A Noble Gas Analytical Capability for UKCAN
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Earth Atmospheric and Env Sciences
Abstract
Our work is aimed at understanding the prehistory, formation and evolution of our solar system, to understand whether planets like our Earth, capable of supporting life, are common and how they formed and evolved. 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). Halogens and noble gases are two groups of elements that are classed as volatiles (things that condense at low temperature, like water), and by studying these elements in meteorites they enable us to understand how volatiles behaved on the first asteroids and during early planet forming processes. We know planets incorporated volatiles into their interiors - on Earth and Mars volcanoes have released massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Part of our study to to understand how atmospheres (and oceans) originate on planets. It is particulalrly important to know if they formed by loss from the interior of a planet by internal melting or if they were added later by comets and meteorites. Noble gas isotopes can be very useful in determining between these two possibilities 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.
Planned Impact
The addition of noble gas instrumentation will extend and strengthen UKCAN in providing additional instrumentation and expertise to the UK's planetary science community. These researchers would have access to facilities on a collaborative basis that would provide important additional scientific insights to existing projects and help to strengthen future proposals. Findings of these studies will be disseminated through peer reviewed publications, conference presentations and promoted through our research group's new media outreach engagement programme (http://earthandsolarsystem.wordpress.com/. Integration of noble gas cosmochemistry within UKCAN will help to build the UK Cosmochemistry community; helping to support the scientific basis for future missions to the Moon, Mars and other differentiated Solar System bodies.
Organisations
Publications
Weber I
(2015)
Cosmochemical and spectroscopic properties of Northwest Africa 7325-A consortium study
in Meteoritics & Planetary Science
Turner G
(2013)
The other isotopes: research avenues based on 36 Ar, 37 Ar and 38 Ar
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Snape J
(2014)
NON-BASALTIC FRAGMENTS IN THE APOLLO SOIL SAMPLE 12003
in 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Ruzié-Hamilton L
(2016)
Determination of halogen abundances in terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples by the analysis of noble gases produced by neutron irradiation
in Chemical Geology
Ruzie L
(2014)
Neutron Irradiation Noble Gas Mass Spectrometric Technique for Quantifying Cl, Br and I in Terrestrial and Extra-Terrestrial Rock Samples
in Goldschmidt Conference Abstracts
Pernet-Fisher J
(2019)
Evidence of chemical heterogeneity within lunar anorthosite parental magmas
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
MacArthur J
(2019)
Mineralogical constraints on the thermal history of martian regolith breccia Northwest Africa 8114
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Kobayashi M
(2017)
Slab-derived halogens and noble gases illuminate closed system processes controlling volatile element transport into the mantle wedge
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Kobayashi M
(2019)
Halogen Heterogeneity in the Lithosphere and Evolution of Mantle Halogen Abundances Inferred From Intraplate Mantle Xenoliths
in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Joy KH
(2014)
Age & Chemical Diversity of Basaltic Particles in the Apollo 12 Regolith
in Goldschmidt Conference Abstracts
Joy KH
(2020)
Timing of geological events in the lunar highlands recorded in shocked zircon-bearing clasts from Apollo 16.
in Royal Society open science
Joy KH
(2014)
Composition, Age and Regolith History of Feldspathic Lunar Meteorites
in LPI Contributions
Joachim B
(2015)
Experimental partitioning of F and Cl between olivine, orthopyroxene and silicate melt at Earth's mantle conditions
in Chemical Geology
Joachim B
(2017)
Effect of water on the fluorine and chlorine partitioning behavior between olivine and silicate melt
in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology
Hughes L
(2018)
Halogen behaviour in subduction zones: Eclogite facies rocks from the Western and Central Alps
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Fernandes VA
(2014)
A Report on the 40Ar-39Ar Systematics of the Anomalous Potassic LL Metachondrite-NWA 7030
in LPI Contributions
Crowther S
(2022)
Noble gas evolution of the martian atmosphere in the last 4 Gyr recorded by regolith breccia NWA 8114
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Clay PL
(2017)
Halogens in chondritic meteorites and terrestrial accretion.
in Nature
Clay P
(2014)
Halogen Geochemistry of Planetary Building Blocks
in Goldschmidt Conference 2014
Chavrit D
(2016)
The contribution of hydrothermally altered ocean crust to the mantle halogen and noble gas cycles
in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Carter E
(2022)
Bimodal Alteration of the Oceanic Crust Revealed by Halogen and Noble Gas Systematics in the Oman Ophiolite
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Calzada-Diaz A
(2016)
The petrology, geochemistry, and age of lunar regolith breccias Miller Range 090036 and 090070: Insights into the crustal history of the Moon
in Meteoritics & Planetary Science
Broadley M
(2018)
End-Permian extinction amplified by plume-induced release of recycled lithospheric volatiles
in Nature Geoscience
Bridges J. C.
(2015)
ALTERATION OF A MARTIAN IMPACT REGOLITH RECORDED IN NWA 8114
in METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE
Avice G
(2017)
The origin and degassing history of the Earth's atmosphere revealed by Archean xenon
in Nature Communications
Description | The award was used to part fund a new noble gas mass spectrometer (an ThermoFisher ARGUS VI) for cosmochemical research. The main development was to measure heavy noble gases formed during nuclear irradiation of planetary materials. This means the system is capable of ultra-trace level (sub-ppb) detection of halogens (Cl, Br and I). This is the first ARGUS IV mass spectrometer in the world to be developed in this way. |
Exploitation Route | The development of this project not only provides chronology (40Ar-39Ar dating) of Solar System events but also understanding the distribution and history of volatiles (noble gases and halogens) in planetary bodies. It is being utilised by users via STFC's UKCAN initiative. Knowledge exchange on instrument development is also active between industry partners, especially the mass spectrometer manufacturer ThermoFisher. |
Sectors | Chemicals,Energy,Environment |
Description | How did primordial and recycled geochemical signatures come to coexist in the Earth's deep mantle? |
Amount | £393,157 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/P002331/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 12/2020 |
Description | Planetary Science and Cosmochemistry at the University of Manchester |
Amount | £1,487,854 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/R000751/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2018 |
End | 03/2022 |
Title | Noble Gas Evolution of the Martian Atmosphere in the last 4 Gyr Recorded by Regolith Breccia NWA 8114 |
Description | Supplementary information and research data to accompany Noble Gas Evolution of the Martian Atmosphere in the last 4 Gyr Recorded by Regolith Breccia NWA 8114 by Crowther et al. Files include supplementary text, tables, figures and movie, along with research data and notes about data reduction methods. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://figshare.manchester.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Noble_Gas_Evolution_of_the_Martian_Atmosphere_in_... |