Trapped solar wind noble gases, kr81/kr exposure ages and k/ar ages in apollo 11 lunar material

Grain size and etching experiments show that the fine lunar material contains large amounts of trapped solar wind particles. Elemental and isotopic compositions of the noble gases in solar material and in the terrestrial atmosphere are significantly different, except for the Ar(36)/ Ar(38) and the Kr isotope ratios. Exposure ages of two rocks and of the fine material are between 380 and 510 x 10(6) years. Feldspar concentrates give K/Ar ages of 3220 and 3300 x 10(6) years, significantly higher than the unseparated rock.     

Composition and structure of the venus atmosphere: results from pioneer venus

Results from the Pioneer Venus sounder probe neutral mass spectrometer indicate that there is no difference in the isotopic ratios of carbon and oxygen between Venus and Earth to within +/- 5 percent. The mixing ratio of nitrogen is 3.5(+3)(-2) percent with an isotopic ratio within 20 percent of that of Earth. The ratio of argon-36 to argon-40 is 85 percent, and the ratio of argon-38 to argon-36 is 20 percent. The mixing ratios of argon-36 and argon-40 are approximately 40 and 50 parts per million, respectively, with an error of about a factor of 2 (mainly toward a lesser amount) resulting from uncertainty in the response of the ion pump to rare gases. Hydrogen chloride cannot account for more than a few percent of the 36 mass peak, and therefore the large excess of primordial argon is a reasonable conclusion. The ratio of neon-20 to argon-36 of 0.5 +/- 0.3 is definitely terrestrial in character rather than solar. These results indicate that there is a large excess of all primordial noble gases on Venus relative to Earth. There appears to be a considerably higher abundance of sulfur compounds below 20 kilometers than in or above the main cloud layer. The 32 and 60 mass peaks show a sharp increase below 22 kilometers, indicating the possible production of sulfur and carbon oxysulfide (COS) at the expense of sulfur dioxide.     

Irradiation history of Itokawa regolith material deduced from noble gases in the Hayabusa samples

Noble gas isotopes were measured in three rocky grains from asteroid Itokawa to elucidate a history of irradiation from cosmic rays and solar wind on its surface. Large amounts of solar helium (He), neon (Ne), and argon (Ar) trapped in various depths in the grains were observed, which can be explained by multiple implantations of solar wind particles into the grains, combined with preferential He loss caused by frictional wear of space-weathered rims on the grains. Short residence time of less than 8 million years was implied for the grains by an estimate on cosmic-ray-produced (21)Ne. Our results suggest that Itokawa is continuously losing its surface materials into space at a rate of tens of centimeters per million years. The lifetime of Itokawa should be much shorter than the age of our solar system.     

Isotopic analysis of rare gases from stepwise heating of lunar fines and rocks

Highlights of a first effort in sorting out rare gases in lunar material are solar wind rare gases in abundance; variable (20)Ne/(22)Ne but constant (21)Ne/ (22)Ne ratios in fractions of the trapped neon; cosmogenic rare gases similar to those found in meteorites, except for copious (131)Xe in one rock but not in another; at Tranquillity Base a rock 4.1 x 10(9) years old which reached the surface 35 to 65 million years ago, amid soil whose particles have typically been within a meter of the surface for 10(9) years or more.     

Rare gas systematics in popping rock: isotopic and elemental compositions in the upper mantle

New experimental data on the isotopic variations of neon, argon, and xenon in a popping rock imply that the 40Ar/36Ar ratio of the upper mantle is less than 44,000 and that the 129Xe/130Xe ratio is less than 8.2. The elemental abundance pattern of rare gases is chondritic-like and is quite distinct from the solar pattern. These data imply that Earth accreted from planetesimals that probably underwent a transformation of their rare gas budget from solar- to chondritic-like, leaving the isotopic composition unchanged from the solar pattern.     

Silicon Isotopic Composition in Large Meteoritic SiC Particles and 22Na Origin of 22Ne

Large silicon carbide (SiC) particles extracted from acid-insoluble residues of carbonaceous chondrites are isotopically anomalous in both silicon and carbon and contain isotopically extreme noble gases. These particles are thought to have originated in mass outflows from red giant stars and to have existed in the interstellar medium at the time the solar system formed from an interstellar cloud. Calculations show that the silicon isotope correlations in those large SiC particles can be generated only in the most massive carbon stars. Consequently, the almost pure neon-22 ((22)Ne) in those particles must be interpreted as the condensation of radioactive sodium-22 ((22)Na) in the particles as they flowed away from the stars. The (22)Na is produced through proton capture by (21)Ne at the base of the surface convection zone. Neon-22 does not exist abundantly in helium shells hot enough to burn magnesium, which is necessary to establish the measured silicon isotopic composition.     

Solar wind origin in coronal funnels

The origin of the solar wind in solar coronal holes has long been unclear. We establish that the solar wind starts flowing out of the corona at heights above the photosphere between 5 megameters and 20 megameters in magnetic funnels. This result is obtained by a correlation of the Doppler-velocity and radiance maps of spectral lines emitted by various ions with the force-free magnetic field as extrapolated from photospheric magnetograms to different altitudes. Specifically, we find that Ne7+ ions mostly radiate around 20 megameters, where they have outflow speeds of about 10 kilometers per second, whereas C3+ ions with no average flow speed mainly radiate around 5 megameters. Based on these results, a model for understanding the solar wind origin is suggested.     

A 15N-poor isotopic composition for the solar system as shown by Genesis solar wind samples

The Genesis mission sampled solar wind ions to document the elemental and isotopic compositions of the Sun and, by inference, of the protosolar nebula. Nitrogen was a key target element because the extent and origin of its isotopic variations in solar system materials remain unknown. Isotopic analysis of a Genesis Solar Wind Concentrator target material shows that implanted solar wind nitrogen has a (15)N/(14)N ratio of 2.18 ± 0.02 × 10(-3) (that is, ≈40% poorer in (15)N relative to terrestrial atmosphere). The (15)N/(14)N ratio of the protosolar nebula was 2.27 ± 0.03 × 10(-3), which is the lowest (15)N/(14)N ratio known for solar system objects. This result demonstrates the extreme nitrogen isotopic heterogeneity of the nascent solar system and accounts for the (15)N-depleted components observed in solar system reservoirs.     

Early irradiation of matter in the solar system: magnesium (proton, neutron) scheme

The occurrence of positive and negative (26)Mg anomalies in inclusions of the Allende meteorite is explained in terms of proton bombardment of a gas of solar composition. A significant fraction of (26)Mg in the irradiated gas is stored temporarily in the form of radioactive (26)Al by the reaction (26)Mg(p,n) (26)Al. Proton fluxes of 10(17) to 10(19) protons per square centimeter per year at l million electron volts are inferred. Aluminum-rich materials condensing from the gas phase have positive (26)Mg anomalies, whereas magnesium-rich materials have negative (26)Mg anomalies. The proton flux required to account for the observed magnesium anomalies is used to investigate possible isotopic anomalies in the elements from oxygen to argon. Detectable isotopic anomalies are predicted only for neon. The anomalous neon is virtually pure (22)Ne from (22)Na decay. The predicted amount of anomalous (22)Ne is about 10(-8) cubic centimeter (at standard temperature and pressure) per milligram of sodium.     

Detection of interstellar pick-up hydrogen in the solar system

Interstellar hydrogen ionized primarily by the solar wind has been detected by the SWICS instrument on the Ulysses spacecraft at a distance of 4.8 astronomical units from the sun. This "pick-up" hydrogen is identified by its distinct velocity distribution function, which drops abruptly at twice the local solar wind speed. From the measured fluxes of pick-up protons and singly charged helium, the number densities of neutral hydrogen and helium in the distant regions of the solar system are estimated to be 0.077 +/- 0.015 and 0.013 +/- 0.003 per cubic centimeter, respectively.     

Vesicle-Specific Noble Gas Analyses of "Popping Rock": Implications for Primordial Noble Gases in Earth

Gases trapped in individual vesicles in the volatile-rich basaltic glass "popping rock" were found to have the same carbon dioxide, helium-4, and argon-40 composition, but a variable 40Ar/36Ar ratio ( approximately 4000 to >/=40,000). The argon-36 is probably surface-adsorbed atmospheric argon; any mantle argon-36 trapped in the vesicles cannot be distinguished from an atmospheric contaminant. Consequently the 40Ar/36Ar ratios and 3He/36Ar ratios (1.45) determined are minimum estimates of the upper mantle composition. Heavy noble gas relative abundances in the mantle resemble solar noble gas abundance patterns, and a solar origin may be common to all primordial mantle noble gases.     

Solar wind neon from Genesis: implications for the lunar noble gas record

Lunar soils have been thought to contain two solar noble gas components with distinct isotopic composition. One has been identified as implanted solar wind, the other as higher-energy solar particles. The latter was puzzling because its relative amounts were much too large compared with present-day fluxes, suggesting periodic, very high solar activity in the past. Here we show that the depth-dependent isotopic composition of neon in a metallic glass exposed on NASA's Genesis mission agrees with the expected depth profile for solar wind neon with uniform isotopic composition. Our results strongly indicate that no extra high-energy component is required and that the solar neon isotope composition of lunar samples can be explained as implantation-fractionated solar wind.     

Samarium-146 in the early solar system: evidence from neodymium in the allende meteorite

A carbon-chromite fraction from the Allende C3V chondrite shows strikingly large isotopic enrichments of neodymium-142 (0.47 percent) and neodymium- 143 (36 percent). Both apparently formed by alpha decay of samarium-146 and samarium-147 (half-lives 1.03 x 10(8) and 1.06 x 10(11) years), but the isotopic enrichment was greatly magnified by recoil of residual nuclei into a carbon film surrounding the samarium-bearing grains. These data provide an improved estimate of the original abundance of extinct samarium-146 in the early solar system [(146)Sm/(144)Sm = (4.5 +/- 0.5) x 10(-3)], higher than predicted by some models of pprocess nucleosynthesis. It may be possible to use this isotopic pair as a chronometer of the early solar system.     

The oxygen isotopic composition of the Sun inferred from captured solar wind

All planetary materials sampled thus far vary in their relative abundance of the major isotope of oxygen, (16)O, such that it has not been possible to define a primordial solar system composition. We measured the oxygen isotopic composition of solar wind captured and returned to Earth by NASA's Genesis mission. Our results demonstrate that the Sun is highly enriched in (16)O relative to the Earth, Moon, Mars, and bulk meteorites. Because the solar photosphere preserves the average isotopic composition of the solar system for elements heavier than lithium, we conclude that essentially all rocky materials in the inner solar system were enriched in (17)O and (18)O, relative to (16)O, by ~7%, probably via non-mass-dependent chemistry before accretion of the first planetesimals.     

Implantation in interplanetary dust of rare-gas ions from solar flares

Measurements of excess Ar(36) + Ar(38) ( released mainly at 1200 degrees C) in magnetic concentrates of Pacific sediments and in a dense concentrate of Greenland dust agree within an order of magnitude with expected concentrations implanted by solar-flare ion streams of energy less than 10 Mev per atomic-mass unit. The agreement implies that more than 10 percent of each concentrate may be extraterrestrial, depending on size distribution and flare spectra. Rare-gas measurements on fine-grained dust can provide data on: solar-flare "paleo-ion" fluxes, energy spectra, and isotopic abundances; identification, mineralogy, and chemistry of interplanetary dust; influx rates to Earth and sedimentation rates of oceanic cores; and lunar-surface residence and mixing times.     

Early and Late Alkali Igneous Pulses and a High-3He Plume Origin for the Deccan Flood Basalts

Several alkalic igneous complexes of nephelinite-carbonatite affinities occur in extensional zones around a region of high heat flow and positive gravity anomaly within the continental flood basalt (CFB) province of Deccan, India. Biotites from two of the complexes yield (40)Ar/(39)Ar dates of 68.53 +/- 0.16 and 68.57 +/- 0.08 million years. Biotite from a third complex, which intrudes the flood basalts, yields an (40)Ar/(39)Ar date of 64.96 +/- 0.1 1 million years. The complexes thus represent early and late magmatism with respect to the main pulse of CFB volcanism 65 million years ago. Rocks from the older complexes show a (3)He/(4)He ratio of 14.0 times the air ratio, an initial (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio of 0.70483, and other geochemical characteristics similar to ocean island basalts; the later alkalic pulse shows isotopic evidence of crustal contamination. The data document 3.5 million years of incubation of a primitive, high-(3)He mantle plume before the rapid eruption of the Deccan CFB.     

Plasma observations at venus with galileo

Plasma measurements were obtained with the Galileo spacecraft during an approximately 3.5-hour interval in the vicinity of Venus on 10 February 1990. Several crossings of the bow shock in the local dawn sector were recorded before the spacecraft passed into the solar wind upstream from this planet. Although observations of ions of the solar wind and the postshock magnetosheath plasmas were not possible owing to the presence of a sunshade for thermal protection of the instrument, solar wind densities and bulk speeds were determined from the electron velocity distributions. A magnetic field-aligned distribution of hotter electrons or ;;strahl' was also found in the solar wind. Ions streaming into the solar wind from the bow shock were detected. Electron heating at the bow shock, 相似文献   

Solar wind outflow and the chromospheric magnetic network

Observations of outflow velocities in coronal holes (regions of open coronal magnetic field) have recently been obtained with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Velocity maps of Ne7+ from its bright resonance line at 770 angstroms, formed at the base of the corona, show a relationship between outflow velocity and chromospheric magnetic network structure, suggesting that the solar wind is rooted at its base to this structure, emanating from localized regions along boundaries and boundary intersections of magnetic network cells. This apparent relation to the chromospheric magnetic network and the relatively large outflow velocity signatures will improve understanding of the complex structure and dynamics at the base of the corona and the source region of the solar wind.     

Solar wind record on the moon: deciphering presolar from planetary nitrogen

Ion microprobe analyses show that solar wind nitrogen associated with solar wind hydrogen implanted in the first tens of nanometers of lunar regolith grains is depleted in 15N by at least 24% relative to terrestrial atmosphere, whereas a nonsolar component associated with deuterium-rich hydrogen, detected in silicon-bearing coatings at the surface of some ilmenite grains, is enriched in 15N. Systematic enrichment of 15N in terrestrial planets and bulk meteorites relative to the protosolar gas cannot be explained by isotopic fractionation in nebular or planetary environments but requires the contribution of 15N-rich compounds to the total nitrogen in planetary materials. Most of these compounds are possibly of an interstellar origin and never equilibrated with the 15N-depleted protosolar nebula.     

Apollo 11 solar wind composition experiment: first results

The helium-4 solar wind flux during the Apollo 11 lunar surface excursion was (6.3 +/- 1.2) x 10(6) atoms per square centimeter per second. The solar wind direction and energy are essentially not perturbed by the moon. Evidence for a lunar solar wind albedo was found.