we systematically investigate core heating due to giant impacts using a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code with simulations spanning a range of impact angles, velocities, and masses. From these simulations we derive a scaling relation for core heating that depends on the impact parameters and predicts the radial core temperature profile following the impact. Our findings show that a significant amount of heat is deposited into the core, with a canonical impact scenario resulting in an average core temperature increase of about 3000 K, approximately 500 K higher than that of the overlying mantle. In this case the heat distribution within the core produces a strong thermal stratification. We use a parameterized cooling model to estimate that the core could have cooled to an adiabatic state ∼290 Myr after a canonical impact, which is consistent with the observed time span between the age of the Moon and evidence for an active geodynamo.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Scaling Relation for Core Heating by Giant Impacts and Implications for Dynamo Onset

Zhou,

Driscoll,

Zhang

et al. 2024

JGR Planets

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Mass-dependent nickel isotopic variations in achondrites and lunar rocks

Wang

Lin

et al. 2023

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

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Research Advances in the Giant Impact Hypothesis of Moon Formation

Zhou,

Bi,

Liu

2024

Space Sci Technol

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The Moon’s origin is a long-debated scientific question, and its unique characteristics have led to the widespread acceptance of the giant impact hypothesis as the dominant theory explaining how the Moon formed. According to the canonical impact model, an impactor about the size of Mars collided with Earth, leading to the formation of a debris disk primarily composed of material from the impactor, within which the Moon subsequently formed. However, the canonical impact model faces an important challenge in accounting for the remarkably similar isotopic anomalies across various isotope systems observed in both Earth and the Moon, referred to as the “isotope crisis”. To address this quandary, a range of new computational models depicting the giant impact has been proposed. Nevertheless, the inquiry into the Moon’s origin is still far from a conclusive resolution. Consequently, acquiring additional experimental and exploratory data becomes imperative. Furthermore, delving deeper into the limitations and mechanisms of numerical models is crucial, offering the potential for an enhanced understanding of Earth and Moon’s evolution. This paper provides an extensive evaluation of the primary computational models associated with the giant impact theory. It explores the advancements made in research related to this theory and analyzes its merits and limitations.

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The core-merging giant impact in Earth’s accretion history and its implications

Cited by 4 publications

References 39 publications

A Scaling Relation for Core Heating by Giant Impacts and Implications for Dynamo Onset

A Scaling Relation for Core Heating by Giant Impacts and Implications for Dynamo Onset

Mass-dependent nickel isotopic variations in achondrites and lunar rocks

Research Advances in the Giant Impact Hypothesis of Moon Formation

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