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Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in meteoritic organic matter: indicators of alteration processes on the parent asteroid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2005

Mark A. Sephton ,
Alexander B. Verchovsky  and
Ian P. Wright
Mark A. Sephton
Affiliation:
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA, UK Current address: Mark A. Sephton, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Royal School of Mines, Prince Consort Road, Imperial College London, SW7 2BP, UK. e-mail: m.a.sephton@imperial.ac.uk
Alexander B. Verchovsky
Affiliation:
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA, UK
Ian P. Wright
Affiliation:
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 6AA, UK
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Abstract

Macromolecular organic materials in chondrites display significant variations in carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. In recent years, these variations have been interpreted as a record of aqueous and thermal processing on asteroids shortly after the birth of the Solar System. In this paper we review and summarize the key data and main interpretative approaches related to this study area. Armed with these methods we attempt to reinterpret the whole rock chondrite data set in the literature.

Keywords

alterationchondritesorganic matterstable isotopes
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , July 2004 , pp. 221 - 227
Copyright
2005 Cambridge University Press

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