An Investigation of Carbon Isotope Abundances in ALH84001

ALH84001 中碳同位素丰度的调查

• 批准号: 9713545
• 负责人: Greg Rau
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-08-01 至 2000-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9713545&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Investigation; Carbon; Isotope; Abundances; ALH84001

This award in the Mars-Rock Special Research Opportunity activity supports study of carbon-14 abundances in martian meteorites by Dr. Greg H. Rau of the Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz. The project is funded by the Office of Polar Programs, the Chemistry Division, and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities. Carbon isotopic measurements (C-13/C-12 ratio and C-14 concentration) will be conducted on carbon collected from the ALH84001 meteorite using discrete inorganic and organic carbon extraction techniques. The goal of the project is to gain a better understanding of the sources and possible martian biogenicity of carbon contained in the meteorite. The work will be conducted as part of a collaborative research project based at NASA-Ames Research Center where individual acid, UV-laser ablation, and stepped heating extractions will be performed on AHL84001 samples and terrestrial analogs. Isotopic analysis will be performed on the carbon dioxide released from these extraction fractions. The mass and isotopic abundances within the organic and inorganic fractions will be determined, as well as the degree of terrestrial contamination of each fraction, and the isotopic carbon ratio of both the meteorite organic and inorganic carbon. The results will be interpreted in the context of Martian geology and climate. It is likely that terrestrial carbon contamination may have influenced the meteorite's organic carbon concentration, and this will be considered in order to accurately infer Martian organic/inorganic carbon isotope abundances, fractionations, and organic carbon formation process. Carbon in planetary samples may be present in inorganic forms or may have been modified by biological activity. As a result of either physical or biological forces, the isotopic composition of carbon in the sample may have been altered to provide a distinctive `signature.` This research brings together a unique combination of carbon isotope extertise from NASA-Ames, the University of California, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to investigate both terrestrial and meteorite samples. The results will aid in determining whether or not the evidence from martian meteorite ALH84001 is consistent with biological activity.

该奖项在火星岩石特别研究机会活动 支持格雷格博士对火星陨石中碳-14丰度的研究 H.加州大学海洋科学研究所的劳说， 圣克鲁斯。 该项目由极地项目办公室资助， 化学部和MPS多学科活动办公室。 碳同位素测量（C-13/C-12比率和C-14浓度） 将对从ALH 84001陨石中收集的碳进行分析， 分离的无机和有机碳提取技术。 的目标 该项目是为了更好地了解来源和可能的 陨石中所含碳的火星生物性。 这项工作将 作为合作研究项目的一部分， 美国宇航局艾姆斯研究中心，其中个别酸，紫外线激光消融， 将对AHL 84001样品进行分步加热浸提， 地球上的类似物 将对碳进行同位素分析 从这些提取馏分中释放的二氧化物。 质量和同位素 将测定有机和无机部分内的丰度， 以及每一部分的陆地污染程度， 陨石有机和无机的碳同位素比率 carbon. 结果将在火星的背景下进行解释 地质和气候。 很可能陆地碳污染 可能影响了陨石的有机碳浓度， 这将被考虑，以准确地推断火星 有机/无机碳同位素丰度、分馏和有机 碳形成过程。 行星样本中的碳可能以无机形式存在，也可能具有 被生物活性改变。 由于物理或 生物的力量，样品中碳的同位素组成可能 已经被改变以提供独特的“签名”。 本研究 汇集了一种独特的碳同位素组合， 美国宇航局艾姆斯，加州大学和劳伦斯利弗莫尔 国家实验室调查陆地和陨石 样品 结果将有助于确定证据是否 来自火星陨石ALH 84001的物质与生物活动相一致