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Evidence of Panspermia: from Astronomy to Meteorites

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Evidence of Panspermia: from Astronomy to Meteorites Evidence of Panspermia: From Astronomy to Meteorites Jamie Hamilton Wallis Thesis submitted in candidature for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Cardiff University Cardiff School of Mathematics, Cardiff University 2014 To Rebecca and Emily ii DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter- library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 4: BAR ON ACCESS APPROVED I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter- library loans after expiry of a bar on access approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… iii Acknowledgements I wish to express my grateful thanks to my supervisor, Professor N. C. Wickramasinghe, for his invaluable advice, guidance and supervision throughout the course of these studies. I am also very grateful also to Max Wallis, Richard Hoover and Alexei Yu. Rozanov, for their many helpful and insightful discussions. I also wish to thank Tony Oldroyd, Professor Andres Pack, Nori Miyake and Sunali Purba for their invaluable assistance with the various pieces of scientific apparatus required during these studies. A special thanks also to Warwick Analytical for their help with the ICP-OES and GC-MS experiments. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support and especially my wife for her unwaivering patience and encouragement throughout my research. iv Summary The theory of cometary panspermia is tested in the wake of two reported falls in Tissint, Morocco on July 18, 2011 and in the central province of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka on December 29, 2012. Samples of the Tissint and Polonnaruwa stones were studied using a variety of laboratory procedures and equipment including ICP-OES, GC-MS, SEM, EDAX, CHN, FTIR, Raman Spectroscopy, XRD and Optical Spectroscopy. Results of Tissint show the presence of several 5-50µm pyrite grains rimmed by a layer of reduced organic carbon with graphitisation levels consistent with other Martian meteorites. A complex precursor carbon inventory is demonstrated with peak temperatures ~ 250 OC and elemental ratios typical of high volatility bituminous coals. A theoretical model of the ecology of arsenic on early Mars is then developed and discussed involving microbial reduction of Fe-oxides. This hypothesis is shown to be supported by SEM observations of spherical chains of pits, with morphologies distinct from abiotic alteration features but closely comparable to biologically mediated microstructures created by Fe- and S-oxidising microbes. The contribution of core-mantle grains to mid-IR emission features is then modelled using extinction and scattering efficiencies for composite spheres based on the Guttler extension of the Mie formulae. Results show that kerogen-pyrite grains closely adhere to observed 9-13µm emission characteristics observed in the Trapezium nebula. Results of studies on Polonnaruwa show a highly porous Si-K-rich, Al-depleted, amorphous melt enclosing trace (commonly <1µm) anorthoclase, albite, anorthite and quartz. Bound H2O < 0.03wt% indicates origin from hypervelocity impact. SEM analysis revealed several fossil microorganisms similar to acritarchs, hystrichospheres and diatoms. Geologic age of the stones is determined by N/C atomic ratio depletion that indicate the presence of embedded fossil remains that date back to at least ~300 Ma. Triple oxygen isotope analysis provide values of ∆17 O = - 0.335 with δ17 O = 8.978 ± 0.050 and δ18 O = 17.816 ± 0.100 that is shown to be consistent with non-terrestrial sources. Results are seen to substantially support the theory of cometary panspermia. v Extended Summary In 1981, F. Hoyle and N.C. Wickramasinghe proposed that comets provided an ideal vehicle for the distribution of life throughout the cosmos and thereby advanced the theory of cometary panspermia. To this day it offers a powerful unifying hypothesis for a substantial body of otherwise disparate scientific data that collectively imply a cosmic setting for the origin of life. The theory directly opposes the prevailing ‘Primordial Soup’ hypothesis that has held sway since the late 1920s in which abiogenesis takes place on a primitive Earth rich in abiotic organics and liquid water. The prediction that cometary dust, and by implication interstellar dust, would be organic in nature has now been established and is almost universally accepted. However these observations are still interpreted by many scientists as evidence of abiotic pre-biology. Concurrent work on stratospheric sampling of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) (e.g. Brownlee, 1978; Lal et al ., 1996; Harris et al., 2002; Narlikar et al ., 2003; Wainwright et al., 2004; 2008; Rauf et al , 2010a; Wallis et al. 2002; Miyake, 2009) however shows evidence of undeniably biological structures as well as embedded diatom frustule fragments (Wainwright et al., 2013a; 2013b). Further work on microfossils in meteorites show similar results (Claus and Nagy, 1961, 1963; Pflug, 1984a, 1984b; McKay et al., 1996, 2009; Hoover, 2005, 2009, 2011). These results have been consistently challenged on the grounds of terrestrial contamination or the limitations of morphology as an unequivocal means of life detection (Anders and Fitch, 1962a, 1962b, 1964; Fitch and Andres, 1963a, 1963b; Fitch et al., 1962; Garcia-Ruiz, 1999). While these criticisms have prevented a convergence of thinking among investigators in favour of the unequivocal detection of life in non-terrestrial artefacts, the matter continues essentially unresolved. The McKay (1996) findings of an ancient Martian biota in ALH84001 faced intractable complications from its ~13,000 year stay in Antarctica. The objective of this study is to test the theory of cometary panspermia in the light of a unique opportunity that has been provided by two events that have taken place during the past three years. The first of these occurred on July 18, 2011 when several eyewitnesses observed a brilliant yellow fireball over the Oued Drâa Valley East of Tata, Morocco at 2:00 AM. In October 2011 nomads found a 47g pale grey stone encased in a fresh, glistening black, glassy fusion crust in a remote area of the Oued Drâa watershed 48km SSW of the village of Tissint, Morocco (29 o 28.917'N, vi 7o36.674'W). Early analysis of the recovered meteorite revealed it to comprise of a depleted picritic shergottite of Martian origin similar to EETA79001A. The minimal level of terrestrial alteration of Tissint has been confirmed by Aoudjehane et al, (2012) via stepped combustion mass spectrometry that show total C abundances of 173 ppm with a δ13 C = –26.6 ‰ and 12.7 ppm nitrogen with total δ15 N = – 4.5 ‰ supporting the view that much of Tissint’s organic material is of Martian origin. The second event occurred during the last week of December 2012 in the skies above the Central Provinces of Sri Lanka. Several eyewitnesses in the North Central District of Polonnaruwa reported seeing a bright yellow fireball that turned green as it travelled across the sky at approximately 18:30 PM on December 29, 2012. The inferred NE to SW trajectory was determined from numerous eyewitness observations. The green fireball was reported to disintegrate with some luminescent fragments falling towards the ground in the village of Aralagonwila (7°46'0" N and 81°10'60" E) about 35 km south of the ancient town of Polonnaruwa. A number of stones were immediately recovered from the ground in the vicinity of Aralagonwila. The events were heavily covered on Sri Lankan TV networks and included interviews with geologists from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. The Tissint Martian Meteorite (Olivine-Phyric Shergottite) Five fragments of the Tissint Martian meteorite were utilised in these studies. Sample verification was by measurement of elemental partitions determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. These quantities were then compared with analogous values reported by independent teams and found to closely accord with published data. Sampling heterogeneity was investigated using optical and SEM petrographic studies on two 30µm thin sections and one polished thick section prepared at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at Cardiff University. This analysis revealed no significant variation in lithic or mineralogic structure or composition. Contamination screening was undertaken using 3keV SEM investigation prior to experimental procedures to ensure that all components were parental to the meteorite and contained no foreign lithic, mineralogic or precipitated components. SEM and EDAX analysis of freshly cleaved surfaces is shown to reveal the presence of several 5- 50µm spherical carbonaceous structures. These are characterized
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