Nature Communications (Jun 2017)

Tracing the oxygen isotope composition of the upper Earth’s atmosphere using cosmic spherules

  • Andreas Pack,
  • Andres Höweling,
  • Dominik C. Hezel,
  • Maren T. Stefanak,
  • Anne-Katrin Beck,
  • Stefan T. M. Peters,
  • Sukanya Sengupta,
  • Daniel Herwartz,
  • Luigi Folco

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15702
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Oxygen contained within cosmic spherules is sourced from the atmosphere, making micrometeorites a possible archive for past atmospheric conditions. Here, Packet al. compare the isotopic composition of oxygen in cosmic spherules from Antarctica with that of the troposphere, and validate the value of this archive.