Investigating the Solar System with Isotope Cosmochemistry

Lead Research Organisation: University of Manchester
Department Name: Earth Atmospheric and Env Sciences

Abstract

We focus on the prehistory, formation and evolution of our solar system, to understand whether planets like our Earth, capable of supporting life, are common. To do this we pioneer new technology and apply it to samples of extraterrestrial material, notably samples from space missions and meteorites, (fragments of planets and asteroids that reach the Earth). Our solar system formed by collapse of a cloud of dust and gas in interstellar space. We can find out what our sun's parent cloud was like by studying presolar grains - particles of dust from the cloud that have been preserved inside meteorites. Each grain formed around a dying star, so they reveal the history of the galaxy before our sun formed and how the elements of our everyday world were made in previous generations of stars. They also experienced shocks from exploding stars as they floated through galactic space. Comparing these grains with those entering the solar system today (returned by the Stardust mission) will let us to see how galactic dust has changed over the last 5 billion years. We also study our sun's birth place through traces of radioactive decay preserved in meteorites. The decay occurred so quickly that radioactive material must have been made shortly before the sun began to form, so the sources - massive stars - must have died nearby relatively recently. From these traces we learn how the stars made material and how it was mixed into their surroundings. This radioactive decay in the early solar system also lets us measure the time between events as asteroids and planets formed. In meteorites we have snapshots of stages in the life of the first asteroids that tell us how long it took them to grow, heat up, form cores and rocky mantles, and cool. Material that the Stardust mission returned will tell us if comets played a major role in providing our Earth with volatiles. Volatiles (things that condense at low temperature, like water) are essential for life, and meteorites let us understand how they behaved on the first asteroids. The sun's mass dominates the solar system, so it defines the bulk composition. The Genesis mission returned a solar wind sample, allowing us to measure this composition and so tell where the Earth's varies. This will also help us understand how our planet grew in its current form. We know planets incorporated volatiles into their interiors - on Earth and Mars volcanoes have released massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. But when rocks are heated or melted as a planet forms they ought to lose volatiles very quickly, so why do planetary interiors contain any volatiles at all? There are two ideas. Some people think volatiles dissolved into a molten planetary surface from a massive early atmosphere that had been captured by gravity, others that volatiles trapped in the material from which the planet was built could not escape easily. Neon can act as a fingerprint that will allow us to identify the culprit, once we have understood the neon composition trapped in meteorites. The story wasn't complete once planets were assembled. Terrestrial planets like our Earth have been affected by many processes since they formed. These processes can be studied through the traces they have left on samples such as meteorites from Mars and the Moon. By studying martian meteorites we can understand the timing of fluid flows on the martian surface and what sort of environment these fluids had come from. In particular, we can compare them with terrestrial fluids and seek evidence of the effects of life. By looking at lunar samples we can supplement the information gained from the Apollo missions and better understand the massive cratering events and volcanic processes that shaped the familiar face of the full Moon.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description Our research programme specialises in developing new analytical instrumentation to address scientific problems that cannot be addressed elsewhere. As a consequence we have developed the world's most sensitive instruments for analysing xenon and krypton as well as time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometers with unique properties. These have been applied to address the questions of volatile abundances in samples returned by the NASA space missions Genesis and Stardust as well wider questions on the formation of interplanetary dust particles, presolar grains and primitive planetary bodies in the early solar system.
Exploitation Route The technologies and analytical techniques have been applied to other areas of scientific research such as nuclear forensics. The scientific outcomes have informed other research groups around the world and our own, leading to on-going research programmes.
Sectors Education

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

URL http://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/research-areas/pes/isotope-geochemistry-and-cosmochemistry/
 
Description STFC quota PhD studentships
Amount £134,396 (GBP)
Organisation Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2010 
End 08/2014
 
Description UKCAN 
Organisation Imperial College London
Department Department of Earth Science & Engineering
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Contributed expertise and instrument time
Collaborator Contribution Joint scientific research and shared scientific samples, collaboration on instruments and programmes
Impact Publications, collaborative analytical programmes on important scientific samples, raising significant funding from home institutions for analytical instruments for the work.
Start Year 2006
 
Description UKCAN 
Organisation Natural History Museum
Department Meteorites
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Contributed expertise and instrument time
Collaborator Contribution Joint scientific research and shared scientific samples, collaboration on instruments and programmes
Impact Publications, collaborative analytical programmes on important scientific samples, raising significant funding from home institutions for analytical instruments for the work.
Start Year 2006
 
Description UKCAN 
Organisation Open University
Department Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Contributed expertise and instrument time
Collaborator Contribution Joint scientific research and shared scientific samples, collaboration on instruments and programmes
Impact Publications, collaborative analytical programmes on important scientific samples, raising significant funding from home institutions for analytical instruments for the work.
Start Year 2006
 
Description Blog 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Created a blog to disseminate the results and excitement of our research to the public

Requested use of our published materials on other science blogs
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2011,2012,2013
 
Description CREST judges 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact School pupils developed projects which were judged and discussed

Repeated invitations to participate in annual events.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012
 
Description Course for industry 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact 60 members of industry and Universities in the North-West attended a short course and discussion meeting on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

strengthened links between University blue skies research and local industry
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2010
 
Description Courses for the public 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact General courses for the public on introductions to the sciences run by the University

Public members who have joined astronomical societies
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2009,2010,2011,2012
 
Description Day Schools 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Approx 50 pupils attended a day school run by members of the research group to give a hands no introduction to space science

Repeat events and follow up
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008,2009,2010
 
Description MS@Manchester 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Workshop Facilitator
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact Contributor to MS@Manchester, an umbrella organisation to foster interaction between University reearch and UK industry

High profile one day meetings with sponsorship and participation from industry
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2010,2011,2012
 
Description Public lectures 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Numerous public lectures (approx 30 in 6 years) by many different members of the research group to amateur Astronomical Societies, science festivals, schools etc

Greater public and school child awareness of research area
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013
 
Description Radio interviews 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Local radio interviews describing research

Repeated requests for subsequent interviews
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012
 
Description STEM Ambassadors 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact 6 group members are STEM Ambassadors taking part in outreach events such as 'Meet the Scientist'

requests for repeat events
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012
 
Description Science Fairs 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Type Of Presentation Keynote/Invited Speaker
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Participation by large numbers of people to 'Meet the Scientist' and look at meteorite and lunar samples.

repeated requests for further participation
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012
 
Description Stargazing Live 2013, 2014, 2015 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation Workshop Facilitator
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Put on demonstrations and engagement activities for the public and school children as part of the BBC Stargazing Live series of programmes.
2013 - BBC Stargazing Live Major exhibit by research group and appearance on stage in 4 presentations on solar system science. 3000 visitors.
2014 - Stargazing Live/Saturday Science 2300 visitors
2015 - Stargazing Live/PI: Platform for Investigation

Engagement with the public
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2011,2012,2013