COSMIC SPHERULES IN THE GEOLOGIC RECORD

Cosmic spherules obtained from the Greenland ice cap, deep-sea sediments, and ancient oceanic deposits of Eocene and Jurassic age were chemically and texturally compared. The proportions of spherule types were found to change as a function of time, with the number of iron spherules increasing as the age of the sample increased. It is not yet possible, however, to determine if the variation in spherule types represents a real change in the meteoroid complex or is a result of differential weathering of the spherules in the Earth's environment. The age of these spherules ranges from less than 3000 years to about 190 million years. Although only a few spherules older than 500 000 years are chemically unaltered, textural information is available even from the oldest spherules and, by comparison with contemporary spherules, gives some insight into the original compositions of the particles.