• J N Goswami

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science

• 26Al as a heat source for early melting of planetesimals: Results from isotopic studies of meteorites

Ion microprobe studies of magnesium isotopic composition in igneous components from several chondritic meteorites have been carried out to look for26Mg excess that may be attributed to the presence of the now-extinct radionuclide26Al(τ ∼ 1 Ma) at the time of formation of these objects. A positive evidence for the presence of26Al in the analysed objects will strengthen its case as the primary heat source for the early thermal metamorphism/melting of meteorite parent bodies. Based on calculated temperature profiles inside chondritic objects of different sizes and initial26Al/27Al ratios, we have estimated the initial abundances of26Al needed to provide the heat necessary for the wide range of thermal processing seen in various types of meteorites. The magnesium isotopic data obtained by us do not provide definitive evidence for the presence of26Al at the time of formation of the analysed igneous phases in different chondritic meteorites. Experimental evidence for a planetary scale distribution of26Al in the early solar system to serve as a significant heat source for the thermal metamorphism and melting of meteorite parent bodies (planetesimals) remains elusive.

• Foreword

• Short-lived nuclides in the early solar system

Isotopic records in meteorites provide evidence for the presence of several short-lived nuclides in the early solar system with half-lives varying from 105 to ∼8x107 years. Most of the nuclides with longer half-life (&gt; 107 years) are considered to be products of stellar nucleosynthesis taking place over long time scales in our galaxy. However, for the relatively shorter-lived nuclides, two possibilities exist; they could be products of energetic particle interactions taking place in a presolar or early solar environment, or, they could have been produced in a stellar source and injected into the protosolar molecular cloud just prior to its collapse. The presently available data appear to support the latter case and put a stringent constraint of less than a million years for the time scale for the collapse of the protosolar molecular cloud to form the Sun and some of the first solar system solids. This short time scale also suggests the possibility of a triggered origin for the solar system with the very process of injection of the short-lived nuclides acting as the trigger for the collapse of the protosolar molecular cloud. Fossil records of the short-lived nuclides in meteorites also provide very useful chronological information on the early solar system processes like the time scale for nebular processing, the time scales for differentiation and for metal/silicate fractionation within planetesimals. The currently available data suggest a time scale of a few million years for nebular processing and a relatively short time scale of about ten million years within which differentiation, melting and recrystallization in some of the planetesimals took place.

• Determination of rare earth and refractory trace element abundances in early solar system objects by ion microprobe

Experimental and analytical procedures devised for measurement of rare earth element (REE) abundances using a secondary ion mass spectrometer (ion microprobe) are described. This approach is more versatile than the conventional techniques such as neutron activation analysis and isotope dilution mass spectrometry by virtue of its high spatial resolution that allows determination of REE abundances in small domains (10-20 micron) within individual mineral phases. The ion microprobe measurements are performed at a low mass-resolving power adopting the energy-filtering technique (Zinner and Crozaz 1986) for removal and suppression of unresolved complex molecular interferences in the REE masses of interest. Synthetic standards are used for determining various instrument specific parameters needed in the data deconvolution procedure adopted for obtaining REE abundances. Results obtained from analysis of standards show that our ion microprobe may be used for determining REE abundances down to ppm range with uncertainties of ∼ 10 to 15%. Abundances of rare earth and several other refractory trace elements in a set of early solar system objects isolated from two primitive carbonaceous chondrites were determined using the procedures devised by us. The results suggest that some of these objects could be high temperature nebular condensates, while others are products of melting and recrystallization of precursor nebular solids in a high temperature environment.

• High energy X-γ ray spectrometer on the Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon

The Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon scheduled for launch in late 2007 will include a high energy X-ray spectrometer (HEX) for detection of naturally occurring emissions from the lunar surface due to radioactive decay of the238U and232Th series nuclides in the energy region 20–250 keV. The primary science objective is to study the transport of volatiles on the lunar surface by detection of the 46.5 keV line from radioactive210Pb, a decay product of the gaseous222Rn, both of which are members of the238U decay series. Mapping of U and Th concentration over the lunar surface, particularly in the polar and U-Th rich regions will also be attempted through detection of prominent lines from the U and Th decay series in the above energy range. The low signal strengths of these emissions require a detector with high sensitivity and good energy resolution. Pixelated Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CZT) array detectors having these characteristics will be used in this experiment. Here we describe the science considerations that led to this experiment, anticipated flux and background (lunar continuum), the choice of detectors, the proposed payload configuration and plans for its realization

• Pb–Pb zircon ages of Archaean metasediments and gneisses from the Dharwar craton, southern India: Implications for the antiquity of the eastern Dharwar craton

$^{207}Pb–^{206}Pb$ ages of zircons in samples of metasediments as well as ortho- and para-gneisses from both the western and the eastern parts of the Dharwar craton have been determined using an ion microprobe. Detrital zircons in metasedimentary rocks from both yielded ages ranging from 3.2 to 3.5 Ga. Zircons from orthogneisses from the two parts also yielded similar ages. Imprints of younger events have been discerned in the ages of overgrowths on older zircon cores in samples collected throughout the craton. Our data show that the evolution of the southwestern part of eastern Dharwar craton involved a significant amount of older crust (&lt; 3.0 Ga). This would suggest that crust formation in both the western and eastern parts of the Dharwar craton took place over similar time interval starting in the Mesoarchaean at ca. 3.5 Ga and continuing until 2.5 Ga. Our data coupled with geological features and geodynamic setting of the Dharwar craton tend to suggest that the eastern Dharwar craton and the western Dharwar craton formed part of a single terrane.

• # Journal of Earth System Science

Current Issue
Volume 128 | Issue 5
July 2019