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Project Reports

• Formation of Planetesimals in a Dynamically Evolving Nebula

  The formation of planetesimals is one of the main unresolved issues of planetary science. Traditionally it is assumed that km-sized objects are formed through collision and growth of cm-sized bodies.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• FMARS Long Duration Mission: A Simulation of Manned Mars Exploration in an Analogue Environment, Devon Island, Canada

  The FMARS Long Duration Mission (FXI-LDM) is an unprecedented Mars exploration simulation in the Mars analogue environment of the Canadian High Arctic. Six crewmembers spent four months under strict simulation conditions (limited water use, constrained diet, high-latency communications, no outside activity without simulated life-support equipment, etc.) conducting field research in and around Haughton Crater, a 39 million year old impact structure.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.3 5.3

• Chondritic Meteorites as Records of Aqueous Activity on Asteroidal Parent Bodies

  The Fe-content in amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs) is a sensitive indicator of parent body hydrothermal alteration (Komatsu et al. 2001; Chizmadia et al. 2002; Krot et al. 2004). Initially, AOA are composed dominantly of forsteritic olivine (Mg₂SiO4) with minor amounts of diopsitic pyroxene (CaMgSi₂O₆) and anorthitic plagioclase (CaAl₂Si₂O₈).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• Characterizing the Mineral Phases in Placozoans

  A very primitive animal group, the Placozoans (Fig. 1), contain a mineral phase within their structures. It is important to characterize this mineral to discern its function, e.g. waste product, defensive shell material.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2

• TES Study of Intracrater Low Albedo Deposits, Amazonis Planitia, Mars

  We examined TES spectra that overlap the low albedo deposits of Amazonis Planitia craters; data were selected to have low albedo, high signal-to-noise ratio and overall data quality. Of the 23 Amazonis Planitia craters examined, we found satisfactory TES spectra for eleven of the low albedo intracrater features (Fig. 1).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1

• Origin of Irregular Satellites

  Despite the differences in their composition, structure, and the mechanisms of formation, the giant planets of our solar system have one common feature: they all host irregular satellites. Marked by their highly eccentric orbits, and/or high orbital inclinations, irregular satellites revolve around their host planets at large distances. The dynamics of these objects is affected by perturbation from the Sun, and their precessions are controlled by solar tugs.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2

• Martian Slope Streaks

  Slope streaks are gravity driven mass movements that actively form in the dust covered regions of Mars today. They have received renewed attention from astrobiology, because of the recent discovery of terrestrial analogs in the Dry Valleys on Antarctica, where slope streaks are caused by melting of seasonal frost patches.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1

• Installation of Cameca Ims 1280 Ion Microprobe

  This report summarizes our progress in establishing the W. M. Keck Cosmochemistry Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. The heart of this laboratory is a state-of-the-art Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe. The ion probe is intended to be a catalyst for interdisciplinary research into the origin of the solar system and the origin of life.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Assessing the Likelihood of Supernova Impact of Protoplanetary Disks

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• First Workshop on Titan- Observations, Experiments, Computations, and Modeling

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Water-Rock Chemistry and Habitats for Life

  During the 2005-2006 year, I conducted a comparison of the textures, mineralogy and bulk compositions of the fine-grained rims of carbonaceous chondrites and aggregate interplanetary dust particles (IDPs).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1

• Chemistry and Biology of Ultramafic-Hosted Alkaline Springs

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.3

• Understanding the Effect of the Atmosphere of a Growing Jupiter on Capturing Planetesimals

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2

• Formation and Detection of Hot-Earth Objects in Systems With Close-In Jupiters

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2

• Geomicrobiology of Neutrophilic Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria at Loihi Seamount

  Loihi Seamount is a submarine, active volcano located on the SE flanks of the Big Island of Hawaii, and it is considered to be the youngest volcano in the Hawaiian chain.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Subseafloor Basement (Basalt) Biosphere Studies

  Low temperature hydrothermal ocean fluids (<100°C), circulate everywhere within the porous and permeable volcanic rocks of the upper ocean basement, providing temperatures and chemical gradients that form plausible habitats for a variety of microbial communities. However, few direct tests have been carried out in buried basement rocks or fluids.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2

• Ice in Sublimation Environments

  Permanent ground ice can exist indefinitely beneath a dry surface that has no frost, not even seasonally.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1

• In Situ Voltammetry Integrated With a Cabled Nearshore Observatory

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 6.1

• Identification of the D3h Isomer of Carbon Trioxide (CO3)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Habitability and Water Delivery in Binary-Planetary Systems

  In the last year, Haghighipour completed a systematic study of the formation of habitable planets in the habitable zone of binary-planetary systems. The motivation behind this study comes from the fact that among more than 230 extrasolar planets discovered to-date, approximately 25% are within binary star systems.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• Diversity and Phylogeny of The

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Formation of Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Hydrogen Peroxide in Electron Irradiated Crystalline Water Ice

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Mechanistical Studies on the Irradiation of Methanol in Extraterrestrial Ices

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• On the Formation of Glycolaldehyde (HCOCH2OH) and Methyl Formate (HCOOCH3) in Interstellar Ice Analogues

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Recovery of Comet 85P/Boethin for the Deep Impact Extended Mission

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• The Formation of Acetic Acid (CH3COOH) in Interstellar Ices

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Laboratory Simulation of Ammonia-Water Ices Relevant to the Outer Solar System

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Rapid Response to Remotely Detected Seafloor Eruptions

  This project is an on-going study of the microbial and geochemical changes associated with seafloor eruptions at mid-ocean ridges. The intrusion of a magma dike into the neovolcanic zone of a mid-ocean ridge is the “quantum” event in the accretion of the upper ocean crust. Such ridge axis diking/eruptive events are episodic perturbations that trigger a sequence of interrelated and rapidly evolving physical, chemical, and biological processes associated with the formation of ocean crust.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.3 6.1

• Laboratory Studies of Solid Ammonia Relevant to Interstellar and Solar System Ices

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• A Supertree Analysis of the Metazoan Phylogeny

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Proteins in Extreme Environments

  Understanding how the molecules of life adapt to extreme environments is the central theme to this project. Our premise is that protein stability can be partially understood by examining the amino acid make up of α-helices. One of the main factors that controls α-helix stability is the presence of intra-helical noncovalent bonding interactions such as salt bridges. These interactions exist in thermodynamic equilibria, and as such, the strength of the interaction will be strongly influenced by the physical factors of the environment. Therefore, organisms from different environments would be expected to use different types of intra-helical interactions to adapt to their specific environment.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1

• A Search for Main Belt Comets in Pan-STARRS 1

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Molecular Deuteration on Grain Surfaces

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Ecology of a Hawaiian Lava Cave Microbial Mat

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Monte Carlo Markov Chain Modeling of Grain Surface Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• THEMIS Thermal Inertia Study of Sulfates Identified in Valles Marineris, Mars

  Sulfates have been identified in the Valles Marineris of Mars by various instruments, including CRISM, OMEGA, TES and THEMIS. Sulfates are a group of minerals formed through evaporation of water on or near the surface and are thus important recorders of water-related process, and potentially biological activity, on Mars.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1

• Unveiling the Evolution and Interplay of Ice and Gas in Star-Forming Regions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Icelandic Subglacial Lakes

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Laboratory Simulation of Interstellar and Solar System Ices

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected

• Acquisition of Witec Confolcal Raman Scanning System

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1

• Induced Vibronic Circular Dichroism in Ice Bioclathrates as a Potential Remotely Observable Biosignature

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 7.1

• Outreach for ANSMET 2006-2007

  ANSMET stands for the Antarctic search for meteorites and has been funded by NSF to collect meteorites for 30 years. Each year, a group of volunteers, lead by P. I. Ralph Harvey, treks to the southernmost continent to collect meteorites for the study by the meteorite community. This is one of the few altruistic programs where the samples are made available to the whole community, not just those who actually collect them.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: None Selected