Abstract
The chemical composition of the Earth’s atmosphere can be defined by the Ne/N 2,H 2 O/N 2 and CO 2 /N 2 ratios deduced from the total amounts of these four volatiles in the atmosphere. The same volatiles are released by hydrous–carbonaceous micrometeorites upon frictional heating as to generate a micrometeoritic model atmosphere. Its composition is inferred from the weight % contents of Ne, N 2,H 2 O and carbon that were measured in about 500 Antarctic micrometeorites from the 100–200 μm size fraction. The composition of the micrometeoritic atmosphere was thus found to be strikingly similar to that of our blue planet.
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© 2006 Springer
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Maurette, M. (2006). A Prime Suspect for the Formation of the Atmosphere. In: Micrometeorites and the Mysteries of Our Origins. Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-34335-0_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-34335-0_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-25816-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-34335-6
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