Thickness of a Europan ice shell from impact crater simulations.
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Several impact craters on Jupiter's satellite Europa exhibit central peaks. On the terrestrial planets, central peaks consist of fractured but competent rock uplifted during cratering. Therefore, the observation of central peaks on Europa indicates that an ice layer must be sufficiently thick that the impact events did not completely penetrate it. We conducted numerical simulations of vapor and melt production during cratering of water ice layers overlying liquid water to estimate the thickness of Europa's icy crust. Because impacts disrupt material well beyond the zone of partial melting, our simulations put a lower limit on ice thickness at the locations and times of impact. We conclude that the ice must be more than 3 to 4 kilometers thick. (+info)
Indication of global deforestation at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary by New Zealand fern spike.
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The devastating effect on terrestrial plant communities of a bolide impact at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is shown in fossil pollen and spore assemblages by a diverse flora being abruptly replaced by one dominated by a few species of fern. Well documented in North America, this fern spike signals widespread deforestation due to an impact winter or massive wildfires. A Southern Hemisphere record of a fern spike, together with a large iridium anomaly, indicates that the devastation was truly global. Recovery of New Zealand plant communities followed a pattern consistent with major climatic perturbations occurring after an impact winter that was possibly preceded by global wildfires. (+info)
Existence of an 16O-rich gaseous reservoir in the solar nebula.
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Carbonaceous chondrite condensate olivine grains from two distinct petrographic settings, calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion (CAI) accretionary rims and amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs), are oxygen-16 (16O) enriched at the level previously observed inside CAIs. This requires that the gas in the nebular region where these grains condensed was 16O-rich. This contrasts with an 16O-poor gas present during the formation of chondrules, suggesting that CAIs and AOAs formed in a spatially restricted region of the solar nebula containing 16O-rich gas. The 16O-rich gas composition may have resulted either from mass-independent isotopic chemistry or from evaporation of regions with enhanced dust/gas ratios, possibly in an X-wind environment near the young Sun. (+info)
Observations of comet 19P/Borrelly by the miniature integrated camera and spectrometer aboard Deep Space 1.
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The nucleus of the Jupiter-family comet 19P/Borrelly was closely observed by the Miniature Integrated Camera and Spectrometer aboard the Deep Space 1 spacecraft on 22 September 2001. The 8-kilometer-long body is highly variegated on a scale of 200 meters, exhibiting large albedo variations (0.01 to 0.03) and complex geologic relationships. Short-wavelength infrared spectra (1.3 to 2.6 micrometers) show a slope toward the red and a hot, dry surface (+info)
A new source of basaltic meteorites inferred from Northwest Africa 011.
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Eucrites are a class of basaltic meteorites that share common mineralogical, isotopic, and chemical properties and are thought to have been derived from the same parent body, possibly asteroid 4 Vesta. The texture, mineralogy, and noble gas data of the recently recovered meteorite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 011, are similar to those of basaltic eucrites. However, the oxygen isotopic composition of NWA011 is different from that of other eucrites, indicating that NWA011 may be derived from a different parent body. The presence of basaltic meteorites with variable oxygen isotopic composition suggests the occurrence of multiple basaltic meteorite parent bodies, perhaps similar to 4 Vesta, in the early solar system. (+info)
Ascent of dinosaurs linked to an iridium anomaly at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.
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Analysis of tetrapod footprints and skeletal material from more than 70 localities in eastern North America shows that large theropod dinosaurs appeared less than 10,000 years after the Triassic-Jurassic boundary and less than 30,000 years after the last Triassic taxa, synchronous with a terrestrial mass extinction. This extraordinary turnover is associated with an iridium anomaly (up to 285 parts per trillion, with an average maximum of 141 parts per trillion) and a fern spore spike, suggesting that a bolide impact was the cause. Eastern North American dinosaurian diversity reached a stable maximum less than 100,000 years after the boundary, marking the establishment of dinosaur-dominated communities that prevailed for the next 135 million years. (+info)
Polytype distribution in circumstellar silicon carbide.
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The inferred crystallographic class of circumstellar silicon carbide based on astronomical infrared spectra is controversial. We have directly determined the polytype distribution of circumstellar SiC from transmission electron microscopy of presolar silicon carbide from the Murchison carbonaceous meteorite. Only two polytypes (of a possible several hundred) were observed: cubic 3C and hexagonal 2H silicon carbide and their intergrowths. We conclude that this structural simplicity is a direct consequence of the low pressures in circumstellar outflows and the corresponding low silicon carbide condensation temperatures. (+info)
Chemical markers for bacteria in extraterrestrial samples.
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Interplanetary missions to collect pristine Martian surface samples for analysis of organic molecules, and to search for evidence of life, are in the planning phases. The only extraterrestrial samples currently on Earth are lunar dust and rocks, brought back by the Apollo (U.S.) and Luna (Soviet Union) missions to the moon, and meteorites. Meteorites are contaminated when they pass through the Earth's atmosphere, and during environmental exposure on Earth. Lunar fines have been stored on Earth for over 30 years under conditions designed to avoid chemical but not microbiological contamination. It has been extremely difficult to draw firm conclusions about the origin of chemicals (including amino acids) in extraterrestrial samples. Of particular concern has been the possibility of bacterial contamination. Recent work using state-of-the-art gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) has dramatically lowered the chemical background, allowing a clear demonstration that lunar fines are remarkably different from terrestrial dust in that they generally lack certain chemical markers (muramic acid and 3-hydroxy fatty acids) characteristic of Earth's bacteria. Thus, lunar dust might be used as a negative control, in conjunction with GC-MS/MS analyses, in future analytical studies of lunar dust and meteorites. Such analyses may also be important in studies designed to search for the presence of life on Mars. (+info)