Carbon isotopes in bulk carbonaceous chondrites

The chemical and physical processes involved in the formation of the solar system are examined. Primitive matter has been found on a microscopic scale in a variety of meteorites: fragments of small solar system bodies that were never part of a large planet. This primitive matter has, in most cases, been identified by the presence of anomalous abundances of some isotopes of the chemical elements. Of particular interest for carbon isotope studies are the primitive meteorites known as carbonaceous chondrites. Using a selective oxidation technique to sort out the carbon contained in different chemical forms (graphite, carbonates, and organic matter), four carbonaceous chondrites are analyzed. The presence of the (13) C-rich component was confirmed and additional carbon components with different, but characteristic, isotopic signatures were resolved.