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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Detection of carbonates in dust shells around evolved stars.

Carbonates on large Solar System bodies like Earth and Mars (the latter represented by the meteorite ALH84001) form through the weathering of silicates in a watery (CO3)2- solution. The presence of carbonates in interplanetary dust particles and asteroids (again, represented by meteorites) is not completely understood, but has been attributed to aqueous alteration on a large parent body, which was subsequently shattered into smaller pieces. Despite efforts, the presence of carbonates outside the Solar System has hitherto not been established. Here we report the discovery of the carbonates calcite and dolomite in the dust shells of evolved stars, where the conditions are too primitive for the formation of large parent bodies with liquid water. These carbonates, therefore, are not formed by aqueous alteration, but perhaps through processes on the surfaces of dust or ice grains or gas phase condensation. The presence of carbonates which did not form by aqueous alteration suggests that some of the carbonates found in Solar System bodies no longer provide direct evidence that liquid water was present on large parent bodies early in the history of the Solar System.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed2003

Ultradispersity of diamond at the nanoscale.

Nanometre-sized diamond has been found in meteorites, protoplanetary nebulae and interstellar dusts, as well as in residues of detonation and in diamond films. Remarkably, the size distribution of diamond nanoparticles seems to be peaked around 2-5 nm, and to be largely independent of preparation conditions. We have carried out ab initio calculations of the stability of nanodiamond as a function of surface hydrogen coverage and of size. We have found that at about 3 nm, and for a broad range of pressures and temperatures, particles with bare, reconstructed surfaces become thermodynamically more stable than those with hydrogenated surfaces, thus preventing the formation of larger grains. Our findings provide an explanation of the size distribution of extraterrestrial and of terrestrial nanodiamond found in ultradispersed and ultracrystalline diamond films. They also provide an atomistic structural model of these films, based on the topology and structure of 2-3-nm dimond clusters consisting of a diamond core surrounded by a fullerene-like carbon network.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1994

The evolution of the Earth.

The formation of this planet and its atmosphere gave rise to life, which shaped the earth's subsequent development. Our future lies in interpreting this geologic past.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed2004

Finding extraterrestrial sites for thermophiles.

Virtually our entire knowledge of the universe comes from two sorts of measurement of the electromagnetic radiation from the stars and galaxies within it; either their flux through relatively wide bandpasses (photometry), or measurements of the shape and wavelength of relatively narrow lines via spectroscopy. These techniques are now being used to discover planets outside our solar system, and perhaps in the next 10 years will begin to characterize them. If a serious search is to be made for extraterrestrial thermophiles, we need predictions for the effects of thermophiles on their host planets that are observable with these techniques. In this paper I shall outline what sorts of observation are likely to be used in the next 15 years for extra-solar planet work. All of the journal articles quoted here can be found through http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html, and often also accessed as preprints at http://uk.arxiv.org/form/astro%20ph?MULTI=form%20+/-%20interface.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed2004

The hyperthermophilic origin of life revisited.

We revisit the case for the hyperthermophilic scenario for the origin of life and the last common ancestor. Evidence includes studies of phylogenetic trees, rRNA, G and C content, hyperthermophilic proteins, correlations between maximal temperature tolerances and genetic distances, saline stabilization of DNA/RNA, and the inferred climatic temperatures of the early Earth. Although some doubts remain, the case for hot biogenesis and the last common ancestor has gotten stronger.

Archaea↗
PubMed2004

Sulphate metabolism among thermophiles and hyperthermophiles in natural aquatic systems.

Although controversial, the idea that hydrothermal systems may have been the site for prebiotic synthesis of organic molecules and origin of life is widely supported. For the nascent life to survive, it must have had some sort of metabolic mechanism for generating energy. However, little is known of the specific metabolic pathways utilized by the early life forms or the effect of high temperatures on their activity. Recent research on natural high temperature aquatic environments, though limited because of difficult field logistics and experimental problems, is revolutionizing our understanding of possible energy-generating redox pathways, such as sulphate reduction. An abridged review of research on thermophilic sulphate reduction is presented here. Because of a complex interplay between microbiological and geochemical entities involved, and the uncertainties that modern hydrothermal systems are proxy for biogeochemical conditions on early Earth, great caution is required for interpretation and extrapolation of data from these studies to primordial times. Furthermore, a general lack of integrated geological and microbiological studies towards a common understanding of origin and sustenance of life on Earth is starkly evident from this review.

Earth, Planet↗
PubMed2005

The role of latitude in mobilism debates.

In the early 1920s, the continental displacement theory of Wegener, latitude studies of Koppen and Wegener, and Argand's ideas on mountain building led to the first mobilistic paleogeography. In the 1930s and 1940s, many factors caused its general abandonment. Mobilism was revived in the 1950s and 1960s by measurements of long-term displacement of crustal blocks relative to each other (tectonic displacement) and to Earth's geographic pole (latitudinal displacement). Also, short-term or current displacements can now be measured. I briefly outline the categories of tectonic and current displacement and focus on latitudinal displacement. Integration of tectonic and latitudinal displacement in the early 1970s completed the new mobilistic paleogeography, in which the transformation of rock magnetization directions into paleopoles and latitudes and the finite rotation of spherical plates about pivot points play complementary roles; this new synthesis now provides a quantitative basis for studying long-term evolution of Earth's surface features and climate, the changing environments in which life evolves.

Earth, Planet↗
PubMed2005

Cenozoic continental climatic evolution of Central Europe.

Continental climate evolution of Central Europe has been reconstructed quantitatively for the last 45 million years providing inferred data on mean annual temperature and precipitation, and winter and summer temperatures. Although some regional effects occur, the European Cenozoic continental climate record correlates well with the global oxygen isotope record from marine environments. During the last 45 million years, continental cooling is especially pronounced for inferred winter temperatures but hardly observable from summer temperatures. Correspondingly, Cenozoic cooling in Central Europe is directly associated with an increase of seasonality. In contrast, inferred Cenozoic mean annual precipitation remained relatively stable, indicating the importance of latent heat transport throughout the Cenozoic. Moreover, our data support the concept that changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, although linked to climate changes, were not the major driving force of Cenozoic cooling.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed2006

Consistent simulations of multiple proxy responses to an abrupt climate change event.

Isotope, aerosol, and methane records document an abrupt cooling event across the Northern Hemisphere at 8.2 kiloyears before present (kyr), while separate geologic lines of evidence document the catastrophic drainage of the glacial Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway into the Hudson Bay at approximately the same time. This melt water pulse may have been the catalyst for a decrease in North Atlantic Deep Water formation and subsequent cooling around the Northern Hemisphere. However, lack of direct evidence for ocean cooling has lead to speculation that this abrupt event was purely local to Greenland and called into question this proposed mechanism. We simulate the response to this melt water pulse using a coupled general circulation model that explicitly tracks water isotopes and with atmosphere-only experiments that calculate changes in atmospheric aerosol deposition (specifically (10)Be and dust) and wetland methane emissions. The simulations produce a short period of significantly diminished North Atlantic Deep Water and are able to quantitatively match paleoclimate observations, including the lack of isotopic signal in the North Atlantic. This direct comparison with multiple proxy records provides compelling evidence that changes in ocean circulation played a major role in this abrupt climate change event.

Atlantic Ocean↗
PubMed2006

Chemistry in low-mass protostellar and protoplanetary regions.

When interstellar clouds collapse to form new stars and planets, the surrounding gas and dust become part of the infalling envelopes and rotating disks, thus providing the basic material from which new solar systems are formed. Instrumentation to probe the chemistry in low-mass star-forming regions has only recently become available. The results of a systematic program to study the abundances in solar-mass protostellar and protoplanetary regions are presented. Surveys at submillimeter and infrared wavelengths reveal a rich chemistry, including simple and complex (organic) gases, ices, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and silicates. Each of these species traces different aspects of the physical and chemical state of the objects as they evolve from deeply embedded protostars to pre-main sequence stars with planet-forming disks. Quantitative information on temperatures, densities, and abundances is obtained through molecular excitation and radiative transfer models as well as from analysis of solid-state line profiles. The chemical characteristics are dominated by freeze-out in the coldest regions and ice evaporation in the warmer zones. In the surface layers of disks, UV radiation controls the chemistry. The importance of complementary laboratory experiments and calculations to obtain basic molecular data is emphasized.

Astronomy↗
PubMed2001

Initiation of clement surface conditions on the earliest Earth.

In the beginning the surface of the Earth was extremely hot, because the Earth as we know it is the product of a collision between two planets, a collision that also created the Moon. Most of the heat within the very young Earth was lost quickly to space while the surface was still quite hot. As it cooled, the Earth's surface passed monotonically through every temperature regime between silicate vapor to liquid water and perhaps even to ice, eventually reaching an equilibrium with sunlight. Inevitably the surface passed through a time when the temperature was around 100 degrees C at which modern thermophile organisms live. How long this warm epoch lasted depends on how long a thick greenhouse atmosphere can be maintained by heat flow from the Earth's interior, either directly as a supplement to insolation, or indirectly through its influence on the nascent carbonate cycle. In both cases, the duration of the warm epoch would have been controlled by processes within the Earth's interior where buffering by surface conditions played little part. A potentially evolutionarily significant warm period of between 10(5) and 10(7) years seems likely, which nonetheless was brief compared to the vast expanse of geological time.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1994

Impact melting of frozen oceans on the early Earth: implications for the origin of life.

Without sufficient greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the early Earth would have become a permanently frozen planet because the young Sun was less luminous than it is today. Several resolutions to this faint young Sun-frozen Earth paradox have been proposed, with an atmosphere rich in CO2 being the one generally favored. However, these models assume that there were no mechanisms for melting a once frozen ocean. Here we show that bolide impacts between about 3.6 and 4.0 billion years ago could have episodically melted an ice-covered early ocean. Thaw-freeze cycles associated with bolide impacts could have been important for the initiation of abiotic reactions that gave rise to the first living organisms.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1997

Isotopes, ice ages, and terminal Proterozoic earth history.

Detailed correlations of ancient glacial deposits, based on temporal records of carbon and strontium isotopes in seawater, indicate four (and perhaps five) discrete ice ages in the terminal Proterozoic Eon. The close and repeated stratigraphic relationship between C-isotopic excursions and glaciogenic rocks suggests that unusually high rates of organic carbon burial facilitated glaciation by reducing atmospheric greenhouse capacity. The emerging framework of time and environmental change contributes to the improved resolution of stratigraphic and evolutionary pattern in the early fossil record of animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Primordial nucleosynthesis.

With the advent of the new extragalactic deuterium observations, Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is on the verge of undergoing a transformation. In the past, the emphasis has been on demonstrating the concordance of the BBN model with the abundances of the light isotopes extrapolated back to their primordial values by using stellar and galactic evolution theories. As a direct measure of primordial deuterium is converged upon, the nature of the field will shift to using the much more precise primordial D/H to constrain the more flexible stellar and galactic evolution models (although the question of potential systematic error in 4He abundance determinations remains open). The remarkable success of the theory to date in establishing the concordance has led to the very robust conclusion of BBN regarding the baryon density. This robustness remains even through major model variations such as an assumed first-order quark-hadron phase transition. The BBN constraints on the cosmological baryon density are reviewed and demonstrate that the bulk of the baryons are dark and also that the bulk of the matter in the universe is nonbaryonic. Comparison of baryonic density arguments from Lyman-alpha clouds, x-ray gas in clusters, and the microwave anisotropy are made.

Astronomical Phenomena↗