Exploring the Origin of Volatiles in Terrestrial Worlds

Given the central role of carbon and nitrogen in the chemistry of life,it is a fundamental question as to how these volatile elements aresupplied to the Earth, in what form and when. In this talk I willoutline our knowledge about carbon and nitrogen in the Earth and discussthe potential reservoirs available to supply needed C and N to ayoung-forming planet. Based on elemental ratios in these keyreservoirs it is clear that both C and N show a marked deficiency insolar system rocks with organics as the main carriers in primitivemeteorites. An important conundrum lies in the fact that nearly half ofthe carbon in the interstellar medium is found in some refractory solidstate which is inconsistent with the composition of rocks in the innersolar system. In this talk I will approach origin of terrestrial C andN from a variety of avenues. First I will outline a potential solutionto the carbon deficiency via oxidation on the heated disk surface.Second, we will explore the extent to which interstellar chemistry couldbe responsible for implanting the initial organic ices seen today inmore complex forms embedded within primitive meteorites. If time allowswe will also discuss whether Solar Nebula water was inherited from the interstellar medium or significantly altered via the active chemistryassociated with the gas-rich stages of planetary birth.