Application of Stable Isotope Measurements to the Study of the Origin and History of Meteorites

摘要

Researches dealing with the isotopic composition of hydrogen and carbon are reported. Techniques to determine the isotopic composition of hydrogen and carbon in the Martian meteorites are addressed. The results show that deuterium analysis can be used as a definitive characteristic of a Martian origin. The analysis of many Antarctic meteorites to ascertain their exchangeability with the light Antarctic water is also addressed along with the determination of the isotopic fractionation of carbon and hydrogen which would result from such impact induced volatilization. With the exception of Murchison meteorite, devolatilization has been accompanied by preferential concentration of light isotopes in the gas phases in both carbon and hydrogen. In the case of Murchison, the hydrogen in the gas phase was enriched in deuterium. These data provide some clues as to the possible isotopic partition between the solid Earth and the atmosphere due to the impact of meteorites. The extraction of organic compounds from a variety of meteorites is reported.