Posted on 08/30/2009 8:33:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The researchers, led by Dr Chris Ballentine from the University of Manchester, concluded that meteorite bombardment, after the moon was first formed, was the only way gases could have arrived so deep within the Earth -- craters on the moon attest to the ferocity of this process... "So we asked the question, `why do volcanoes still spew out gases from so deep, to this day?'" The team sampled volcanic gases in New Mexico. Uniquely, volcanic gases here contain very little air contamination and this allowed the team to measure rare gas isotopes, like neon, for the first time. These isotopes can be used to 'fingerprint' the origin of the volcanic gas. The team found that these fingerprints were identical to gases found trapped in meteorites and not from an early atmosphere. The only way that these gases could have been added to the deep Earth is by continued meteorite bombardment after the moon was formed... Dr Ballentine's work paves the way to acceptance of the theory that the whole mantle, the bit between the Earth's crust and its core, convects like a pot of water on the stove -- albeit very slowly -- removing heat from deep within the Earth. The team concluded that the whole mantle convective movement drives continental plate motion, controls the rate at which continents grow, and determines the amount of water, carbon and nitrogen that goes into and comes out of the Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Can’t blame the dinos for liking crayfish... ;’)
This month, one of the science mags has a cover blurb about how mammals actually ate dinos. Dunno if that refers to scavenging the carcasses after Chicxulub, or what...
So does my brother in laws’ dog who happens to like sleeping with his butt in my face. The dog, not the BIL.
Granted. The problem is the quantity of these gases still emerging from deep in the Earth. It’s interesting that a couple other planets’ atmospheres are enriched in noble gases (Jupiter, Venus, at least).
Irish Setter? ;’)
Heh heh heh...
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