Project Details:

Review of isotopic abundances in extraterrestrial materials

Extraterrestrial materials (meteorites, lunar and martian samples, cosmic dust) have significantly different isotopic abundances compared to terrestrial samples. These differences are caused by a number of processes described in recent years in the PAC reports of Commission II.1. This data is generated by a wide range of disciplines and techniques rarely seen by the individual specialist groups in related fields. This project will:

- increase the awareness of the wider scientific community of the very large variation of the isotopic compositions and atomic weights of the elements in extra-terrestrial materials and their impact on analysis of these materials.

- provide scientific specialists with an interest and need for extraterrestrial isotopic data with a flexible and comprehensive compilation of this data including a review of production mechanisms and sources.

The Subcommittee of Non-Terrestrial Isotopic Abundances has collected over 1,300 references on isotopic abundance variation in a variety of extraterrestrial materials. Since a complete review of all this data is a major undertaking this project will focus on reviewing the differences for two major groups of elements: Rare Earth Elements and Noble Gases for which there is extensive data available. The Task Group will produce a comprehensive review and summary of isotope effects and a systematic analysis of their causes. With such a large number of data being generated in recent times, a comprehensive review is not available. A workshop will be required to discuss the review and refine the format for the presentation of this data.