dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaKomatiites: From Earth's Geological Settings to Planetary and Astrobiological Contexts
| Authors | Delphine Nna-Mvondo, Jesus Martinez-Frias |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0512118 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0512118 |
Abstract
Komatiites are fascinating volcanic rocks. They are among the most ancient lavas of the Earth following the 3.8 Ga pillow basalts at Isua and they represent some of the oldest ultramafic magmatic rocks preserved in the Earth's crust at 3.5 Ga. This fact, linked to their particular features (high magnesium content, high melting temperatures, low dynamic viscosities, etc.), has attracted the community of geoscientists since their discovery in the early sixties, who have tried to determine their origin and understand their meaning in the context of the terrestrial mantle evolution. In addition, it has been proposed that komatiites are not restricted to our planet, but they could be found in other extraterrestrial setting in our Solar System (particularly in Mars and Io). It is important to note that komatiites may be extremely significant in the study of the origins and evolution of Life on Earth. They not only preserve essential geochemical clues of the interaction between the pristine Earth rocks and atmosphere, but also may have been potential suitable sites for biological processes to develop. Thus, besides reviewing the main geodynamic, petrological and geochemical characteristics of komatiites, this paper also aims to widen their investigation beyond the classical geological prospect, calling attention to them as attracting rocks for research in planetology and astrobiology.
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"abstract": "Komatiites are fascinating volcanic rocks. They are among the most ancient\nlavas of the Earth following the 3.8 Ga pillow basalts at Isua and they\nrepresent some of the oldest ultramafic magmatic rocks preserved in the Earth\u0027s\ncrust at 3.5 Ga. This fact, linked to their particular features (high magnesium\ncontent, high melting temperatures, low dynamic viscosities, etc.), has\nattracted the community of geoscientists since their discovery in the early\nsixties, who have tried to determine their origin and understand their meaning\nin the context of the terrestrial mantle evolution. In addition, it has been\nproposed that komatiites are not restricted to our planet, but they could be\nfound in other extraterrestrial setting in our Solar System (particularly in\nMars and Io). It is important to note that komatiites may be extremely\nsignificant in the study of the origins and evolution of Life on Earth. They\nnot only preserve essential geochemical clues of the interaction between the\npristine Earth rocks and atmosphere, but also may have been potential suitable\nsites for biological processes to develop. Thus, besides reviewing the main\ngeodynamic, petrological and geochemical characteristics of komatiites, this\npaper also aims to widen their investigation beyond the classical geological\nprospect, calling attention to them as attracting rocks for research in\nplanetology and astrobiology.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0512118",
"authors": [
"Delphine Nna-Mvondo",
"Jesus Martinez-Frias"
],
"categories": [
"physics.geo-ph"
],
"title": "Komatiites: From Earth\u0027s Geological Settings to Planetary and Astrobiological Contexts",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0512118"
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