Zircon Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Astrobiology

Photograph of the Ediacaran biota from the Llangynog Inlier. Ediacaria-type morph of Aspidella s.l. -- Journal of the Geological Society

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

A Key Moment In The Evolution Of Life On Earth Captured In Fossils

by Keith CowingJanuary 16, 2024January 16, 2024

Curtin-led research has for the first time precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history […]

Flowchart of the procedure used for Lu-Hf analysis of extraterrestrial zircons. 1. The zircons are thermally annealed and then subjected to chemical abrasion2, 69. Two leachates (L1 and L2) and one residue (R) solutions are retrieved for further processing. The solutions are passed on chromatography columns filled with AG1-X8 resin to separate U+Pb from a solution containing Lu, Hf, Zr, and other trace elements. The U+Pb elutions are analyzed using a Phoenix TIMS at Princeton University. The solution containing Lu, Hf, Zr, and other trace elements is split into two, with 30% used for Lu/Hf determination using an iCAP at Princeton University, and 70% used for Hf purification and Hf isotopic analysis at the Origins Lab of the University of Chicago. 2. The "Lu, Hf, Zr" 70% split solution is passed on a column filled with TODGA resin 52, 53 to separate Zr+Hf from most other elements. 3. The Zr+Hf cut is passed on a second column filled with LnSpec resin (Fig. 2) to separate Hf from Zr 27, 50. 4. The isotopic composition of purified Hf is analyzed with a Neptune MC-ICP-MS at the University of Chicago. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Status Report

Methodologies for 176Lu-176Hf Analysis of Zircon Grains from the Moon and Beyond

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2023

Zircons are found in extraterrestrial rocks from the Moon, Mars, and some differentiated meteorite parent-bodies. These zircons are rare, often of small size, and have been affected by neutron capture […]

Rochester researchers Wriju Chowdhury and Dustin Trail reveal information about early Earth using tiny zircon crystals, which are billions of years old and a fraction of a millimeter in size (scale bars are in micrometers, where 1 micrometer = 0.000001 meter). The researchers use an imaging technique called cathodoluminescence that fires electrons from a cathode at a sample. The holes in the crystals are from a laser that removed part of the grain to allow the researchers to acquire chemical information. (Smithsonian Institution photo)

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release

Was Plate Tectonics Occurring When Life First Formed On Earth?

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2023April 4, 2023

Earth is a dynamic and constantly changing planet. From the formation of mountains and oceans to the eruption of volcanoes, the surface of our planet is in a constant state […]

Quartz-pebble metaconglomerate

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

A Window Into Prebiotic Worlds?

by Keith CowingFebruary 9, 2023February 9, 2023

A perspective article published today in Science magazine’s Insights section provides a unique assessment of the study by Dustin Trail and Thomas McCollom contextualizing a new calibration they built to […]

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release

4.4 billion Years Ago Earth was Barren, Flat and Almost Entirely Under Water

by Keith CowingMay 10, 2017

ANU scientists say the early Earth was likely to be barren, mountainless and almost entirely under water with a few small islands, following their analysis of tiny mineral grains as […]

Astrogeology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Life on Earth Likely Started Much Earlier Than Thought

by Keith CowingOctober 19, 2015

UCLA geochemists have found evidence that life likely existed on Earth at least 4.1 billion years ago — 300 million years earlier than previous research suggested. The discovery indicates that […]

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life

Oldest Piece Of Earth's Crust Suggests A Cool Early History

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2014

With the help of a tiny fragment of zircon extracted from a remote rock outcrop in Australia, the picture of how our planet became habitable to life about 4.4 billion […]