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Noble gases in micrometeorites from the Transantarctic Mountains
Trieloff, Mario; Baecker, Bastian; Ott, Ulrich +4 more
The bulk of extraterrestrial matter currently accreted by the Earth is in the form of micrometeorites (MMs) and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), thus they may have collectively made a substantial contribution to the volatile inventory of the Earth and the other terrestrial planets. We have performed a complete noble gas study, accompanied by …
Stepwise heating of lunar anorthosites 60025, 60215, 65315 possibly reveals an indigenous noble gas component on the Moon
Gudipati, Murthy S.; Avice, Guillaume; Henderson, Bryana +2 more
Despite extensive effort during the last four decades, no clear signature of a lunar indigenous noble gas component has been found. In order to further investigate the possible occurrence of indigenous volatiles in the Moon, we have re-analyzed the noble gas and nitrogen isotopic compositions in three anorthosite samples. Lunar anorthosites 60025,…
The pH of Enceladus' ocean
Glein, Christopher R.; Waite, J. Hunter; Baross, John A.
Saturn's moon, Enceladus, is a geologically active waterworld. The prevailing paradigm is that there is a subsurface ocean that erupts to the surface, which leads to the formation of a plume of vapor and ice above the south polar region. The chemistry of the ocean is just beginning to be understood, but is of profound geochemical and astrobiologic…
New 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Clearwater Lake impact structures (Québec, Canada) - Not the binary asteroid impact it seems?
Trieloff, Mario; Osinski, Gordon R.; Schmieder, Martin +4 more
The two Clearwater Lake impact structures (Québec, Canada) are generally interpreted as a crater doublet formed by the impact of a binary asteroid. Here, arguments are presented that raise important questions about the proposed double impact scenario. New 40Ar/39Ar dating of two virtually fresh impact melt rock samples from t…
Transmission Electron Microscopy of CONCORDIA UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs): Mineralogical properties
Engrand, C.; Rouzaud, J. -N.; Duprat, J. +2 more
We performed mineralogical and petrographic studies of three UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic Micrometeorites (UCAMMs) by analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The UCAMMs were identified in the CONCORDIA micrometeorite collection (2002 and 2006) recovered from central Antarctic snow, and are of probable cometary origin. UCAMMs are dominate…
Evaluating the role of sulfide-weathering in the formation of sulfates or carbonates on Mars
Mangold, N.; Chevrier, V.; Dehouck, E. +3 more
Orbital and landed missions to Mars have revealed complex sulfate- and Fe-oxide-bearing mineralogical assemblages, which have been interpreted as the result of a late planet-wide acidic period due to large SO2 emissions. However, this global scenario does not explain the recent discovery of Hesperian and Noachian-aged carbonates in seve…