P010-01
2020 WHIPPLE AWARD LECTURE, “ADVENTURES IN PLANETARY SCIENCE,1960-2020”, a personal retrospective summary of sixty years of research in the Planetary Sciences
2020 WHIPPLE AWARD LECTURE, “ADVENTURES IN PLANETARY SCIENCE,1960-2020”, a personal retrospective summary of sixty years of research in the Planetary Sciences
Monday, 7 December 2020: 10:35
Virtual
Abstract:
Experimental research, first at Berkeley and then at Minnesota, centered on static mass
spectrometric analyses of abundances and isotopic distributions of trace amounts of noble
gases and nitrogen in a variety of extra-terrestrial and terrestrial materials. Such
measurements, both here and elsewhere, formed the basis for attempts to model the origin
and evolution of atmospheres on Earth and Mars. Experimental highlights: Direct
evidence, from neon isotopes in carbonaceous chondrites, for the presence of the Ne-E
carrier, the first detection of what is now an array of identified pre-solar gains
synthesized in other stellar environments; Development of protocols for measuring
minute amounts of sample nitrogen, a key capability in establishing the origin of the SNC
meteorite classes on Mars; Measurements of Xe and Kr compositions in these meteorites
and their interpretation as trapped samples of the martian atmosphere, later verified by
direct measurement of Mars’ atmospheric composition by the Curiosity Rover; A
collaborative first analyses of helium and neon in a particle collected from the coma of
Comet Wild 2 by the Stardust Mission, followed by more comprehensive studies of gases
trapped in several Stardust aerogel cells; Extensive analyses of light noble gases in
interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) with emphasis on those suspected to originate from
comets. Among these latter investigations were measurements indicating that some
particles collected from comet dust streams originated in a galactic ONe-nova outburst.
Another collaborative study revealed massive over-abundances of spallogenic 21Ne in
grains from a giant IDP cluster particle, far above levels expected from contemporary
galactic or solar cosmic ray irradiation over time and suggesting exposure to greatly
enhanced fluxes of solar flare protons close to the young evolving Sun. Intertwined with
this research, among other activities, was service on the LSAPT and COMPLEX
committees, Director of the Lunar Science Institute, and extensive outreach on planetary
science and other space activities through various local, national and international media.
An expanded introduction to research discussed in the Lecture is posted here.
spectrometric analyses of abundances and isotopic distributions of trace amounts of noble
gases and nitrogen in a variety of extra-terrestrial and terrestrial materials. Such
measurements, both here and elsewhere, formed the basis for attempts to model the origin
and evolution of atmospheres on Earth and Mars. Experimental highlights: Direct
evidence, from neon isotopes in carbonaceous chondrites, for the presence of the Ne-E
carrier, the first detection of what is now an array of identified pre-solar gains
synthesized in other stellar environments; Development of protocols for measuring
minute amounts of sample nitrogen, a key capability in establishing the origin of the SNC
meteorite classes on Mars; Measurements of Xe and Kr compositions in these meteorites
and their interpretation as trapped samples of the martian atmosphere, later verified by
direct measurement of Mars’ atmospheric composition by the Curiosity Rover; A
collaborative first analyses of helium and neon in a particle collected from the coma of
Comet Wild 2 by the Stardust Mission, followed by more comprehensive studies of gases
trapped in several Stardust aerogel cells; Extensive analyses of light noble gases in
interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) with emphasis on those suspected to originate from
comets. Among these latter investigations were measurements indicating that some
particles collected from comet dust streams originated in a galactic ONe-nova outburst.
Another collaborative study revealed massive over-abundances of spallogenic 21Ne in
grains from a giant IDP cluster particle, far above levels expected from contemporary
galactic or solar cosmic ray irradiation over time and suggesting exposure to greatly
enhanced fluxes of solar flare protons close to the young evolving Sun. Intertwined with
this research, among other activities, was service on the LSAPT and COMPLEX
committees, Director of the Lunar Science Institute, and extensive outreach on planetary
science and other space activities through various local, national and international media.
An expanded introduction to research discussed in the Lecture is posted here.