Atmosphere evolution

One implication of Earth - degassing models of metallogenesis is that there should be links between the formation of the Earth s resources, secular changes in architecture and geochemistry of the planet over some 4.5 billion years of evolution and phenomena such as mass extinction events, global anoxia, and atmospheric evolution. 

Noble gases are most abundant in planetary atmospheres, although even there they are only minor components. They have been measured in the gas envelopes of Venus, Earth (of course), Mars, and Jupiter. We will consider their utility in understanding planetary differentiation and atmospheric evolution shortly, but first we will focus on their rather miniscule abundances in meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials. 

D. M. Hunten, Atmospheric evolution of the terrestrial planets. Science 259, 915-920 (1993) J. F. Kasting, Earth s early atmosphere. Science 259, 920-926 (1993) R. A. Berner, Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over phanerozoic time. Science 249, 1382-1386 (1990) R. A. Berner, Paleozoic atmospheric CO2 importance of solar radiation and plant evolution. Science 261, 68-70 (1993). 

Early attempts to use noble gases to study atmospheric evolution compared the amount of radiogenic noble gases in the atmosphere with the production in the Earth s interior (e.g., Damon Kulp, 1957 Turekian, 1964). For a quantitative treatment, Turekien (1964) assumed that degassing of noble gas was represented by a first-order rate equation (i.e., the degassing rate is proportional to the amount in the mantle). 40Ar evolution is then expressed as... 

Allegre, C. J., Staudacher, T., Sarda, P. (1987) Rare gas systematics Formation of the atmosphere, evolution, and structure of the Earth s mantle. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 81, 127-50. 

Hamano, Y., Ozima, M. (1978) Earth atmosphere evolution model based on Ar isotopic data. In Terrestrial Rare Gases. Jr. E. C. Alexander, M. Ozima, Eds., pp. 155-72. Tokyo Center... 

Marty, B. (1989) Neon and xenon isotopes in MORB Implications for the earth-atmosphere evolution. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 94, 45-56. 

Ozima, M., Alexander, Jr., E. C. (1976) Rare gas fractionation patterns in terrestrial samples and the earth-atmosphere evolution model. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys., 14, 385-90. 

Ozima, M., Kudo, K. (1972) Excess argon in submarine basalts and an earth-atmosphere evolution model. Nature Phys. Sci., 239, 23-4. 

Ozima, M., Zahnle, K. (1993) Mantle degassing and atmospheric evolution Noble gas view. Geochem. J., 27, 185-200. 

Interpretation of the timing of dolomitization is important in a variety of studies, including hydrocarbon maturation and migration and porosity development. In Chapter 10 we discuss further the dolomitization process as a clue to ocean-atmosphere evolution. 

Figure 11.2 Photosynthesis and oxygen atmosphere evolution on Earth. (Adapted from Frausto Da Silva et al. [I])...

Commoner, B., 1965. Biochemical, biological and atmospheric evolution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 53 1183-1194,... 

Besides their presence due to in situ radioactive decay within a given solid sample, radiogenic " He, " Ar, Xe, Pu-fission xenon (and krypton), and likely also U-fission xenon, are also prominent or observable constituents of planetary atmospheres, and their abundance is important in constraining models for planetary atmosphere evolution (see Chapter 4.12). 

Yung Y. L. and DeMore W. B. (1982) Photochemistry of the stratosphere of Venus implications for atmospheric evolution. Icarus 51, 199-247. 

Marty B. and Alle P. (1994) Neon and argon isotopic constraints on Earth-atmosphere evolution. In Noble Gas Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (ed. J.-l. Matsuda). Terra Scientihc Publishing Company, Tokyo, pp. 191-204. 

Earth Outgassing, Atmospheric Evolution and Global Climate... 

Innovative methods for discerning the composition of past atmospheres are needed, since such information both tests current understanding and helps elucidate the process of atmospheric evolution. Finally, human and natural biospheric activities serve as the primary sources of both oxidant precursors and oxidant sink molecules, and the past, present, and possible future trends in these sources need to be much better quantified if we are to fully understand the oxidation processes in our atmosphere. 

Fisher D. E. (1978) Terrestrial potassium abundances as limits to models of atmospheric evolution. In Terrestrial Rare Gases (ed. M. Ozima). Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, pp. 173-183. 

Ozima M. (1975) Ar isotopes and Earth-atmosphere evolution models. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 39, 1127-1134. 

Venus. Venus is characterized only by the immensely valuable but still incomplete and relatively imprecise reconnaissance data from the Pioneer Venus and Venera spacecraft missions of the late 1970s. Additional in situ measurements, at precisions within the capabilities of current spacecraft instrumentation, are now necessary to refine atmospheric evolution models. Unfortunately, the possibilities of documenting the volatile inventories of the interior of the planet are more remote. A significant question that must be addressed is whether nonradiogenic xenon on Venus is compositionally closer to SW-Xe (as seen on Mars) or to the U-Xe that is seen on the Earth and so is expected to have been present within the inner solar system. Also, the extent of xenon fractionation will be an important parameter for hydrodynamic escape models if intense solar EUV radiation drove hydrodynamic escape on the Earth, it would also impact Venus, while losses from the Earth driven by a giant impact would not be recorded there. 

Ozima M. and Igarashi G. (1989) Terrestrial noble gases constraints and implications on atmospheric evolution. In Origin and Evolution of Planetary and Satellite Atmospheres (eds. S. K. Atreya, J. B. Pollack, and M. S. Matthews). University of Arizona Press, Tucson, pp. 306—327. 

Kirkham R. V. and Roscoe S. M. (1993) Atmospheric evolution and ore deposit formation. Resour. Geol. Spec. Issue 15, 1-17. 

Walker, J.G.C., 1975. Implication for atmospheric evolution of the inhomogeneous accretion model of the origin of the earth. In B.F. Windley (Editor), The Early History of the Earth. Wiley-Interscience, New York, NY, pp. 537—546. 

Eriksson, K. A. 1995. Crustal growth, surface processes, and atmospheric evolution on the early Earth. Im Coward, M.-P. Ries, A. C. (eds) Early Precambrian Processes. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 95, 11-25. 

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