Abstract
Laboratory experiments on the trapping of gases by ice forming at low temperatures implicate comets as major carriers of theheavy noble gases to the inner planets. These icy planetesimals may also have brought the nitrogen compounds that ultimately produced atmospheric N2. However, if the sample of three comets analyzed so far is typical, the Earth's oceans cannot have been produced by comets alone, they require an additionalsource of water with low D/H. The highly fractionated neon inthe Earth's atmosphere may also indicate the importance of non-icy carriers of volatiles. The most important additional carrieris probably the rocky material comprising the bulk of the mass of these planets. Venus may require a contribution from icy planetesimals formed at the low temperatures characteristic of the Kuiper Belt.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
A'Hearn, M., Millis, R. L. Schleicher, J. D. and Birch, P.V.: 1995, The ensemble properties of comets: Results from narrowband photometry of 85 comets, 1976–1992, Icarus 1881, 223–270.
Anders, E. and Grevesse, N.: 1989, Abundances of the elements: Meteoritic and solar, Geochim. Cosmochim Acta 53, 197–214.
Anders, E. and Owen, T.: 1977, Mars and Earth: Origin and abundances of volatiles, Science 198, 453–465.
Bar-Nun, A., Herman, B., Laufer, D. and Rappoport, M. L.: 1985, Trapping and release of gases by water ice and implications for icy bodies, Icarus 63, 317–332.
Bar-Nun, A., Kleinfeld, I. and Kochavi, E.: 1988, Trapping of gas mixtures by amorphous water ice, Phys. Rev. B. 38, 7749–7754.
Balsiger, H., Altwegg, K. and Geiss, J.: 1995, D/H and 18O/16O ratio in the hydronium ion and in neutral water from in situ ion measurements in Comet P/Halley, J. Geophys Res. 100, 5827–5834.
Becker, R. H. and Pepin, R. O.: 1984, The case for a Martian origin of the Shergottites: Nitrogen and noble gases in EETA 79001, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 69, 225–242.
Becker, R. H. and Pepin, R. O.: 1993, Nitrogen and noble gases in a glass sample from Lew 88516.,(Abstracts) In Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XXIV, pp. 77–78. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.
Bernatowicz, T. J., Kennedy, B. M. and Podosek, F. A.: 1985, Xe in glacial ice and the atmospheric inventory of noble gases, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 49, 2561–2564.
Bockelee-Morvan, D., Gautier, D., Lis, D. C., Young, D., Keene, J., Phillips, T. G., Owen, T., Crovisier, J., Goldsmith, P. F., Bergin, E. A., Despois, D. and Wooten: 1998, Deuterated water in comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) and its implications for the origin of comets, Icarus 133, 147–162.
Bogard, D. D. and Garrison, D. H.: 1998, Relative abundances of argon, krypton and xenon in the Martian atmosphere as measured in Martian meteorites, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62, 1829-y1835.
Bogard, D. D., Hörz, F. and Johnson, P. H.: 1986, Shock-implanted noble gases: An experimental study with implications for the origin of Martian gases in Shergottite meteorites, Proc. Lunar and Planet Sci. Conf. 17th, J. Geophys. Res. (Suppl.) 91, E99-E114.
Bogard, D. D. and Johnson, P. H.: 1983, Martian gases in an Antarctic meteorite?, Science 221, 651–654.
Carr, M. H.: 1986, Mars: A water-rich planet?, Icarus 56, 187–216.
Carr, M. H. and Wänke, U.: 1992, Earth and Mars:Water inventories as clues to accretional histories, Icarus 98, 61–71.
Chick, K. M. and Cassen, P.: 1997, Thermal processing of interstellar dust grains in the primitive solar environment, Astrophys. J. 447, 398–409.
Chin, Y.-N., Henkel, C., Langer, N. and Mauersberger, R.: 1999, The detection of extragalactic 15N: Consequences for nitrogen nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution, Astrophys. J. Lett. 512, L143-L146.
Chyba, A. C.: 1990, Impact delivery and erosion of planetary oceans in the inner solar system, Nature 343, 129–133.
Chyba, C., Owen, T. and Ip, W.-H.: 1994, Impact delivery of volatiles and organic molecules to Earth, in Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, (T. Gehrels, ed.) pp. 49–58, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Couostenis, A.: 1999, Private communication about D/H on Titan from ISO observations-analysis in progress.
Craig, H. and Lupton, J. E.: 1976, Primordial neon, helium and hydrogen in oceanic basalts, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 31, 369–385.
Crovisier, J.: 1998, Physics and chemistry of comets: Recent results from comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp. Answers to old questions and new engimas, Faraday Discussions 109, 437–452.
Crovisier, J. D., Leech, K., Bockelee-Morvan, D., Brooke, T. Y., Hanner, M. S., Altieri, B., Keller, H. U. and Lellouch, E.: 1997, The spectrum of comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 01) observed with the Infrared Space Observatory at 2.9 astronomical units from the sun, Science 275, 1904–1907.
Dahmen, G., Wilson, T. L. and Matteucci, F.: 1995, The nitrogen isotope abundance in the galaxy, Astron. Astrophys. 295, 194–198.
Davies, J. K., Roush, T. L., Cruikshank, D. P., Bartholomew, M. J., Geballe, T. R., Owen, T. and de Bergh, C.: 1997, The detection of water ice in comet Hale-Bopp, Icarus 127, 238–245.
Delsemme, A.: 1991, Nature and history of the organic compounds in comets: An astrophysical view, in R. L. Newburn, Jr., M. Neugebauer and J. Rahe (eds), Comets in Post-Halley Era, pp 417–428, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Delsemme, A. H.: 2000, 1999 Kuiper Prize Lecture: Cometary origin of the biosphere, Icarus 146, 313–325.
Donahue, T. M. and Pollack, J. B.: 1983, Origin and evolution of the atmosphere of Venus, in D. M. Hunten, L. Colin, T. M. Donahue and V. I. Moroz (eds), Venus, pp 1003–1036, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Drake, M. J., Swindle, T. D., Owen, T. and Musselwhite, D. L.: 1994, Fractionated martian atmosphere in the Nakhlites?, Meteoritics 29, 854–859.
Dreibus, G. and Wänke, W.: 1989, Supply and loss of volatile constituents during the accretion of terrestrial planets, in S. K. Atreya, J. P. Pollack, and M. S. Matthews (eds), Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres, pp 268–288, tU. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Eberhardt, P. M., Reber, D., Krankowsky, D. and Hodges, R. R.: 1995, The D/H and 18O/16O ratios in water from Comet P/Halley, Astron. Astrophys. 302, 301–316.
Feuchtgruber, H., Lellouch, E., Bézard, B., Encrenaz, Th., de Graaw, Th. and Davis, G. R.: 1999, Detection of HD in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune: A new determination of the D/H ratios, Astron. Astrophys. 341, 17–21.
Fink, U.: 1992, Comet Yanaka (1998r) A new class of carbon poor comet, Science 257, 1926–1929.
Fouchet, T., Lellouch, E., Bézard, B., Encrenaz, T., Drossart, P., Feuchtgrubert, H. and de Graauw, T.: 2000, ISO-SWS observations of Jupiter: Measurement of the ammonia tropospheric profile and of the 15N/14N isotopic ratio, Icarus 143, 223–243.
Garrison, D. H. and Bogard, D. S.: 1998, Isotopic composition of trapped and cosmogenic noble gases in several Martian meteorites, Meteoritics 33, 721–736.
Geiss, J.: 1988, Composition of Halleys comet: Clues to origin and history of cometary matter, Rev. Mod. Astron. 1, 1–27.
Greely, R.: 1987, Release of juvenile water on Mars: Estimated amounts and timing associated with volcanism, Science 136, 688–690.
Halley, E.: 1687, As referenced in Comets, Popular Culture and the Birth of Modern Cosmology, by S. S. Genuth, p. 162, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Hashizume, K., Chaussidan, M. and Marty, B.: 2000, Nitrogen isotope analysis of lunar regolith using an ion microprobe-search of the solar wind component. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXI (abs.) 1565.
Hiyagon, H.: 1994, Retention of solar helium and neon in IDPs in deep sea sediment, Science 263, 1257–1259.
Hoffman, J. H., Hodges, R. R., Jr., McElroy, M. B., Donahue, T. M. and Kolpin, M.: 1979, Composition and structure of the Venus atmosphere: Results from Pioneer Venus, Science 205, 49–52.
Hoffman, J. H., Oyama, V. I. and von Zahn, U.: 1980, Measurements of the Venus lower atmosphere composition: A comparison of results, J. Geophys. Res. 85, 7871–7881.
Honda, M., McDougall, I., Patterson, D., Dougleris, A. and Claugue, D. A.: 1991, Possible solar noble-gas component in Hawaiian basalts, Nature 349, 149–151.
Hunten, D. M., Pepin, R. O. and Owen, T. C.: 1988, Planetary atmospheres, in J. F. Kerridge and M. S. Matthews (eds), Meteorites, pp. 565–591, tU. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Istomin, V. G., Grechnev, K. V. and Kochnev, V. A.: 1982, Preliminary results of mass-spectrometric measurements on board the Venera 13 and Venera 14 probe, Pisma Astron. Zh. 8, 391–398.
Jakosky, B. M.: 1991, Mars volatile evolution: Evidence from stable isotopes, Icarus 94, 14–31.
Jakosky, B. M., Pepin, R. J., Johnson, R. E. and Fox, J. L.: 1994, Mars atmospheric loss and isotopic fractionation by solar-wind induced sputtering and photochemical escape, Icarus 111, 271–288.
Jewitt, D. C., Matthews, H. E., Owen, T. and Meier, R.: 1997, Measurements of 12C/13C, 14N/15N and 32S/34S ratios in comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 01), Science 278, 90–93.
Kallenbach, R., Geiss, J., Ipavich, F. M., Gloeckler, G., Bochsler, P., Gliem, F., Hefti, S., Hilchenbach, M. and Hovestadt, D.: 1998, Isotopic composition of solar wind nitrogen: First in situ determination with CELIAS/MTOF spectrometer on board SOHO, Astrophys. J. Lett. 507, L185-L188.
Karlsson, H. R., Clayton, R. N., Gibson, Jr., E. K. and Mayeda, T. K.: 1992, Water in SNC meteorites: Evidence for a martian hydrosphere, Science 255, 1409–1411.
Krankowsky, D.: 1991, 'The Composition of Comets', in R. L. Newburn, Jr. and M. Neugebauer, J. Rahe (eds), Comets in the Post-Halley Era, pp. 855–879, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Krasnopolosky, V. A., Mumma, M. J., Abbott, M., Flynn, B. C., Meech, K. J., Yeomans, D. K., Feldman, P. O. and Cosmovici, C. B.: 1997a, High resolution spectroscopy of Mars at 3.7 and 8 µm: A sensitive search for H2 O2, H2 CO, HCl and CH4, and detection of HDO, J. Geophys. Res. 102, 6524–6534.
Krasnopolsky, V. A., Mumma, M. J., Abbott, M., Flynn, B. C., Meech, K. J., Yeomans, D. K., Feldman, P. D. and Cosmovici, C. B.: 1997b, Detection of soft x-rays and a sensitive search for noble gases in comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 01), Science 277, 1488.
Laufer, D., Kochavi, E. and Bar-Nun, A.: 1987, Structure and dynamics of amorphous water ice, Phys. Rev. B. 36, 9219–9227.
Lécluse, C. and Robert, F.: 1994, Hydrogen isotope exchange rates: Origin of water in the inner solar system, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 58, 2297–2339.
Leshin, L. A., Epstein, S. and Stolpher, E. M.: 1996, Hydrogen isotope geochemistry of SNC meteorites, Geochim. Cosmochim Acta. 60, 2635–2650.
Linsky, J. L.: 1996, GHRS observations of the LISM, Space Sci Rev 78, 157–164.
Lunine, J. L., Engel, S., Rizk, B. and Horanyi, M.: 1991, Sublimation and reformation of icy grains in the primitive solar nebula, Icarus 94, 333–343.
Mahaffy, P. R., Donahue, T. M., Atreya, S. K., Owen, T. C. and Niemann, H. B.: 1998, Galileo Probe Measurements of D/H and 3He/4He in Jupiter's atmosphere, in N. Prantzos, M. Tosi and R. von Steiger (eds), Primordial Nuclei and Their Evolution. pp 251–264, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Marti, K., Kim, J. S., Thakur, A. N., McCoy, T. J. and Keil, K.: 1995, Signatures of the martian atmosphere in glass of the Zagami meteorite, Science 267, 1981–1984.
Mathew, K. J., Kim, J. S. and Marti, K.: 1998, Martian atmospheric and indigeneous components of xenon and nitrogen in the Shergotty, Nakhla and Chassigny group meteorites, Meteorites and Planet Sci. 33, 655–664.
Mathew, K. J. and Marti, K.: 2001, Early evolution of Martian volatiles: Nitrogen and noble gas components in ALH 84001 and Chassigny, J. Geophys. Res. 106, 1401–1422.
McElroy, M. B., Kong, T. Y. and Yung, Y. L.: 1977, Photochemistry and evolution of Mars atmosphere: A Viking perspective, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 4379–4388.
McSween, H. Y., Jr.: 1994, What have we learned about Mars from SNC meteorites?, Meteoritics 29, 757–779.
Meier, R. and Owen, T.: 1999, Deuterium in comets, in K. Altwegg, P. Ehrenfreund, J. Geiss and H. Huebener (eds), Composition and Origin of Cometary Materials, pp. 33–34, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Meier, R., Owen, T. C., Matthews, H. E., Senay, M., Biver, N., Bockelée-Morvan, D., Crovisiser, J. and Gautier, D.: 1998b, Deuterium in Comet C/1995 01 (Hale-Bopp): Detection of DCN, Science 279, 1707–1710.
Meier, R., Owen, T. C., Matthews, H. E., Jewitt, D., Bockelée-Morvan, D., Biver, N., Crovisier, J. and Gautier, D.: 1998a, A determination of the HDO/H2O ratio in Comet C/1995 01 (Hale Bopp), Science 279, 842–844.
Melosh, H. J. and Vickery, A. M.: 1989, Impact erosion of the primordial atmosphere of Mars, Nature 388, 487–489.
Millar, T. J., Bennett, A. and Herbst, E.: 1989, Deuterium fractionation in dense interstellar clouds, Astrophys. J. 340, 906–920.
Mumma, M. J., Weissman, P. R. and Stern, S. A.: 1993, Comets and the origin of the solar system: Reading the Rosetta Stone, in E. H. Levy, J. I. Lunine and M. S. Matthews (eds), Protostars and Planets III, pp 1177–1252, University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Musselwhite, D. M., Drake, M. J. and Swindle, T. O.: 1991, Early outgassing of Mars supported by differential water solubility of iodine and xenon, Nature 352, 697–699.
Nier, A. O. and McElroy, M. B.: 1977, Composition and structure of Mars upper atmosphere: Results from the neutral mass spectrometers on Viking 1 and 2, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 4341–4350.
Notesco, G. and Bar-Nun, A.: 1996, Enrichment of CO over N2 by their trapping in amorphous ice and implications to Comet Halley, Icarus 122, 118–121.
Notesco, G., Laufer, D., Bar-Nun, A. and Owen, T.: 1999, An experimental study of the isotopic enrichment in Ar, Kr and Xe when trapped in water ice, Icarus 142, 298–300.
Nuth, J. A. III, Hill, H. G. M. and Kletetschka, G.: 2000, Determining the ages of comets from the fraction of crystalline dust, Nature 406, 275–276.
Oro, J.: 1961, Comets and the formation of biochemical compounds on the primitive Earth, Nature 190, 389–390.
Ott, U.: 1988, Noble gases in SNC meteorites: Shergotty, Nakhla, Chassigny, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 52, 1937–1948.
Ott, U. and Begemann, F.: 1985, Are all the martian meteorites from Mars?, Nature 317, 509–512.
Ott, U., Löhr, H. P. and Begemann, F.: 1988, New noble gas data from SNC meteorites: Zagami, Lafayette and etched Nakhla, Meteoritics 23, 295–296.
Owen, T.: 1992, The composition and early history of the atmosphere of Mars, in H. H. Kieffer, B. M. Jakosky, C. W. Snyder, and M. S. Matthews (eds), Mars, pp 818–834, tU. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Owen, T. and Bar-Nun, A.: 1993, Noble gases in atmospheres. Nature 361, 693–694.
Owen, T. and Bar-Nun, A.: 1995a, Comets, impacts and atmospheres, Icarus 116, 215–226.
Owen, T. and Bar-Nun, A.: 1995b, Comets, impacts and atmospheres II, Isotopes and noble gases, in K. Farley (ed.), Volatiles in the Earth and Solar System, pp 123–138, AIP Conf. Proc. 341, 123–138.
Owen, T. and Bar-Nun, A.: 2001, (in preparation).
Owen, T., Bar-Nun, A. and Kleinfeld, I.: 1991, Noble gases in terrestrial planets: Evidence for cometary impacts, in R. L. Newburn, Jr., M. Neugebauer and J. Rahe (eds), Comets in the Post-Halley Era, pp 429–438, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Owen, T., Bar-Nun, A. and Kleinfeld, I.: 1992, Possible cometary origin of heavy noble gases in the atmospheres of Venus, Earth and Mars, Nature 358, 43–46.
Owen, T., Biemann, K., Rushneck, D. R., Biller, J. E., Howarth, D. W. and Lafleur, A. L.: 1977, The composition of the atmosphere at the surface of Mars, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 4635–4639.
Owen, T., Mahaffy, P., Niemann, H. B., Atreya, S., Donohue, T., Bar-Nun, A. and de Pater, I.: 1999, A low-temperature origin for the planetesimals that formed Jupiter, Nature 402, 269–270.
Owen, T., Mahaffy, P., Niemann, H., Atreya, S. and Wong, M.: 2001, Proto-solar nitrogen, Astrophys. J. Lett. 553, L77-L79.
Owen, T., Maillard, J. P., de Bergh, C. and Lutz, B. L.: 1988, Deuterium on Mars: The abundance of HDO and the value of D/H, Science 240, 1767–1770.
Ozima, M. and Wada, N.: 1993, Noble gases in atmospheres, Nature 361, 693.
Ozima, M., Wieler, R., Marty, B. and Podosek, F. A.: 1998, Comparative studies of solar, Q-gases and terrestrial noble gases, and implications on the evolution of the solar nebula, Geochim Cosmochim. Acta 62, 301–314.
Pavlov, A. A., Pavlov, A. K. and Kasting, J. F.: 1999, Irradiated planetary dust particles as a possible solution for the deuterium/hydrogen paradox of Earths oceans, J. Geophys. Res. 104, 30725–30728.
Pepin, R. O.: 1989, Atmospheric compositions: Key similarities and differences, in S. K. Atreya, J. B. Pollack and M. S. Matthews (eds), Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres, pp 293–305, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Pepin, R. O.: 1991, On the origin and early evolution of terrestrial planet atmospheres and meteoritic volatiles, Icarus 92, 2–79.
Pepin, R. O.: 1994a, The hunt for U-Xenon, Meteoritics 29, 568–569.
Pepin, R. O.: 1994b, Evolution of Earths noble gases: Consequences of assuming hydrodynamic loss driven by giant impact, Icarus 126, 148–156.
Pollack, J. B.: 1979, Climatic change on the terrestrial planets, Icarus 37, 479–553.
Robert, F.: 1997, Paper presented at Blois Symposium: The Solar System: The Longview (Proceedings volume in press, ed. L. Celniker, T. Van).
Robert, R., Rejon-Michel, and Javoy, M.: 1992, Oxygen isotopic homogeneity of the Earth: New evidence, Earth and Planet Sci. Lett. 108, 1–9.
Sill, G. T. and Wilkening, L.: 1978, Ice clathrate as a possible source of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets, Icarus 33, 13–27.
Swindle, T. D.: 1988, Trapped noble gases in meteorites, in J. F. Kerridge and M. S. Matthews (eds), Meteorites, pp 535–564, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Swindle, T. D., Caffee, M. W. and Hohenberg, C. M.: 1986, Xenon and other noble gases in shergottites, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 1001–1015.
Terzieva, R. and Herbst, E.: 2000, The possibility of nitrogen isotopic fractionation in interstellar clouds, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc 317, 563–568.
Turekian, K. K. and Clark, Jr., S. P.: 1975, The non-homogeneous accumulation model for terrestrial planet formation and the consequences for the atmosphere of Venus, J. Atmos. Sci. 32, 1257–1261.
Van Dishoeck, E. V., Blake, G. A., Draine, B. T. and Lunine, J. I.: 1993, in E. H. Levy and J. I. Lunine (eds), Protostars and Planets III, pp 163–244, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Wacker, J. F. and Anders, E.: 1984, Trapping of xenon in ice and implications for the origin of the Earths noble gases, Geochim. Cosmochim Acta. 48, 2372–2380.
Watson, L. L., Hutcheon, I. D. and Stolper, E. M.: 1994, Water on Mars: Clues from deuterim/ hydrogen and water contents of hydrous phases in SNC meteorites, Science 265, 86–90.
Wetherill, G.: 1981, Solar wind origin of 36Ar on Venus, Icaurs 46, 70–80.
Wilson, T. L. and Rood, R. T.: 1994, Abundances in the interstellar medium, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astophys. 32, 191–226.
Yung, Y. and Dissly, R.W.: 1992, Deuterium in the Solar System, in J. A. Kaye (ed.), Isotope Effects in Gas-Phase Chemistry, p 369–389, American Chemical Society Symposium Series, No. 502.
Zahnle, K.: 1993, Planetary noble gases, in E. H. Levy and J. I. Lunine (eds), Protostars and Planets III, pp 1305–1338, U. of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Zahnle, K., Kasting, J. E. and Pollack, J. B.: 1990, Mass fractionation of noble gases in diffusion limited hydrodynamic hydrogen escape, Icarus 84, 502–527.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Owen, T.C., Bar-Nun, A. Contributions of Icy Planetesimals to the Earth's Early Atmosphere. Orig Life Evol Biosph 31, 435–458 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011809412925
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011809412925