Geocheminar spring-2018

Noble gases are excellent physical tracers and can answer fundamental questions regarding the origin and evolution of planetary atmospheres: i) What was the delivery mix (Solar/Chondritic/Cometary) to planetary atmospheres?; ii) To what extent are silicate portions of terrestrial planets degassed or preserved?; iii) How much of the atmosphere was lost by atmospheric escape and what is the timing of this escape? The study of the abundance and isotope composition of xenon ("xenology") in solar system materials helps to answer these fundamental questions. The goal of this talk is to explain why and how noble gas geo-/cosmo-chemists use xenon and to present recent results from space missions or Earth-based investigations.