Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: The natural history of the biogenic elements (H,C,O,N) from their first association within cold molecular clouds to their delivery to the Earth during the late bombardment of the inner solar system, is intimately linked to water ice. The earliest organic compounds are formed in cold interstellar molecular clouds as a result of UV and thermal processing of sub-micrometer ice grains which contain trapped carbon and nitrogen molecules. Structural changes in the water ice host underlie and fundamentally control important macroscopic phenomena such as the outgassing of volatiles, the rates of chemical reactions, and processing and retention of organic compounds. Prebiotic organic material was in all likelihood delivered the early Earth in a pristine state as a consequence of its sequestration within a protective water ice host.
Authors: DeVincenzi, Donald L., Blake, David F.
Institution: Ames Research Center
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6995352302