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Re-187 - Os-187 and Pt-190 - Os-186 isotope systems are applied to dating evolved iron meteorites. The Re-Os systematics of some evolved irons may indicate late stage system closure. This conclusion appears to be supported by a "young" Pt-Os isochron age.
Over 20 CO3 chondrites have been re-covered in the Dominion Range (DOM) dense collection area (DCA) of the Transantarctic Mountains by ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) across 6 field seasons. Because of the significant masses involved and huge community interest in the most primitive samples of all carbonaceous chondrite classes such as the CO3s, we have undertaken a de-tailed assessment of the pairings and petrologic types using field relations, macroscopic observations, petrography, olivine compositions, and bulk and isotopic H, C, N compositions, and noble gas abundances and isotopes for cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages, for all specimens. Most recently, teams during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons recovered 10 new CO3 samples. Here we report new H, C, and N bulk and isotopic data, as well as CRE ages, for these 10 samples and DOM 10900 (which has some unique properties and may not be a CO chondrite). This completes the characterization of all known CO3s from DOM, allowing a thorough assessment of possible pairing relations.
One of the most important discoveries from comet Wild-2 samples was observation of crystalline silicate particles that resemble chondrules and CAIs in carbonaceous chondrites. Previous oxygen isotope analyses of crystalline silicate terminal particles showed heterogeneous oxygen isotope ratios with delta(sup 18)O to approx. delta(sup 17)O down to -50% in the CAI-like particle Inti, a relict olivine grain in Gozen-sama, and an olivine particle. However, many Wild-2 particles as well as ferromagnesian silicates in anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) showed Delta(sup 17)O values that cluster around -2%. In carbonaceous chondrites, chondrules seem to show two major isotope reservoirs with Delta(sup 17)O values at -5% and -2%. It was suggested that the Delta(sup 17)O = -2% is the common oxygen isotope reservoir for carbonaceous chondrite chondrules and cometary dust, from the outer asteroid belt to the Kuiper belt region. However, a larger dataset with high precision isotope analyses (+/-1-2%) is still needed to resolve the similarities or distinctions among Wild-2 particles, IDPs and chondrules in meteorites. We have made signifi-cant efforts to establish routine analyses of small particles (< or =10micronsm) at 1-2% precision using IMS-1280 at WiscSIMS laboratory. Here we report new results of high precision oxygen isotope analyses of Wild-2 particles and anhydrous chondritic IDPs, and discuss the relationship between the cometary dust and carbonaceous chondrite chondrules.
High-precision Sr isotopic data were obtained on carbonate samples from the Neoproterozoic Shaler Group, Victoria Island (Canada). Results indicate that, between ca. 790 and 850 Ma, the Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio of seawater varied betweeen 0.70676 and 0.70561, with the minimum value at about 830 Ma. A curve of the Sr-87/Sr-86 seawater ratio vs. age showed that the new data substantially improve the existing isotopic record of Sr in seawater for the period 790-850 Ma. The Sr isotopic system data were coupled with data for the Nd isotopic system to model changes in the seafloor spreading rates (hydrothermal flux) and the continental erosion for the period 500-900 Ma. Results indicate that hydrothermal flux reached a maximum value at ca. 830 Ma, while a maximum in erosion rate occurred at ca. 570 Ma. These peaks are considered to be related to the developments in the Pan-African and related orogenic events.
Millimeter-wave observations have been made of isotopically substituted CO toward the envelopes of 11 carbon-rich stars. In every case, C-13O was detected and model calculations were used to estimate the C-12/C-13 abundance ratio. C-17O was detected toward three, and possibly four, envelopes, with sensitive upper limits for two others. The CO-18 variant was detected in two envelopes. New results include determinations of oxygen isotopic ratios in the two carbon-rich protoplanetary nebulae CRL 26688 and CRL 618. As with other classes of red giant stars, the carbon-rich giants seem to be significantly, though variably, enriched in O-17. These results, in combination with observations in interstellar molecular clouds, indicate that current knowledge of stellar production of the CNO nuclides is far from satisfactory.
This paper describes the Scintillating Optical Fiber Isotope Experiment (SOFIE) which is being developed by Washington University and the University of New Hampshire to study the abundances of cosmic ray isotopes in the iron charge region. This detector system is a Cerenkov-Range-dE/dx experiment and utilizes range and trajectory detectors made of scintillating optical fibers, a fused silica Cerenkov counter, and plastic scintillator dE/dx counters to determine the charge and mass of cosmic ray nuclei. A brief description of the balloon flight instrument presently being developed will be given followed by initial results of an engineering model calibration at the LBL Bevalac heavy ion accelerator. In addition a brief discussion of the potential of scintillating fiber trajectory detectors for use in experiments requiring precise trajectory determination such as those being planned for the NASA Particle Astrophysics Magnet Facility (Astromag) program is presented.
Zagami contains lithologic heterogeneity suggesting that it did not form in a homogeneous, thick lava flow [1]. We have previously investigated the Sr and Nd isotopic systematics of Coarse-Grained (CG) and Fine-Grained (FG) lithologies described by [2]. Both appear to belong to Normal Zagami (NZ) [1,3], but their initial Sr-isotopic compositions differ [4,5]. Here we report new analyses of the Dark Mottled Lithology (DML, [3]) that show its age and initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions to be identical within error limits with those of CG, but Sr initial isotopic compositions differ from those of FG.
Presolar grains were identified in meteorite residues 20 years ago based on their exotic isotopic compositions. Their study has provide new insights into stellar evolution and the first view of the original building blocks of the solar system. Organic matter in meteorites and IDPs is highly enriched in D/H and N-15/N-14 at micrometer scales, possibly due to presolar organic grains. These anomalies are ascribed to the partial preservation of presolar cold molecular cloud material. Identifying the carriers of these anomalies and elucidating their physical and chemical properties may give new views of interstellar chemistry and better understanding of the original components of the protosolar disk. However, identifying the carriers has been hampered by their small size and the inability to chemically isolate them. Thanks to immediate careful collection of Tagish Lake meteorite specimen, as well as major advances in nano-scale analytical techniques and advanced sample preparation, we were able to show that in the Tagish Lake meteorite, the principle carriers of these isotopic anomalies are sub-micrometer, hollow organic globules. The organic globules likely formed by photochemical processing of organic ices in a cold molecular cloud or the outermost regions of the protosolar disk. Organic globules with similar physical, chemical, and isotopic properties are also recently found from Bells CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, in IDPs and in the comet Wild-2 samples returned by Stardust. These results support the view that microscopic organic grains were widespread constituents of the protoplanetary disk. Their exotic isotopic compositions trace their origins to the outermost portions of the protosolar disk or a presolar cold molecular cloud.
Galactic cosmic rays represent samples of matter from areas outside the solar system. New information regarding the elemental composition of cosmic rays has been obtained in connection with the French-Danish experiment on HEA0-3 and recent balloon experiments. The energy dependence of the source composition is considered along with a comparison of cosmic ray and solar system abundances, and the N-14 source abundance. Attention is given to cosmic ray clocks and the Mn-54 problem, advances concerning cross section measurements, and cosmic ray isotopes. The considered new observations suggest that cosmic ray elemental abundance differences from the solar system continue to be ordered by atomic parameters such as first ionization potential, at least up through Z equals 40. The isotopic composition of the cosmic ray source is found to be unlike that of the solar system.
Results of a new quiet-time measurement of the relative abundance of cosmic-ray H-2 and He-4. The observations were made in selected time intervals between September 1972 and February 1973 with the Caltech Electron/Isotope Spectrometer on IMP-7. In the energy interval from 13 to 29 MeV/nucleon, an upper limit to the H-2 to He-4 ratio of less than 0.06 is found. This new upper limit is significantly lower than finite H-2/He-4 ratios measured in earlier years by other workers. Possible implications of this new result are discussed.
The European Space Agency’s INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (ESA/INTEGRAL) was launched aboard a Proton-DM2 rocket on 17 October 2002 at 06:41 CEST, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Since then, INTEGRAL has been providing long, uninterrupted observations (up to about 47 h, or 170 ksec, per satellite orbit of 2.7 days) with a large field-of-view (FOV, fully coded: 100 deg), millisecond time resolution, keV energy resolution, polarization measurements, as well as additional wavelength coverage at optical wavelengths. This is realized by two main instruments in the 15 keV to 10 MeV energy range, the spectrometer SPI (spectral resolution 3 keV at 1.8 MeV) and the imager IBIS (angular resolution: 12 arcmin FWHM), complemented by X-ray (JEM-X; 3–35 keV) and optical (OMC; Johnson V-band) monitor instruments. All instruments are co-aligned to simultaneously observe the target region. A particle radiation monitor (IREM) measures charged particle fluxes near the spacecraft. The Anti-coincidence subsystems of the main instruments, built to reduce the background, are also very efficient all-sky γ-ray detectors, which provide virtually omni-directional monitoring above ~75 keV. Besides the long, scheduled observations, INTEGRAL can rapidly (within a couple of hours) re-point and conduct Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations on a large variety of sources. INTEGRAL observations and their scientific results have been building an impressive legacy: The discovery of currently more than 600 new high-energy sources; the first-ever direct detection of (56)Ni and (56)Co radio-active decay lines from a Type Ia supernova; spectroscopy of isotopes from galactic nucleo-synthesis sources; new insights on enigmatic positron annihilation in the Galactic bulge and disk; and pioneering gamma-ray polarization studies. INTEGRAL is also a successful actor in the new multi-messenger astronomy introduced by non-electromagnetic signals from gravitational waves and from neutrinos: INTEGRAL found the first prompt electromagnetic radiation in coincidence with a binary neutron star merger. Up to now more than 1750 scientific papers based on INTEGRAL data have been published in refereed journals. In this paper, we will give a comprehensive update of the satellite status after more than 18 years of operations in a harsh space environment, and an account of the successful Ground Segment.
The session "Achondrite Mishmash" included teh following presentations:Constraining the Formation and Evolution of IAB Irons - High Precision; 40Ar/39Ar Ages on Plagioclase Separates from Silicate Inclusions of the Campo Del Cielo Meteorite; Radiogenic 129-Xenon in Silicate Inclusions in the Campo Del Cielo Iron Meteorite; Significance of Iron Isotope Mineral Fractionation in Pallasite and Iron Meteorites; An Experimental Study of Phosphoran Olivine and Its Significance in Main Group Pallasites; Characterization of the Distribution of Siderophile and Highly Siderophile Elements in the Milton and Eagle Station Pallasites; Relationships Between HED and Mesosiderite Meteorites: An Iron Isotope Perspective; Production Rates for Noble-Gas Isotopes in Eucrites; Evidence for Subsolidus Metasomatism in the Eucrite Parent Body; Possible Contact Metamorphism of the Polymict Eucrite Petersburg; Early and Late Stage Metals and Sulfides in Diogenites; Constraints on the Lithological Variation near the Surface of the HED Planetoid from the Petrology of 91 & 92 Series Antarctic Achondrites; Cosmic Ray Exposure Ages, Ar-Ar Ages, and the Origin and History of Eucrites; Trace Elements Abundances Vs Closure Temperature in Orthopyroxenes from Howardites; The First Mesosiderite-like Clast in a Howardite; 39Ar-40Ar Dating of Unusual Eucrite NWA 011: Is it from Vesta?; Trace Element Systematics of Northwest Africa 011: A "Eucritic" Basalt from a Non-Eucrite Parent Body ; 33S Anomaly in Acapulcoites and Lodranites; Magnetic Force Microscopy of Primitive Achondrites; Experimental Constraints on Ureilite Petrogenesis; Reflectance Spectra of Ureilites: Nature of the Mafic Silicate Absorption Features; Nitrogen and Noble Gases in Two Monomict Ureilites Acfer 277 and FRO 90036 from Hot and Cold Deserts; Solar Noble Gases in the Angrite Parent Body - Evidence from Volcanic Volatiles Trapped in D'Orbigny Glass; Trace Element Distribution Between Phases of the D'Orbigny Angrite ; Petrological Study of Six Angrites Including New Type; and Manganese-Chromium Isotope Systematics of Basaltic Achondrite Northwest Africa 011.
The structures and C-13 contents of individual hydrocarbons extracted from bat guano found in the Carlsbad region of New Mexico are analyzed in order to elucidate details of the carbon flow in the plant-insect-bat ecosystem. Carbon isotopic analyses indicate that equivalent numbers of plants with C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways occupy the feeding area of the bats, which supports alfalfa and cotton as well as native plants. The molecular composition of the guano is consistent with an origin in two distinct populations of insects with different feeding habits, one of which may graze predominantly on crops. It is also pointed out that isotopic analyses of more ancient guano deposits may be useful in characterizing prevalent vegetation and climate of earlier periods.
New interpretation is given to the isotopic anomalies detected by Lugmair et al. (1983) in an acid-resistant residue of the Allende meteorite. If the Nd-142 excess is due to Sm-146 decay, as the discoverers proposed, it is argued that the decay has occurred in interstellar grains, so that the conclusion that Sm-146 (1.03 x 10 to the 8th yr) was alive in the solar system is premature. It is shown by renormalizing their data that the discovery is likely to be s-process Nd, confirming the survival of red-giant stardust in carbonaceous interstellar dust.
The Catalog of Apollo 17 Rocks is a set of volumes that characterize each of 334 individually numbered rock samples (79 larger than 100 g) in the Apollo 17 collection, showing what each sample is and what is known about it. Unconsolidated regolith samples are not included. The catalog is intended to be used by both researchers requiring sample allocations and a broad audience interested in Apollo 17 rocks. The volumes are arranged geographically, with separate volumes for the South Massif and Light Mantle, the North Massif, and two volumes for the mare plains. Within each volume, the samples are arranged in numerical order, closely corresponding with the sample collection stations. The present volume, for the South Massif and Light Mantle, describes the 55 individual rock fragments collected at Stations two, two-A, three, and LRV-five. Some were chipped from boulders, others collected as individual rocks, some by raking, and a few by picking from the soil in the processing laboratory. Information on sample collection, petrography, chemistry, stable and radiogenic isotopes, rock surface characteristics, physical properties, and curatorial processing is summarized and referenced as far as it is known up to early 1992. The intention has been to be comprehensive: to include all published studies of any kind that provide information on the sample, as well as some unpublished information. References which are primarily bulk interpretations of existing data or mere lists of samples are not generally included. Foreign language journals were not scrutinized, but little data appears to have been published only in such journals. We have attempted to be consistent in format across all of the volumes, and have used a common reference list that appears in all volumes. Where possible, ages based on Sr and Ar isotopes have been recalculated using the 'new' decay constants recommended by Steiger and Jager; however, in many of the reproduced diagrams the ages correspond with the 'old' decay constants. In this volume, mg' or Mg' = atomic Mg/(Mg +Fe).
We have used a NanoSIMS ion microprobe to map sub-micron-scale distributions of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, silicon, and oxygen in organic microfossils and laminae from the approximately 0.85 Ga Bitter Springs Formation of Australia. The data provide clues about the original chemistry of the microfossils, the silicification process, and biosignatures of specific microorganisms and microbial communities. Chemical maps of fossil unicells and filaments reveal distinct wall-and sheath-like structures enriched in C, N and S, consistent with their accepted biological origin. Surprisingly, organic laminae, previously considered to be amorphous, also exhibit filamentous and apparently compressed spheroidal structures defined by strong enrichments in C, N and S. By analogy to data from the well-preserved microfossils, these structures are interpreted as being of biological origin, most likely representing densely packed remnants of microbial mats. Because the preponderance of organic matter in Precambrian sediments is similarly "amorphous," our findings open a large body of generally neglected material to in situ structural, chemical, and isotopic study. Our results also offer new criteria for assessing biogenicity of problematic kerogenous materials and thus can be applied to assessments of poorly preserved or fragmentary organic residues in early Archean sediments and any that might occur in meteorites or other extraterrestrial samples.
The structures and C-13 contents of individual alkanes extracted from bat guano found in the Carlsbad region of New Mexico can be related to both the photosynthetic pathways of the local plants and the feeding habits of the insects that support the bats. Carbon isotopic analyses of the 62 most important plant species in the Pecos River Valley, the most significant feeding area for the Carlsbad bats, reveal the presence of 29 species with C3 photosynthesis and 33 species, mostly grasses, with C4 photosynthesis. Although the abundances of nonagricultural C3 and C4 plants are similar, alfalfa and cotton, both C3 plants, constitute over 95 per cent of the crop biomass. The molecular composition of the bat guano hydrocarbons is fully consistent with an insect origin. Two isotopically distinct groups of insect branched alkanes were discerned. These two groups of alkanes derived from two chemotaxonomically distinct populations of insects possessing distinctly different feeding habits. It is likely that one population grazes predominantly on crops whereas the other population prefers native vegetation. This and other isotopic evidence supports the notion that crop pests constitute a major percentage of the bats' diet.
The geochronological and compositional differences between previously identified magma types (A, B1, B2, and C) were investigated using high-precision Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic data for a set of Apollo 17 high-Ti mare basalt samples chosen to span the range of each of the magma types. These data, combined with previously reported geochemical ages, suggest that Apollo 17 volcanism was initially dominated by an eruption of Type B basalts. Data obtained from new whole-rock Sr and Nd isotopic analyses exhibited distinct differences in initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions between Types A, B1, B2, and C basalts and were found to be consistent with existing petrogenetic models.