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Lunar nitrogen - Evidence for secular change in the solar windThe lunar soil is an efficient trap for nitrogen in the solar wind. The concentration of nitrogen in lunar soils implies a flux of solar wind at least three times greater than that which is observed today. The implication is that the present-day flux is anomalously low. Soil samples from drill cores, and soil breccias excavated from buried levels of the regolith provide samples of ancient solar wind. From these samples it is apparent that the N-15/N-14 ratio in the solar wind has undergone a monotonic secular increase over the last 2.5 billion years, at a rate of about 15% per billion years. Nuclear reactions in the sun appear to be the most likely cause of the variation.
Document ID
19810064429
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Clayton, R. N.
(Chicago Univ. Chicago, IL, United States)
Thiemens, M. H.
(Chicago, University Chicago, IL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1980
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Conference on The ancient sun: Fossil record in the earth, moon and meteorites
Location: Boulder, CO
Start Date: October 16, 1979
End Date: October 19, 1979
Accession Number
81A48833
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGL-14-001-169
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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