Preservation of organic matter in the STONE 6 artificial meteorite experiment |
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Authors: | John Parnell Stephen A Bowden Nigel Blamey René Demets Franz Brandstätter |
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Institution: | a School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, United Kingdom b Department of Earth & Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech., Socorro, NM 87801, USA c Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, UPR CNRS 4301, 45071 Orléans cedex 2, France d European Space & Technology Centre (ESTEC), Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands e Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom f Naturhistorisches Museum, Min.-Pet. Abteilung, Burgring 7, 1010 Wien, Austria |
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Abstract: | The exposure of a carbonaceous siltstone sample to atmospheric entry, as part of the STONE 6 artificial meteorite experiment, has allowed a controlled investigation of the effect of heat shock during atmospheric entry on organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites and, potentially, sedimentary martian meteorites containing carbonaceous biomolecules. Thermal alteration is evident in an increase in structural order of the carbon (i.e. degree of graphitisation), preferential loss of thermally unstable compounds and substantial loss of extractable organic matter. There is a gradient of increasing alteration towards the outer, exposed margin of the rock, and also an increase in hydrocarbons that suggests outward migration following thermally-induced generation. The carbon has not been completely graphitised, and sufficient biomarker compounds survive to prove the biological origin of the organic matter. The experiment implies that meteorites of appropriate size could preserve evidence of biological activity on their parent body. |
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Keywords: | Meteorites Thermal histories Astrobiology Mars Organic chemistry |
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