Signs of cosmochemical anomaly in the region of the Tunguska catastrophy of 1908
Abstract
The results are analyzed of a layer-by-layer analysis of the chemical elements in the moss stratum from the epicentral portion of the area of the Tunguska fall. A pronounced increase in content of Br, Zn, Pb, Hg, Na, Au, Mo, Re, Co and some other elements is to be observed in the peat layer from the moss of 1908 and to a lesser extent in the adjacent layers. It is seen that this anomaly is not associated with local biochemical effects or precipitations of terrigenous dust, but is rather of cosmochemical origin - the conservation of remnants of the Tunguska object in the peat. The analysis indicates that the Tunguska object must have contained many alkali metals (Na, K, Rb, Cs) and was enriched in Zn, Br, Hg, Pb, and Sn. Such a composition differs widely from that of any known meteorite, but has a certain correlation with cometary compositions.
- Publication:
-
Geokhimiia
- Pub Date:
- November 1977
- Bibcode:
- 1977Geokh.....1635G
- Keywords:
-
- Comets;
- Geochemistry;
- Meteoritic Composition;
- Tungusk Meteorite;
- Abundance;
- Anomalies;
- Chemical Elements;
- Cosmology;
- Earth Surface;
- Vertical Distribution