Accretion of Extraterrestrial Matter Throughout Earth’s History

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvi

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2. The Origin and Properties of Dust Impacting the Earth

   • Donald E. Brownlee

   Pages 1-12

3. Sources and Orbital Evolution of Interplanetary Dust Accreted by Earth

   • Stephen J. Kortenkamp, Stanley F. Dermott, Debra Fogle, Keith Grogan

   Pages 13-30

4. Delivery of Material from the Asteroid Belt

   • Paolo Farinella, David Vokrouhlický, Alessandro Morbidelli

   Pages 31-49

5. The Influx of Comets and their Debris

   • William M. Napier

   Pages 51-74

6. Spacecraft Measurements of the Cosmic Dust Flux

   • Herbert A. Zook

   Pages 75-92

7. Magnetospheric Effects on the Cosmic Dust Input into the Earth’s Atmosphere

   • Antal Juhász, Mihály Horányi

   Pages 93-106

8. Atmospheric Entry Heating of Interplanetary Dust

   • George J. Flynn

   Pages 107-127

9. Extraterrestrial Material and Stratospheric Aerosols

   • Daniel M. Murphy

   Pages 129-142

10. Glacial Cycles and Interplanetary Dust

    • Richard A. Muller

    Pages 143-161

11. Iridium and Osmium as Tracers of Extraterrestrial Matter in Marine Sediments

    • Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink

    Pages 163-178

12. Extraterrestrial Helium in Seafloor Sediments: Identification, Characteristics, and Accretion Rate Over Geologic Time

    • Kenneth A. Farley

    Pages 179-204

13. Seeking Unbiased Collections of Modern and Ancient Micrometeorites

    • Susan Taylor, James H. Lever

    Pages 205-219

14. Cosmic Ray Exposure History of Meteorites

    • Rainer Wieler, Thomas Graf

    Pages 221-240

15. Terrestrial Ages of Meteorites

    • A. J. Timothy Jull

    Pages 241-266

16. Quantification of Meteorite Infall Rates from Accumulations in Deserts, and Meteorite Accumulations on Mars

    • Philip A. Bland

    Pages 267-303

17. The Present-day Flux of Meteorites to the Earth

    • Ian Halliday

    Pages 305-318

18. Fossil Meteorites

    • Birger Schmitz, Mario Tassinari

    Pages 319-331

19. The Sedimentary Record of Impact Events

    • Christian Koeberl

    Pages 333-378

20. The Terrestrial Cratering Record

    • Richard A. F. Grieve

    Pages 379-402

Every year Earth is bombarded with about 40,000 tons of extraterrestrial material. This includes microscopic cosmic dust particles shed by comets and asteroids in outer space, meteorites, as well as large comets and asteroids that have led to catastrophic events in the geologic past. Originally considered only a curiosity, extraterrestrial matter found on Earth provides the only samples we have from comets, asteroids and other planets. Only recently mankind has started to actively collect extraterrestrial matter in space (Apollo program, Stardust mission) rather than to wait for its delivery to Earth. Still, most of our knowledge of the origin and evolution of our solar system is based on careful studies of meteorites, cosmic dust, and traces of large impact events in the geologic record such as the mass extinction that terminated the Cretaceous Period and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
This book summarizes our current knowledge of the properties, origin, orbital evolution and accretion mechanism of extraterrestrial matter accreted on Earth and sheds light on accretion processes and fluxes in the geologic past. The chapters in the first part of the book are arranged in order to follow extraterrestrial matter from its origin in space, its orbital evolution on its way to Earth, its interaction with the Earth magnetosphere and atmosphere to its more or less violent collision with the Earth's surface. In the second part of the book several chapters deal with the present?day flux of cosmic dust and meteorites to Earth. Finally, several chapters deal with the reconstruction of the accretion history of extraterrestrial matter on Earth, starting with the most recent geologic past and ending with the very early, violent accretion period shortly after the formation of Earth, Moon and other solid planets in our solar system.

• Planet
• Sediment
• Solar System
• asteroid
• cosmic ray
• earth
• moon
• solar

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA

  Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink

• Earth Sciences Center, University of Getenburg, Gotenburg, Sweden

  Birger Schmitz

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