Nitrogen Isotopic Composition and Density of the Archean Atmosphere
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Same As It Ever Was: Nitrogen constitutes approximately 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere and is a key component in its chemical and physical characteristics. It is not clear whether N 2 has been so abundant throughout Earth's geological history. Marty et al. (p. 101 , published online 19 September) analyzed the isotopic compositions of nitrogen and argon from fluid inclusions trapped in hydrothermal quartz formed 3 to 3.5 billion years ago. The partial pressure and isotopic composition of atmospheric N 2 were similar to today's. Thus, other factors are needed to explain why liquid water existed on Earth's surface despite the Sun being 30% less luminous.
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The N2/36Ar ratio in fluid inclusions indicates pN2 <1.0 bar (2σ) at 3.3 Ga ago and <1.1 bar at 3.5 to 3.0 Ga ago.
“Second, the N2/36Ar ratio in fluid inclusions indicates pN2 <1.0 bar [2σ] at 3.3 Ga ago and <1.1 bar at 3.5 to 3.0 Ga ago (48, 49).”
From The Archean atmosphere (2020) · cites this paper as [48]
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- [7]7. The excellent match between the atmospheric 38 Ar/ 36 Ar ratio -two argon isotopes of primordial origin - and that of argon trapped in primitive meteorites attests that atmospheric argon was not quantitatively lost to space (noble gas isotopic ratios are sensitive to thermal and non-thermal escape processes; e.g., (6) ). Independently, noble gas isotope systematics indicate that mantle degassing did not contribute quantitatively to the atmospheric inventory of these elements after the Earth's formation. The large difference in the 40 Ar/ 36 Ar values between the mantle and the atmosphere implies that less than 2 % of mantle 36 Ar has been transferred to the atmosphere since the time of Earth's formation (e.g., M. Ozima, F. A. Podosek, Noble Gas Geochemistry ; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, pp. 286, and refs. therein). A similar conclusion is obtained from 36 Ar flux estimates. The modern flux of 36 Ar from the mantle is ~2000 mol/yr (from scaling to the present-day 3 He flux from the mantle; e.g., B. Marty, P. Allé, in Noble Gas Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry , J. Matsuda, ed., Terra Scientific Publishing Company, Tokyo, 1994, pp. 191-204). Integrated over 3.5 Ga (the age of the formations studied here) and assuming a constant flux through time, the amount of 36 Ar is only about 0.1 % of the 36 Ar atmospheric inventory (5.55 x 10 15 moles). The degassing rate of the mantle was probably higher in the past due to a higher thermal regime. Coltice et al. ( Chem. Geol. , 266 , 4, 2009) estimated that the melting rate of the mantle was a factor of ~20 higher 3.5 Ga ago compared to the present-day rate. In this case, the mantle contribution of degassed mantle 36 Ar to the atmosphere represents only 0.8 % of the 36 Ar inventory, still negligible in the context of this study.
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- Authors
- Marty, B., Zimmermann, L., Pujol, M., Burgess, R., & Philippot, P.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Marty, Bernard
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2013-10-04
- Volume
- 342
- Issue
- 6154
- Pages
- 101-104
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2165004165
- Cited by
- 215
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 7.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- arxiv.org
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Keywords
- Archean atmosphere, nitrogen isotopes, argon isotopes, fluid inclusions, hydrothermal quartz, air density, partial pressure of CO2
- MeSH terms
- Atmosphere, Nitrogen Isotopes, Partial Pressure
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