Volatile depletion in rocky planets is a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion

Volatile depletion in rocky planets is a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Volatile depletion in rocky planets is a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion Haiyang Wang, Anders Johansen, Ziyan Xu, Marie-Luise Steinmeyer, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8195443/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Volatile depletion in rocky planets relative to their host stars is commonplace in both the Solar System and exoplanetary systems, yet the connections between planet formation and composition remain elusive. Here we model devolatilization during pebble accretion in combination with collisional growth from volatile-depleted planetesimals to explore the formation pathways of Earth and Mars. Using Bayesian inference, we find that bulk silicate Earth is best reproduced by ${\gtrsim}$75% contribution from two protoplanets formed via pebble accretion, supplemented by up to $\sim$25% material from planetesimals that are compositionally akin to the asteroid Vesta. Using instead a planetesimal volatile-depletion curve that is not observed among known meteorite parent bodies would allow the planetesimal contribution to reach $40^{+15}_{-14}$%. In comparison, bulk silicate Mars reflects 27$\pm$5% pebble-accreted material and 73${\pm}$5% Vesta-like planetesimals. We identify volatile depletion as a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion, in which both pebble accretion and collisional assembly contribute to terrestrial planet growth. By quantitatively linking formation pathways to volatile budgets, our findings demonstrate how planetary accretion histories can be inferred from elemental signatures, with broad implications for interpreting the chemical diversity of rocky exoplanets. Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Planetary science/Early solar system Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Planetary science/Exoplanets Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Astronomy and astrophysics/Computational astrophysics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files PebbledevolatilizationNatAstroR2Suppl.pdf Supplementary Information for Volatile depletion in rocky planets is a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8195443","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":636302500,"identity":"a5597abb-6f88-4229-b215-4e407ebe5d19","order_by":0,"name":"Haiyang 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Here we model devolatilization during pebble accretion in combination with collisional growth from volatile-depleted planetesimals to explore the formation pathways of Earth and Mars. Using Bayesian inference, we find that bulk silicate Earth is best reproduced by ${\\gtrsim}$75\\% contribution from two protoplanets formed via pebble accretion, supplemented by up to $\\sim$25\\% material from planetesimals that are compositionally akin to the asteroid Vesta. Using instead a planetesimal volatile-depletion curve that is not observed among known meteorite parent bodies would allow the planetesimal contribution to reach $40^{+15}_{-14}$\\%. In comparison, bulk silicate Mars reflects 27$\\pm$5\\% pebble-accreted material and 73${\\pm}$5\\% Vesta-like planetesimals. We identify volatile depletion as a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion, in which both pebble accretion and collisional assembly contribute to terrestrial planet growth. 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