Space environment of an asteroid preserved on micrograins returned by the Hayabusa spacecraft.

Records of micrometeorite collisions at down to submicron scales were discovered on dust grains recovered from near-Earth asteroid 25143 (Itokawa). Because the grains were sampled from very near the surface of the asteroid, by the Hayabusa spacecraft, their surfaces reflect the low-gravity space environment influencing the physical nature of the asteroid exterior. The space environment was examined by description of grain surfaces and asteroidal scenes were reconstructed. Chemical and O isotope compositions of five lithic grains, with diameters near 50 µm, indicate that the uppermost layer of the rubble-pile-textured Itokawa is largely composed of equilibrated LL-ordinary-chondrite-like material with superimposed effects of collisions. The surfaces of the grains are dominated by fractures, and the fracture planes contain not only sub-µm-sized craters but also a large number of sub-µm- to several-µm-sized adhered particles, some of the latter composed of glass. The size distribution and chemical compositions of the adhered particles, together with the occurrences of the sub-µm-sized craters, suggest formation by hypervelocity collisions of micrometeorites at down to nm scales, a process expected in the physically hostile environment at an asteroid's surface. We describe impact-related phenomena, ranging in scale from 10(-9) to 10(4) meters, demonstrating the central role played by impact processes in the long-term evolution of planetary bodies. Impact appears to be an important process shaping the exteriors of not only large planetary bodies, such as the moon, but also low-gravity bodies such as asteroids.

Chemical separation and mass spectrometry of Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, and Cu in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials using thermal ionization mass spectrometry.

A sequential chemical separation technique for Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, and Cu in terrestrial and extraterrestrial silicate rocks was developed for precise and accurate determination of elemental concentration by the isotope dilution method (ID). The technique uses a combination of cation-anion exchange chromatography and Eichrom nickel specific resin. The method was tested using a variety of matrixes including bulk meteorite (Allende), terrestrial peridotite (JP-1), and basalt (JB-1b). Concentrations of each element was determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) using W filaments and a Si-B-Al type activator for Cr, Fe, Ni, and Zn and a Re filament and silicic acid-H3PO4 activator for Cu. The method can be used to precisely determine the concentrations of these elements in very small silicate samples, including meteorites, geochemical reference samples, and mineral standards for microprobe analysis. Furthermore, the Cr mass spectrometry procedure developed in this study can be extended to determine the isotopic ratios of 53Cr/52Cr and 54Cr/52Cr with precision of approximately 0.05epsilon and approximately 0.10epsilon (1epsilon = 0.01%), respectively, enabling cosmochemical applications such as high precision Mn-Cr chronology and investigation of nucleosynthetic isotopic anomalies in meteorites.

Precise elemental and isotopic analyses in silicate samples employing ICP-MS: application of hydrofluoric acid solution and analytical techniques.

In this review, a new classification of elements based on behavior in hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution is presented for the precise quantitative analysis of each element by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The elements are divided into 7 groups: (1) "fluorophile" elements; (2) insoluble fluoride-forming elements; (3) "bromophile" or "iodophile" elements; (4) "oxophile" elements; (5) "aquaphile" elements; (6) bare cation elements; and (7) other elements. Especially, the importance of fluorophile and insoluble fluoride-forming elements in elemental analysis is described. Due to the elemental characteristics, these two groups of elements cannot be dissolved simultaneously in the same solution, and thus cannot be measured together. In addition, coprecipitation of the fluorophile elements with the insoluble fluorides occurs in some conditions and hinders accurate analysis. The peculiar conditions when the coprecipitation occurs are discussed, and the "Al-addition" and "Mg-addition" methods for overcoming these problems are described. In addition, some state-of-the-art analytical techniques in ICP-MS are shown, and future directions of the element analysis are presented.

Accumulation of radium in ferruginous protein bodies formed in lung tissue: association of resulting radiation hotspots with malignant mesothelioma and other malignancies.

While exposure to fibers and particles has been proposed to be associated with several different lung malignancies including mesothelioma, the mechanism for the carcinogenesis is not fully understood. Along with mineralogical observation, we have analyzed forty-four major and trace elements in extracted asbestos bodies (fibers and proteins attached to them) with coexisting fiber-free ferruginous protein bodies from extirpative lungs of individuals with malignant mesothelioma. These observations together with patients' characteristics suggest that inhaled iron-rich asbestos fibers and dust particles, and excess iron deposited by continuous cigarette smoking would induce ferruginous protein body formation resulting in ferritin aggregates in lung tissue. Chemical analysis of ferruginous protein bodies extracted from lung tissues reveals anomalously high concentrations of radioactive radium, reaching millions of times higher concentration than that of seawater. Continuous and prolonged internal exposure to hotspot ionizing radiation from radium and its daughter nuclides could cause strong and frequent DNA damage in lung tissue, initiate different types of tumour cells, including malignant mesothelioma cells, and may cause cancers.

Determination of Os and Re isotope ratios at subpicogram levels using MC-ICPMS with solution nebulization and multiple ion counting.

A precise and accurate determination method of 187Os/188Os, 189Os/188Os, and 185Re/187Re ratios of down to 0.2 pg of Os and 0.08 pg of Re using multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) with multiple ion counting has been developed. Os and Re were introduced into MC-ICPMS as 0.5 mol L(-1) HF solutions through the desolvator, and 185Re, 187Os, 188Os, and 189Os ions were detected simultaneously by four channeltrons. The Os and Re ratios were determined by the standard bracketing method, in which channeltron yields and mass discrimination factors are corrected together. Os and Re memories after 800-s wash were <0.1% and negligible, typically 0.02 and 0.03%, respectively. Isotope ratios of 187Os/188Os, 189Os/188Os, and 185Re/187Re were constant within error in the concentration ranges of 1-100, 1-40, and 0.4-5 pg mL(-1) with reproducibility (1sigma) of 2.7-0.14, 0.33-0.10, and 0.41-0.19%, respectively. For analysis of larger amounts of Os and Re, the Faraday cup measurement was employed. The precision and reproducibility obtained in this study are comparable to those of N-TIMS and better than MC-ICPMS achieved so far with a capability of higher sample throughput with simpler sample preparation.

Rare-earth containing nanocrystal precipitation and up-conversion luminescence in oxyfluoride glasses.

Rare-earth ion doped oxyfluoride glass with a composition of 25SiO2 x 5GeO2 x 15AIO1.5 x 40PbF2 x 10PbO x (4.9 - x)GdF3 x 0.1HoF3 x xYbF3 (x = 0, 0.1,0.2, 0.5,1,2, 3, and 4) in molar ratio was developed. When the oxyfluoride glasses are heat-treated at the first crystallization temperature, the glasses give transparent glass-ceramics in which rare-earth-containing fluorite-type nanocrystals of about 17.2 nm in diameter uniformly precipitated in the glass matrix. Comparing with the glasses before heat treatment, the glass ceramics exhibit very strong up-conversion luminescence under 980-nm light excitation. Rare-earth-containing nanocrystals were also space selectively precipitated upon laser irradiation in an oxyfluoride glass; the size of precipitated nanocrystals can be controlled by laser power and scan speed. The intensity of the green up-conversion luminescence is strongly dependent on the precipitation of beta-PbF2 nanocrystals and the YbF3 concentration. The reasons for the highly efficient Ho3+ up-conversion luminescence are discussed.

Mg and Ca isotope fractionation during CaCO3 biomineralisation.

The natural variation of Mg and Ca stable isotopes of carbonates has been determined in carbonate skeletons of perforate foraminifera and reef coral together with Mg/Ca ratios to assess the influence of biomineralisation processes. The results for coral aragonite suggest its formation, in terms of stable isotope behaviour, approximates to inorganic precipitation from a seawater reservoir. In contrast, results for foraminifera calcite suggest a marked biological control on Mg isotope ratios presumably related to its low Mg content compared with seawater. The bearing of these observations on the use of Mg and Ca isotopes as proxies in paleoceanography is considered.