Discovery Prospects for a Supernova Signature of Biogenic Origin

Details Discovery Prospects for a Supernova Signature of Biogenic Origin Discovery Prospects for a Supernova Signature of Biogenic Origin

2010-10-25

arxiv.org/abs/1010.5109v3

S. Bishop, R. Egli, Icarus 212 (2011), 960-962

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

As it appears in Icarus

Scientific paper

10.1016/j.icarus.2011.02.003

Approximately 2.8 Myr before the present our planet was subjected to the debris of a supernova explosion. The terrestrial proxy for this event was the discovery of live atoms of 60Fe in a deep-sea ferromanganese crust. The signature for this supernova event should also reside in magnetite Fe3O4 microfossils produced by magnetotactic bacteria extant at the time of the Earth-supernova interaction, provided the bacteria preferentially uptake iron from fine-grained iron oxides and ferric hydroxides. Using estimates for the terrestrial supernova 60Fe flux, combined with our empirically derived microfossil concentrations in a deep-sea drill core, we deduce a conservative estimate of the ^{60}{Fe} fraction as 60Fe/Fe ~ 3.6 x 10^{-15}. This value sits comfortably within the sensitivity limit of present accelerator mass spectrometry capabilities. The implication is that a biogenic signature of this cosmic event is detectable in the Earth's fossil record.

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