AMMONIA IN THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM: AN ACCOUNT FROM CARBONACEOUS METEORITES

This study presents a survey of abundance distribution and isotopic composition of the ammonia found incorporated in the kerogen-like insoluble material of selected carbonaceous chondrite meteorites; the ammonia was released upon hydrothermal treatment at 300[degrees]C and 100 MPa. With the exceptio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2012-04, Vol.749 (2), p.1-6
Main Authors: PIZZARELLO, S, WILLIAMS, L. B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABUNDANCE
AMMONIA
Antarctica
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Carbonaceous chondrites
Carbonaceous meteorites
CHONDRITES
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
ISOTOPE RATIO
KEROGEN
Lakes
Magnesium
Meteorites
PLANETS
Recognition
SOLAR SYSTEM
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
Stone
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Summary:This study presents a survey of abundance distribution and isotopic composition of the ammonia found incorporated in the kerogen-like insoluble material of selected carbonaceous chondrite meteorites; the ammonia was released upon hydrothermal treatment at 300[degrees]C and 100 MPa. With the exception of Allende, a metamorphosed and highly altered stone, all the insoluble organic materials (IOM) of the meteorites analyzed released significant amounts of ammonia, which varied from over 4 mu g mg super(-1) for the Orgueil IOM to 0.5 mu g mg super(-1) for that of Tagish Lake; the IOM of the pristine Antarctica find GRA95229 remains the most rich in freeable ammonia with 10 mu g mg super(-1). While the amounts of IOM bound ammonia do not appear to vary between meteorites with a recognizable trend, a possible consequence of long terrestrial exposure of some of the stones, we found that the delta super(15)N composition of the ammonia-carrying materials is clearly distinctive of meteorite types and may reflect a preservation of the original super(15)N distribution of pre- and proto-solar materials.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/749/2/161