Pb isotopic age of the Allende chondrules

We have studied Pb-isotope systematics of chondrules from the oxidized CV3 carbonaceous chondrite Allende. The chondrules contain variably radiogenic Pb with a Pb-206/Pb-204 ratio between 19.5-268. Pb-Pb isochron regression for eight most radiogenic analyses yielded the date of 4566.2 +/- 2.5 Ma. Internal residue-leachate isochrons for eight chondrule fractions yielded consistent dates with a weighted average of 4566.6 +/- 1.0 Ma, our best estimate for an average age of Allende chondrule formation. This Pb-Pb age is consistent with the range of model Al-26-Mg-26 ages of bulk Allende chondrules reported by Bizzarro et al. (2004) and is indistinguishable from Pb-Pb ages of Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) from CV chondrites (4567.2 +/- 0.6 Ma) (Amelin et al. 2002) and the oldest basaltic meteorites. We infer that chondrule formation started contemporaneously with or shortly after formation of CV CAIs and overlapped in time with formation of the basaltic crust and iron cores of differentiated asteroids. The entire period of chondrule formation lasted from 4566.6 1.0 Ma (Allende) to 4564.7 +/- 0.6 Ma (CR chondrite Acfer 059) to 4562.7 +/- 0.5 Ma (CB chondrite Gujba) and was either continuous or consisted of at least three discrete episodes. Since chondrules in CB chondrites appear to have formed from a vapor-melt plume produced by a giant impact between planetary embryos after dust in the protoplanetary disk had largely dissipated (K-rot et at. 2005), there were possibly a variety of processes in the early solar system occurring over at least 4-5 Myr that we now combine under the umbrella name of chondrule formation.