Abstract
The discovery1 of oxygen of anomalous isotopic composition in the Allende meteorite during the early 1970s led to the detailed investigation of primitive materials for unusual isotopic signatures. One element studied was hydrogen; major enrichments in deuterium relative to terrestrial and proposed nebula compositions have been discerned by close examination of specific phases within various meteorite samples. Here we report high and variable deuterium enrichments in two of the most unequilibrated (unmetamorphosed) type LL3 ordinary chondrites, Bishunpur and Semarkona. Water released from bulk unseparated material by pyrolysis has δD values up to ∼3,000‰) (SMOW) or in absolute terms a D/H ratio of ∼6×10−4. Thus, one of the highest deuterium contents yet encountered for a Solar System species has been observed without considering a specific fraction of a sample. Either these meteorites contain a greater proportion of the D-rich phase first recognized in meteorite separates, or a small fraction having an even more extreme deuterium content resides within them.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clayton, R. N., Grossman, L. & Mayeda, T. K. Science 182, 485–488 (1973).
Hagemann, R., Nief, G. & Roth, E. Tellus 22, 712–715 (1970).
Boato, G. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 6, 209–220 (1954).
Briggs, M. H. Nature 197, 1290 (1963).
Robert, F., Merlivat, L. & Javoy, M. Meteoritics 12, 349–354 (1977).
Robert, F., Merlivat, L. & Javoy, M. Meteoritics 13, 613–615 (1978).
Robert, F., Merlivat, L. & Javoy, M. Nature 282, 785–789 (1979).
Kolodny, Y., Kerridge, J. K. & Kaplan, I. R. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 46, 149–158 (1980).
Robert, F., Becker, R. H. & Epstein, S. Lunar planet. Sci. 11, 935–937 (1980).
Smith, J. W. & Rigby, D. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 54, 64–66 (1981).
Robert, F. & Epstein, S. Meteoritics 15, 355–356 (1980).
Sears, D. W., Grossman, J. N., Melcher, C. L., Ross, L. M. & Mills, A. A. Nature 287, 791–795 (1980).
Huss, G. R., Keil, K. & Taylor, G. J. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 45, 33–51 (1981).
Dodd, R. T. Jr., Van Schmus, W. R. & Koffman, D. M. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 31, 921–951 (1967).
McNaughton, N. J., Borthwick, J., Fallick, A. E. & Pillinger, C. T. Abstr. 44th met. Soc. Meet., Bern (1981).
Friedman, I. & Smith, R. L. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 15, 218–228 (1958).
Noonan, A. F. & Nelen, J. A. Meteoritics 11, 111–130 (1976).
Ashworth, J. R. & Hutchison, R. Nature 256, 714–715 (1975).
Schultz, L. & Kruse, H. Nucl. Track Detect. 2, 63–103 (1978).
Epstein, S. & Taylor, H. P. Proc. 3rd lunar Sci. Conf. 1429–1454 (1972).
Merlivat, L., Lelu, M., Nief, G. & Roth, E. Proc. 5th lunar Sci. Conf. 1885–1895 (1976).
Larimer, J. & Anders, E. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 34, 367–387 (1970).
Geiss, J. & Reeves, H. Astr. Astrophys. 93, 189–199 (1981).
Geiss, J. & Boschler, P. Proc. 4th Solar Wind Conf. (1979).
Brown, R. D. & Rice, E. Proc. R. Soc. (in the press).
Moore, C. B. & Lewis, C. F. J. geophys. Res. 72, 6289–6292 (1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McNaughton, N., Borthwick, J., Fallick, A. et al. Deuterium/hydrogen ratios in unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. Nature 294, 639–641 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294639a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/294639a0
This article is cited by
-
Nucleosynthesis of 11B-rich boron in the pre-solar cloud recorded in meteoritic chondrules
Nature (1995)
-
Nearer yet farther away
Nature (1987)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
