Earth's phosphides in Levant and insights into the source of Archean prebiotic phosphorus

Sergey N. Britvin; Michail N. Murashko; Yevgeny Vapnik; Yury S. Polekhovsky; Sergey V. Krivovichev

doi:10.1038/srep08355

Earth's phosphides in Levant and insights into the source of Archean prebiotic phosphorus

Sergey N. Britvin, Michail N. Murashko, Yevgeny Vapnik, Yury S. Polekhovsky, Sergey V. Krivovichev

Department of Earth and Environmental sciences

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Natural phosphides - the minerals containing phosphorus in a redox state lower than zero - are common constituents of meteorites but virtually unknown on the Earth. Herein we present the first rich occurrence of iron-nickel phosphides of terrestrial origin. Phosphide-bearing rocks are exposed in three localities in the surroundings of the Dead Sea, Levant: in the northern Negev Desert, Israel and Transjordan Plateau, south of Amman, Jordan. Seven minerals from the ternary Fe-Ni-P system have been identified with five of them, NiP₂, Ni₅P4, Ni₂P, FeP and FeP₂, previously unknown in nature. The results of the present study could provide a new insight on the terrestrial origin of natural phosphides - the most likely source of reactive prebiotic phosphorus at the times of the early Earth.

Original language	American English
Article number	8355
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08355
State	Published - 10 Feb 2015

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title = "Earth's phosphides in Levant and insights into the source of Archean prebiotic phosphorus",

abstract = "Natural phosphides - the minerals containing phosphorus in a redox state lower than zero - are common constituents of meteorites but virtually unknown on the Earth. Herein we present the first rich occurrence of iron-nickel phosphides of terrestrial origin. Phosphide-bearing rocks are exposed in three localities in the surroundings of the Dead Sea, Levant: in the northern Negev Desert, Israel and Transjordan Plateau, south of Amman, Jordan. Seven minerals from the ternary Fe-Ni-P system have been identified with five of them, NiP2, Ni5P4, Ni2P, FeP and FeP2, previously unknown in nature. The results of the present study could provide a new insight on the terrestrial origin of natural phosphides - the most likely source of reactive prebiotic phosphorus at the times of the early Earth.",

author = "Britvin, {Sergey N.} and Murashko, {Michail N.} and Yevgeny Vapnik and Polekhovsky, {Yury S.} and Krivovichev, {Sergey V.}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was financially supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant no. 14-05-00910 and President grant for government support of the leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation no. 1583.2014.5. X-ray diffraction studies have been performed at the X-ray Diffraction Centre of St. Petersburg State University.",

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doi = "10.1038/srep08355",

language = "American English",

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journal = "Scientific Reports",

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T1 - Earth's phosphides in Levant and insights into the source of Archean prebiotic phosphorus

AU - Britvin, Sergey N.

AU - Murashko, Michail N.

AU - Vapnik, Yevgeny

AU - Polekhovsky, Yury S.

AU - Krivovichev, Sergey V.

N1 - Funding Information: This research was financially supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant no. 14-05-00910 and President grant for government support of the leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation no. 1583.2014.5. X-ray diffraction studies have been performed at the X-ray Diffraction Centre of St. Petersburg State University.

PY - 2015/2/10

Y1 - 2015/2/10

N2 - Natural phosphides - the minerals containing phosphorus in a redox state lower than zero - are common constituents of meteorites but virtually unknown on the Earth. Herein we present the first rich occurrence of iron-nickel phosphides of terrestrial origin. Phosphide-bearing rocks are exposed in three localities in the surroundings of the Dead Sea, Levant: in the northern Negev Desert, Israel and Transjordan Plateau, south of Amman, Jordan. Seven minerals from the ternary Fe-Ni-P system have been identified with five of them, NiP2, Ni5P4, Ni2P, FeP and FeP2, previously unknown in nature. The results of the present study could provide a new insight on the terrestrial origin of natural phosphides - the most likely source of reactive prebiotic phosphorus at the times of the early Earth.

AB - Natural phosphides - the minerals containing phosphorus in a redox state lower than zero - are common constituents of meteorites but virtually unknown on the Earth. Herein we present the first rich occurrence of iron-nickel phosphides of terrestrial origin. Phosphide-bearing rocks are exposed in three localities in the surroundings of the Dead Sea, Levant: in the northern Negev Desert, Israel and Transjordan Plateau, south of Amman, Jordan. Seven minerals from the ternary Fe-Ni-P system have been identified with five of them, NiP2, Ni5P4, Ni2P, FeP and FeP2, previously unknown in nature. The results of the present study could provide a new insight on the terrestrial origin of natural phosphides - the most likely source of reactive prebiotic phosphorus at the times of the early Earth.

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JO - Scientific Reports

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M1 - 8355

ER -

Earth's phosphides in Levant and insights into the source of Archean prebiotic phosphorus

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