First Results on Kr and Xe Abundances in the Bulk Solar Wind Measured in Silicon Targets exposed on GENESIS

Details First Results on Kr and Xe Abundances in the Bulk Solar Wind Measured in Silicon Targets exposed on GENESIS First Results on Kr and Xe Abundances in the Bulk Solar Wind Measured in Silicon Targets exposed on GENESIS

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p42a..08h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P42A-08

Other

1060 Planetary Geochemistry (5405, 5410, 5704, 5709, 6005, 6008), 2169 Solar Wind Sources

Scientific paper

The solar wind (SW) Kr and Xe elemental and isotopic composition is one of the primary objectives of the GENESIS mission. Solar Kr and Xe abundances cannot be analyzed insitu in the present-day SW due to their low abundances nor can they be measured in the solar photosphere due to the lack of suitable spectral lines. Thus, solar data have been exclusively derived from SW-irradiated regolith samples. Here we present first results on bulk SW Kr and Xe abundances, as well as selected isotope ratios, from captured SW returned by GENESIS. Five aliquot analyses were done by UV laser ablation from Si targets (rastered areas are between 10 and 50mm2). Measured SW fluences (atoms/cm2) are 2.97(4)E+10 36Ar, 1.22(6)E+7 84Kr and 1.4(2)E+6 132Xe. The measured 86Kr/84Kr of 0.3035(36) is in good agreement with SW- Kr obtained from lunar regoliths. The same is true for 129Xe/132Xe of 1.043(25). Our preliminary Kr and Xe elemental abundances are in fair agreement with earlier values derived from lunar soils, although the Genesis SW 36Ar/84Kr of 2390(150) is 30% larger than the lunar value, presumed to be representative for the solar wind in the last 100 Ma. The GENESIS 84Kr/132Xe of 8.2(1.5) is within 10% of the value derived from relatively recently irradiated lunar soils. The understanding of fractionation processes in the SW is important to finally deduce solar abundances for noble gases (and other elements) from SW data. Former investigations showed that Kr and Xe are enriched in the SW relative to Ar and solar abundances. This fractionation process operates upon ionization of SW particles and affects mainly the elemental composition of the SW. However, adopting the recently strongly reduced solar Ne and Ar abundances at constant Kr and Xe would now question this fractionation model for Kr and Xe. We reassess models of fractionation processes in the light of the modified solar abundances and also compare the GENESIS Ar, Kr and Xe data with current estimates of solar abundances.

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