Search

Two-step laser desorption/laser ionization mass spectrometry (microL2 MS) was used to establish the nature and mass distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fragments of fifteen 'giant' (approximately 200 microns) carbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites (AMMs). Detectable concentrations of PAHs were observed in all AMMs showing a fine-grained matrix. The range of integrated PAH signal intensities varied between samples by over two orders of magnitude. No evidence of contamination whilst in the Antarctic environment could be found. The dramatic variation of both PAH signal intensities and mass distributions between AMMs along with comprehensive contamination checks demonstrates that particles are not exposed to terrestrial PAHs at or above detection limits, either subsequent, during or prior to collection. Comparison of the observed PAH distributions with those measured in three carbonaceous chondrites [Orgueil (CI1), Murchison (CM2) and Allende (CV3)] under identical conditions demonstrated that marked differences exist in the trace organic composition of these two sources of extraterrestrial matter. In general, AMMs show a far richer distribution of unalkylated 'parent' PAHs with more extended alkylation series (replacement of -H with -(CH2)n-H; n = 1, 2, 3 ...). The degree of alkylation loosely correlates with a metamorphic index that represents the extent of frictional heating incurred during atmospheric entry. A search for possible effects of the chemical composition of the fine-grain matrix of host particles on the observed PAH distributions reveals that high degrees of alkylation are associated with high Na/Si ratios. These results, in addition to other observations by Maurette, indicate that 'giant' micrometeorites survive hypervelocity (> or = 11 km s-1) atmospheric entry unexpectedly well. Because such micrometeorites are believed to represent the dominant mass fraction of extraterrestrial material accreted by the Earth, they may have played a significant role in the prebiotic chemical evolution of the early Earth through the delivery of complex organic matter to the surface of the planet.

Antarctic micrometeorites (AMMs) in the 100-400 microns size range are the dominant mass fraction of extraterrestrial material accreted by the Earth today. A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) based technique exploited at the limits of sensitivity has been used to search for the extraterrestrial amino acids alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) and isovaline in AMMs. Five samples, each containing about 30 to 35 grains, were analyzed. All the samples possess a terrestrial amino acid component, indicated by the excess of the L-enantiomers of common protein amino acids. In only one sample (A91) was AIB found to be present at a level significantly above the background blanks. The concentration of AIB (approximately 280 ppm), and the AIB/isovaline ratio (> or = 10), in this sample are both much higher than in CM chondrites. The apparently large variation in the AIB concentrations of the samples suggests that AIB may be concentrated in rare subset of micrometeorites. Because the AIB/isovaline ratio in sample A91 is much larger than in CM chondrites, the synthesis of amino acids in the micrometeorite parent bodies might have involved a different process requiring an HCN-rich environment, such as that found in comets. If the present day characteristics of the meteorite and micrometeorite fluxes can be extrapolated back in time, then the flux of large carbonaceous micrometeorites could have contributed to the inventory of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth.

Giant micrometeorites (sizes ranging from approximately 50 to 500 micrometers), such as those that were first recovered from clean pre-industrial Antarctic ices in December 1987, represent by far the dominant source of extraterrestrial carbonaceous material accreted by the Earth's surface, about 50,000 times the amount delivered by meteorites (sizes > or = a few cm). They correspond to large interplanetary dust particles that survived unexpectedly well their hypervelocity impact with the Earth's atmosphere, contrary to predictions of theoretical models of such impacts. They are related to relatively rare groups of carbonaceous chondrites (approximately 2% of the meteorite falls) and not to the most abundant meteorites (oridinary chondrites and differentiated micrometeorites). About 80% of them appear to be highly unequilibrated fine-grained assemblages of mineral grains, where an abundant carbonaceous component is closely associated on a scale of < or = 0.1 micron to both hydrous and anhydrous minerals, including potential catalysts. These observations suggest that micrometeorites could have functioned as individual microscopic chemical reactors to contribute to the synthesis of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth, about 4 billion years ago. The recent identification of some of their complex organics (amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and the observation that they behave as very efficient 'cosmochromatographs', further support this 'early carbonaceous micrometeorite' scenario. Future prospects include identifying the host phases (probably ferrihydrite) of their complex organics, evaluating their catalytic activity, and assessing whether synergetic interactions between micrometeorites and favorable zones of the early Earth (such as submarine hydrothermal vents) accelerated and/or modified such synthesis.

Over 100 000 large interplanetary dust particles in the 50-500 micrometers size range have been recovered in clean conditions from approximately 600 tons of Antarctic melt ice water as both unmelted and partially melted/dehydrated micrometeorites and cosmic spherules. Flux measurements in both the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets indicate that the micrometeorites deliver to the Earth's surface approximately 2000x more extraterrestrial material than brought by meteorites. Mineralogical and chemical studies of Antarctic micrometeorites indicate that they are only related to the relatively rare CM and CR carbonaceous chondrite groups, being mostly chondritic carbonaceous objects composed of highly unequilibrated assemblages of anhydrous and hydrous minerals. However, there are also marked differences between these two families of solar system objects, including higher C/O ratios and a very marked depletion of chondrules in micrometeorite matter; hence, they are "chondrites-without-chondrules." Thus, the parent meteoroids of micrometeorites represent a dominant and new population of solar system objects, probably formed in the outer solar system and delivered to the inner solar system by the most appropriate vehicles, comets. One of the major purposes of this paper is to discuss applications of micrometeorite studies that have been previously presented to exobiologists but deal with the synthesis of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth, and more recently, with the early history of the solar system.

"Interplanetary Dust Particles" with sizes approximately 10 micrometers collected in the stratosphere (IDPs), as well as much larger "giant" micrometeorites retrieved from Antarctic ice melt water (AMMs), are mostly composed of unequilibrated assemblages of minerals, thus being related to primitive unequilibrated meteorites. Two independent evaluations of the mass flux of micrometeorites measuring approximately 50 micrometers to approximately 200 micrometers, recovered from either the Greenland or the Antarctic ice sheets have been reported (approximately 20,000 tons/a). A comparison with recent evaluation of the flux of meteorites reaching the Earth's surface (up to masses of 10,000 tons), indicates that micrometeorites represent about 99.5% of the extraterrestrial material falling on the Earth's surface each year. As they show carbon concentrations exceeding that of the most C-rich meteorite (Orgueil), they are the major contributors of extraterrestrial C-rich matter accreting to the Earth today. Moreover they are complex microstructured aggregates of grains. They contain not only a variety of C-rich matter, such as a new "dirty" magnetite phase enriched in P, S, and minor elements, but also a diversity of potential catalysts (hydrous silicates, oxides, sulfides and metal grains of Fe/Ni composition, etc.). They could have individually functioned on the early Earth, as "micro-chondritic-reactors" for the processing of prebiotic organic molecules in liquid water. Future progress requires the challenging development of meaningful laboratory simulation experiments, and a better understanding of the partial reprocessing of micrometeorites in the atmosphere.

Lunar minerals and impact glasses, convert the polyatomic beam of solar wind (SW) ions into a flux of small molecules (e.g., H2, N2, H2O, CO, CO2, CH2, C2H2, C2H6, HCN, metal carbides and deuterides, etc.). They thus behave as "Solid State Molecular Reactors". Moreover, ~100-200 µm size micrometeoroids (µMs) have also been exposed to the SW in the zodiacal cloud, before being captured by the Earth and recovered as Antarctic micrometeorites. They are mostly composed of a PAH-rich hydrous-carbonaceous material, which amplifies their power as molecular reactors. In particular, during the first ~200Myr of the post-lunar period, about 75% of the µMs have been melted and/or volatilized upon atmospheric entry. The release of their volatile species triggered a cosmic volcanism around the mesopause that ruled the formation of the early Earth's atmosphere and climate. Furthermore, a fraction of the µMs that survive unmelted upon atmospheric entry did settle on the proto-oceans floors. Upon further burial in sediments their constituent PAH-rich kerogen was cracked into abiotic oil, which generated giant oil slicks that fed prebiotic chemistry. Many stars, of all ages and types, are embedded into a secondary debris-disk loaded with ion implanted µMs. Some of them are expelled to the interstellar medium (ISM) where they behave first as "dormant- invisible" molecular reactors, until they became reactivated by various processes to synthesize interstellar molecules. This short paper only focus on some highlights of this research dealing with the synthesis of important interstellar molecules, including the most abundant ones (H2 and CO) and H2O, HCN and PAHs, all involved in prebiotic chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]