"Killer" impacts and life's origins.
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Earth, Planet↗
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Accretion rates of meteorites and cosmic dust in the Early Ordovician.
Abundant fossil meteorites in marine, condensed Lower Ordovician limestones from Kinnekulle, Sweden, indicate that accretion rates of meteorites were one to two orders of magnitude higher during an interval of the Early Ordovician than at present. Osmium isotope and iridium analyses of whole-rock limestone indicate a coeval enhancement of one order of magnitude in the influx rate of cosmic dust. Enhanced accretion of cosmic matter may be related to the disruption of the L chondrite parent body around 500 million years ago.
Calcium Carbonate↗
Measurements of 12C/13C, 14N/15N, and 32S/34S ratios in comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1).
The 12C/13C, 14N/15N, and 32S/34S isotope ratios in comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) were determined through observations taken with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Measurements of rare isotopes in HCN and CS revealed isotope ratios of H12CN/H13CN = 111 +/- 12, HC14N/HC15N = 323 +/- 46, and C32S/C34S = 27 +/- 3. Within the measurement uncertainties, the isotopic ratios are consistent with solar system values. The cometary volatiles thus have an origin in the solar system and show no evidence for an interstellar component.
Carbon↗
Putative Martian microbes called microscopy artifacts.
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Artifacts↗
The chemical composition of Martian soil and rocks returned by the mobile alpha proton X-ray spectrometer: preliminary results from the X-ray mode.
The alpha proton x-ray spectrometer (APXS) on board the rover of the Mars Pathfinder mission measured the chemical composition of six soils and five rocks at the Ares Vallis landing site. The soil analyses show similarity to those determined by the Viking missions. The analyzed rocks were partially covered by dust but otherwise compositionally similar to each other. They are unexpectedly high in silica and potassium, but low in magnesium compared to martian soils and martian meteorites. The analyzed rocks are similar in composition to terrestrial andesites and close to the mean composition of Earth's crust. Addition of a mafic component and reaction products of volcanic gases to the local rock material is necessary to explain the soil composition.
Aluminum↗
A search for endogenous amino acids in martian meteorite ALH84001.
Trace amounts of glycine, serine, and alanine were detected in the carbonate component of the martian meteorite ALH84001 by high-performance liquid chromatography. The detected amino acids were not uniformly distributed in the carbonate component and ranged in concentration from 0.1 to 7 parts per million. Although the detected alanine consists primarily of the L enantiomer, low concentrations (<0.1 parts per million) of endogenous D-alanine may be present in the ALH84001 carbonates. The amino acids present in this sample of ALH84001 appear to be terrestrial in origin and similar to those in Allan Hills ice, although the possibility cannot be ruled out that minute amounts of some amino acids such as D-alanine are preserved in the meteorite.
Alanine↗
Isotopic evidence for a terrestrial source of organic compounds found in martian meteorites Allan Hills 84001 and Elephant Moraine 79001.
Stepped-heating experiments on martian meteorites Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) and Elephant Moraine 79001 (EETA79001) revealed low-temperature (200 to 430 degrees Celsius) fractions with a carbon isotopic composition delta13C between -22 and -33 per mil and a carbon-14 content that is 40 to 60 percent of that of modern terrestrial carbon, consistent with a terrestrial origin for most of the organic material. Intermediate-temperature (400 to 600 degrees Celsius) carbonate-rich fractions of ALH84001 have delta13C of +32 to +40 per mil with a low carbon-14 content, consistent with an extraterrestrial origin, whereas some of the carbonate fraction of EETA79001 is terrestrial. In addition, ALH84001 contains a small preterrestrial carbon component of unknown origin that combusts at intermediate temperatures. This component is likely a residual acid-insoluble carbonate or a more refractory organic phase.
Carbon↗
A determination of the HDO/H2O ratio in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp).
Deuterated water (HDO) was detected in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) with the use of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The inferred D/H ratio in Hale-Bopp's water is (3.3 +/- 0.8) x 10(-4). This result is consistent with in situ measurements of comet P/Halley and the value found in C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). This D/H ratio, higher than that in terrestrial water and more than 10 times the value for protosolar H2, implies that comets cannot be the only source for the oceans on Earth.
Deuterium Oxide↗
The formation of HCS and HCSH molecules and their role in the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter.
The reaction of hydrogen sulfide with ground-state atomic carbon was examined with crossed molecular beams experiments and ab initio calculations. The thiohydroxycarbene molecule, HCSH, was the reactive intermediate, which fragmented into atomic hydrogen and the thioformyl radical HCS. This finding may account for the unassigned HCS source and an unidentified HCSH radical needed to match observed CS abundances from the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter. In the shocked jovian atmosphere, HCS could further decompose to H and CS, and CS could react with SH and OH to yield the observed CS2 and COS.
Atmosphere↗
Deuterium in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp): detection of DCN.
Deuterated hydrogen cyanide (DCN) was detected in a comet, C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), with the use of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The inferred deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratio in hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is (D/H)HCN = (2.3 +/- 0.4) x 10(-3). This ratio is higher than the D/H ratio found in cometary water and supports the interstellar origin of cometary ices. The observed values of D/H in water and HCN imply a kinetic temperature >/=30 +/- 10 K in the fragment of interstellar cloud that formed the solar system.
Deuterium↗
Formation of carbonates in the Tatahouine meteorite.
The Tatahouine meteorite, in southern Tunisia, shows terrestrial contamination that developed during 63 years of exposure on Earth's surface. Samples collected on the day of the fall in 1931 contained fractures, with no secondary minerals, whereas samples collected in 1994 contain calcite aggregates (70 to 150 micrometers) and rod-shaped forms (100 to 600 nanometers in length and 70 to 80 nanometers in diameter) on the fractures. Carbon isotope analysis of the carbonates within the Tatahouine meteorite [delta13C = -2.0 per mil Pee Dee belemnite standard (PDB)] and the underlying ground (delta13C = -3.2 per mil PDB) confirm their terrestrial origin.
Artifacts↗
Oxygen isotopic abundances in calcium- aluminum-rich inclusions from ordinary chondrites: implications for nebular heterogeneity.
The oxygen isotopic compositions of two calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from the unequilibrated ordinary chondrite meteorites Quinyambie and Semarkona are enriched in 16O by an amount similar to that in CAIs from carbonaceous chondrites. This may indicate that most CAIs formed in a restricted region of the solar nebula and were then unevenly distributed throughout the various chondrite accretion regions. The Semarkona CAI is isotopically homogeneous and contains highly 16O-enriched melilite, supporting the hypothesis that all CAI minerals were originally 16O-rich, but that in most carbonaceous chondrite inclusions some minerals exchanged oxygen isotopes with an external reservoir following crystallization.
Aluminum↗
Reaction sequence of iron sulfide minerals in bacteria and their use as biomarkers.
Some bacteria form intracellular nanometer-scale crystals of greigite (Fe3S4) that cause the bacteria to be oriented in magnetic fields. Transmission electron microscope observations showed that ferrimagnetic greigite in these bacteria forms from nonmagnetic mackinawite (tetragonal FeS) and possibly from cubic FeS. These precursors apparently transform into greigite by rearrangement of iron atoms over a period of days to weeks. Neither pyrrhotite nor pyrite was found. These results have implications for the interpretation of the presence of pyrrhotite and greigite in the martian meteorite ALH84001.
Bacteria↗
Geochemical evidence for a comet shower in the late Eocene.
Analyses of pelagic limestones indicate that the flux of extraterrestrial helium-3 to Earth was increased for a 2.5-million year (My) period in the late Eocene. The enhancement began approximately 1 My before and ended approximately 1.5 My after the major impact events that produced the large Popigai and Chesapeake Bay craters approximately 36 million years ago. The correlation between increased concentrations of helium-3, a tracer of fine-grained interplanetary dust, and large impacts indicates that the abundance of Earth-crossing objects and dustiness in the inner solar system were simultaneously but only briefly enhanced. These observations provide evidence for a comet shower triggered by an impulsive perturbation of the Oort cloud.
Cosmic Dust↗
Atmosphere-surface interactions on Mars: delta 17O measurements of carbonate from ALH 84001.
Oxygen isotope measurements of carbonate from martian meteorite ALH 84001 (delta18O = 18.3 +/- 0.4 per mil, delta17O = 10.3 +/- 0.2 per mil, and Delta17O = 0.8 +/- 0.05 per mil) are fractionated with respect to those of silicate minerals. These measurements support the existence of two oxygen isotope reservoirs (the atmosphere and the silicate planet) on Mars at the time of carbonate growth. The cause of the atmospheric oxygen isotope anomaly may be exchange between CO2 and O(1D) produced by the photodecomposition of ozone. Atmospheric oxygen isotope compositions may be transferred to carbonate minerals by CO2-H2O exchange and mineral growth. A sink of 17O-depleted oxygen, as required by mass balance, may exist in the planetary regolith.
Atmosphere↗
Did twisty starlight set stage for life?
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Amino Acids↗
Implications of Mars Pathfinder data for the accretion history of the terrestrial planets.
Accretion models of the terrestrial planets often assume planetary bulk compositions with nonvolatile element abundance ratios equivalent to those of C1 carbonaceous chondrites. The moment of inertia factor of Mars reported by the Pathfinder team is inconsistent with a bulk planet C1 Fe/Si ratio or Fe content, which suggests that C1 chondrite accretion models are insufficient to explain the formation of Mars and the other terrestrial planets. Future planetary accretion models will have to account for variations in bulk Fe/Si ratios among the terrestrial planets.
Carbon↗
Embargoes: good, bad, or 'necessary evil'?
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Cloning, Organism↗