Nitrogen Ice Research Articles

Observed glacier and volatile distribution on Pluto from atmosphere–topography processes

Pluto has a variety of surface frosts and landforms as well as a complex atmosphere. There is ongoing geological activity related to the massive Sputnik Planitia glacier, mostly made of nitrogen (N2) ice mixed with solid carbon monoxide and methane, covering the 4-kilometre-deep, 1,000-kilometre-wide basin of Sputnik Planitia near the anti-Charon point. The glacier has been suggested to arise from a source region connected to the deep interior, or from a sink collecting the volatiles released planetwide. Thin deposits of N2 frost, however, were also detected at mid-northern latitudes and methane ice was observed to cover most of Pluto except for the darker, frost-free equatorial regions. Here we report numerical simulations of the evolution of N2, methane and carbon monoxide on Pluto over thousands of years. The model predicts N2 ice accumulation in the deepest low-latitude basin and the threefold increase in atmospheric pressure that has been observed to occur since 1988. This points to atmospheric-topographic processes as the origin of Sputnik Planitia's N2 glacier. The same simulations also reproduce the observed quantities of volatiles in the atmosphere and show frosts of methane, and sometimes N2, that seasonally cover the mid- and high latitudes, explaining the bright northern polar cap reported in the 1990s and the observed ice distribution in 2015. The model also predicts that most of these seasonal frosts should disappear in the next decade.

GEOLOGICAL MAPPING OF PLUTO AND CHARON USING NEW HORIZONS DATA

Abstract. Pluto and Charon exhibit strikingly different surface appearances, despite their similar densities and presumed bulk compositions. Systematic mapping has revealed that much of Pluto’s surface can be attributed to surface-atmosphere interactions and the mobilization of volatile ices by insolation. Many mapped valley systems appear to be the consequence of glaciation involving nitrogen ice. Other geological activity requires or required internal heating. The convection and advection of volatile ices in Sputnik Planum can be powered by present-day radiogenic heat loss. On the other hand, the prominent mountains at the western margin of Sputnik Planum, and the strange, multi-km-high mound features to the south, probably composed of H2O, are young geologically as inferred by light cratering and superposition relationships. Their origin, and what drove their formation so late in Solar System history, is under investigation. The dynamic remolding of landscapes by volatile transport seen on Pluto is not unambiguously evident in the mapping of Charon. Charon does, however, display a large resurfaced plain and globally engirdling extensional tectonic network attesting to its early endogenic vigor.

GEOLOGICAL MAPPING OF PLUTO AND CHARON USING NEW HORIZONS DATA

Pluto and Charon exhibit strikingly different surface appearances, despite their similar densities and presumed bulk compositions. Systematic mapping has revealed that much of Pluto’s surface can be attributed to surface-atmosphere interactions and the mobilization of volatile ices by insolation. Many mapped valley systems appear to be the consequence of glaciation involving nitrogen ice. Other geological activity requires or required internal heating. The convection and advection of volatile ices in Sputnik Planum can be powered by present-day radiogenic heat loss. On the other hand, the prominent mountains at the western margin of Sputnik Planum, and the strange, multi-km-high mound features to the south, probably composed of H2O, are young geologically as inferred by light cratering and superposition relationships. Their origin, and what drove their formation so late in Solar System history, is under investigation. The dynamic remolding of landscapes by volatile transport seen on Pluto is not unambiguously evident in the mapping of Charon. Charon does, however, display a large resurfaced plain and globally engirdling extensional tectonic network attesting to its early endogenic vigor.

Convection in a volatile nitrogen-ice-rich layer drives Pluto's geological vigour.

The vast, deep, volatile-ice-filled basin informally named Sputnik Planum is central to Pluto's vigorous geological activity. Composed of molecular nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide ices, but dominated by nitrogen ice, this layer is organized into cells or polygons, typically about 10 to 40 kilometres across, that resemble the surface manifestation of solid-state convection. Here we report, on the basis of available rheological measurements, that solid layers of nitrogen ice with a thickness in excess of about one kilometre should undergo convection for estimated present-day heat-flow conditions on Pluto. More importantly, we show numerically that convective overturn in a several-kilometre-thick layer of solid nitrogen can explain the great lateral width of the cells. The temperature dependence of nitrogen-ice viscosity implies that the ice layer convects in the so-called sluggish lid regime, a unique convective mode not previously definitively observed in the Solar System. Average surface horizontal velocities of a few centimetres a year imply surface transport or renewal times of about 500,000 years, well under the ten-million-year upper-limit crater retention age for Sputnik Planum. Similar convective surface renewal may also occur on other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt, which may help to explain the high albedos shown by some of these bodies.

Vigorous convection as the explanation for Pluto's polygonal terrain.

Pluto's surface is surprisingly young and geologically active. One of its youngest terrains is the near-equatorial region informally named Sputnik Planum, which is a topographic basin filled by nitrogen (N2) ice mixed with minor amounts of CH4 and CO ices. Nearly the entire surface of the region is divided into irregular polygons about 20-30 kilometres in diameter, whose centres rise tens of metres above their sides. The edges of this region exhibit bulk flow features without polygons. Both thermal contraction and convection have been proposed to explain this terrain, but polygons formed from thermal contraction (analogous to ice-wedges or mud-crack networks) of N2 are inconsistent with the observations on Pluto of non-brittle deformation within the N2-ice sheet. Here we report a parameterized convection model to compute the Rayleigh number of the N2 ice and show that it is vigorously convecting, making Rayleigh-Bénard convection the most likely explanation for these polygons. The diameter of Sputnik Planum's polygons and the dimensions of the 'floating mountains' (the hills of of water ice along the edges of the polygons) suggest that its N2 ice is about ten kilometres thick. The estimated convection velocity of 1.5 centimetres a year indicates a surface age of only around a million years.

Planetary science: Pluto's polygons explained.

The Sputnik Planum basin of Pluto contains a sheet of nitrogen ice, the surface of which is divided into irregular polygons tens of kilometres across. Two studies reveal that vigorous convection causes these polygons. See Letters p.79 & 82

Impact of Storage at -80°C on Encapsulated Liver Spheroids After Liquid Nitrogen Storage.

For many bioengineered tissues to have practical clinical application, cryopreservation for use on demand is essential. This study examined different thermal histories on warming and short holding periods at different subzero temperatures on subsequent functional recoveries of alginate encapsulated liver spheroids (ELS) for use in a bioartificial liver device. This mimicked transport at liquid nitrogen (−196°C) or dry ice (∼−80°C) temperatures. Holding at −80°C on warming after −196°C storage resulted in ELS expressing significant (p < 0.001) damage compared with direct thaw from liquid nitrogen, with viable cell number falling from 74.0 ± 8.4 million viable cells/mL without −80°C storage to 1.9 ± 0.6 million viable cells/mL 72 h post-thaw after 8 days storage at −80°C. Even 1 day at −80°C after −196°C storage resulted in lower viability (down 21% 24 h post-thaw), viable cell count (down 29% 24 h post-thaw), glucose, and alpha-1-fetoprotein production (reduced by 59% and 95% 24 h from 1 day post-thaw, respectively). Storage at −80°C was determined to be harmful only during the warming cycle. Chemical measurements of the alginate component of ELS were unchanged by cryogenic exposure in either condition.

Surface compositions across Pluto and Charon.

The New Horizons spacecraft mapped colors and infrared spectra across the encounter hemispheres of Pluto and Charon. The volatile methane, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen ices that dominate Pluto's surface have complicated spatial distributions resulting from sublimation, condensation, and glacial flow acting over seasonal and geological time scales. Pluto's water ice "bedrock" was also mapped, with isolated outcrops occurring in a variety of settings. Pluto's surface exhibits complex regional color diversity associated with its distinct provinces. Charon's color pattern is simpler, dominated by neutral low latitudes and a reddish northern polar region. Charon's near-infrared spectra reveal highly localized areas with strong ammonia absorption tied to small craters with relatively fresh-appearing impact ejecta.

Probing Pluto’s underworld: Ice temperatures from microwave radiometry decoupled from surface conditions

Present models admit a wide range of 2015 surface conditions at Pluto and Charon, where the atmospheric pressure may undergo dramatic seasonal variation and for which measurements are imminent from the New Horizons mission. One anticipated observation is the microwave brightness temperature, heretofore anticipated as indicating surface conditions relevant to surface–atmosphere equilibrium. However, drawing on recent experience with Cassini observations at Iapetus and Titan, we call attention to the large electrical skin depth of outer Solar System materials such as methane, nitrogen or water ice, such that this observation may indicate temperatures averaged over depths of several or tens of meters beneath the surface. Using a seasonally-forced thermal model to determine microwave emission we predict that the southern hemisphere observations (in polar night) of New Horizons in July 2015 will suggest effective temperatures of ∼40K, reflecting deep heat buried over the last century of summer, even if the atmospheric pressure suggests that the surface nitrogen frost point may be much lower.

FORMATION OF N 3 , CH 3 , HCN, AND HNC FROM THE FAR-UV PHOTOLYSIS OF CH 4 IN NITROGEN ICE

The irradiation of pure solid N2 at 3 K with far-ultraviolet light from a synchrotron produced infrared absorption lines at 1657.7, 1655.6, and 1652.4 cm−1 and an ultraviolet absorption line at 272.0 nm, which are characteristic of the product N3. The threshold wavelength at which N3 was generated was 145.6 ± 2.9 nm, corresponding to an energy of 8.52 ± 0.17 eV. The photolysis of isotopically labeled 15N2 at 3 K consistently led to the formation of 15N3 with the same threshold wavelength of 145.6 ± 2.9 nm for its formation. The photolysis of CH4 in nitrogen ice in low concentrations also led to the formation of N3, together with CH3, HCN, and HNC, with the same threshold wavelength of 145.6 ± 2.9 nm. These results indicate that N3 radicals may play an important role in the photochemistry of nitrogen ices in astronomical environments.

New constraints on the surface of Pluto

Aims. Spectroscopic investigation of the surface of Pluto allows us to constrain the chemical properties of the volatile species of the solar system reservoir. This permits us to obtain the relative abundances of various molecules, their physical properties, as well as their spatial and temporal variation. This also could tell us about the origin of various minor chemical compounds formed during the solar system formation or generated later on by space weathering. This will give us critical information about the evolution processes that may occur in the entire trans-Neptunian objects population, and in particular the biggest objects, which could retain tenuous atmospheres.Methods. New observations of the surface of Pluto have been carried out along with reanalyses of older observations carried out with the ESO-VLT telescopes and the SINFONI instrument at a mean spectral resolution of 1500. We present three new near-infrared spectra of Pluto observed at different epochs, and covering the H and K spectral bands showing absorption features of methane, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide ices. We ran different spectral models, based on Hapke theory, to constrain the physical and chemical properties of different sides of Pluto.Results. We have confirmed the spatial and secular variation of the spectral properties of the surface of Pluto. The abundances, sizes, and temperatures of different ices, such as CH4 , CO, and N2 have been constrained for different parts of the surface of Pluto. The results suggest a temperature probably just above the alpha-beta transition phase of N2 (close to 36.5 K), and a probable stratification of the dilution state of CO and CH4 . The presence of minor chemical compounds, such as C2 H6 , has been confirmed too, and for data obtained at several sub-Earth east longitudes. Solid C2 H4 is suggested by the spectral modeling with abundance variation following that of solid C2 H6 and solid CH4 .

Construction of Home-Made Tin Fixed-Point Cell at TUBITAK UME

TUBITAK UME Temperature Laboratory initiated a new study which focuses on the construction of a tin freezing-point cell as a primary temperature standard. The design is an open-cell type similar to the National Institute of Standards and Technology design. With this aim, a brand new vacuum and filling line employing an oil diffusion pump and two cold traps (liquid nitrogen and dry ice) was set-up. The graphite parts (crucible, thermometer well, etc.) have been baked at high temperature under vacuum. Each cell was filled with approximately 1 kg of high-purity tin (99.9999 %) in a three-zone furnace. Then several melting and freezing curves were obtained to assess the quality of the home-made cell, and also the new cell was compared with the existing reference cell of the laboratory. The results obtained are very close to the reference cell of UME, indicating that the method used for fabrication was promising and satisfactory and also seems to meet the requirements to have a primary level temperature standard.

Freezing avoidance by supercooling in Olea europaea cultivars: the role of apoplastic water, solute content and cell wall rigidity.

Plants can avoid freezing damage by preventing extracellular ice formation below the equilibrium freezing temperature (supercooling). We used Olea europaea cultivars to assess which traits contribute to avoid ice nucleation at sub-zero temperatures. Seasonal leaf water relations, non-structural carbohydrates, nitrogen and tissue damage and ice nucleation temperatures in different plant parts were determined in five cultivars growing in the Patagonian cold desert. Ice seeding in roots occurred at higher temperatures than in stems and leaves. Leaves of cold acclimated cultivars supercooled down to -13 °C, substantially lower than the minimum air temperatures observed in the study site. During winter, leaf ice nucleation and leaf freezing damage (LT50 ) occurred at similar temperatures, typical of plant tissues that supercool. Higher leaf density and cell wall rigidity were observed during winter, consistent with a substantial acclimation to sub-zero temperatures. Larger supercooling capacity and lower LT50 were observed in cold-acclimated cultivars with higher osmotically active solute content, higher tissue elastic adjustments and lower apoplastic water. Irreversible leaf damage was only observed in laboratory experiments at very low temperatures, but not in the field. A comparative analysis of closely related plants avoids phylogenetic independence bias in a comparative study of adaptations to survive low temperatures.

General circulation models of the dynamics of Pluto’s volatile transport on the eve of the New Horizons encounter

Pluto’s atmospheric dynamics occupy an interesting regime in which the radiative time constant is quite long, the combined effects of high obliquity and a highly eccentric orbit can produce strong seasonal variations in atmospheric pressure, and the strong coupling between the atmosphere and volatile transport on the surface results in atmospheric flows that are quite sensitive to surface and subsurface properties that at present are poorly constrained by direct observations. In anticipation of the New Horizons encounter with the Pluto system in July 2015, we present a Pluto-specific three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM), PlutoWRF, incorporating the most accurate current radiative transfer models of Pluto’s atmosphere, a physically robust treatment of nitrogen volatile transport, and the flexibility to accommodate richly detailed information about the surface and subsurface conditions as new data become available. We solve for a physically self-consistent, equilibrated combination of surface, subsurface, and atmospheric conditions to specify the boundary conditions and initial state values for each GCM run. This is accomplished using two reduced versions of PlutoWRF: a two-dimensional surface volatile exchange model to specify the properties of surface nitrogen ice and the initial atmospheric surface pressure, and a one-dimensional radiative–conductive–convective model that uses the two-dimensional model predictions to determine the corresponding global-mean atmospheric thermal profile. We illustrate the capabilities of PlutoWRF in predicting Pluto’s general circulation, thermal state, and volatile transport of nitrogen by calculating the dynamical response of Pluto’s atmosphere, based on four different idealized models of Pluto’s surface ice distribution from Young (Young, L.A. [2013]. Astrophys. J. 766, L22) and Hansen et al. (Hansen, C.J., Paige, D.A., Young, L.A. [2015]. Icarus 246, 183). Our GCM runs typically span 30years, from 1985 to 2015, covering the period from the discovery of Pluto’s atmosphere to present. For most periods simulated, zonal winds are strongly forced by a gradient wind balance, relaxing in later (recent) years to an angular momentum conservation balance of the seasonal polar cap sublimation flow. Near-surface winds generally follow a sublimation flow from the sunlit polar cap to the polar night cap, with a Coriolis turning of the wind as the air travels from pole to pole. We demonstrate the strong contribution of nitrogen sublimation and deposition to Pluto’s atmospheric circulation. As New Horizons data become available, PlutoWRF can be used to construct models of Pluto’s atmospheric dynamics and surface wind regimes more constrained by physical observations.

The subsurface of Pluto from submillimetre observations

Abstract Surface areas on Pluto change in brightness and colour, at optical to infrared wavelengths, over time-scales as short as years. The subsurface contains a reservoir of frozen volatiles, but little is known about it because Pluto is out of reach for cm-radar. Here we present a 0.85 mm wavelength light curve of the Pluto system, from archival data taken in 1997 August with the SCUBA (Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array) camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). This wavelength probes for the first time to just below the skin depth of thermal changes over Pluto's day. The light curve differs significantly from counterparts in the mid- to far-infrared, in a longitude range that is optically dark on Pluto's surface. An estimate from Herschel of the 0.5 mm flux in 2012 is comparable to the mean 0.45 mm flux from SCUBA in 1997, suggesting that layers centimetres below the surface have not undergone any gross temperature change. The longitudes that are relatively submillimetre-faint could have a different emissivity, perhaps with a subsurface layer richer in nitrogen or methane ices than at the surface. The Radio Science Experiment (REX) instrument on New Horizons may be able to constrain physical properties deeper down, as it looks back on Pluto's nightside after the 2015 July flyby.

On the roles of escape erosion and the viscous relaxation of craters on Pluto

Pluto and its satellites will be the most distant objects ever reconnoitered when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft conducts its intensive flyby of this system in 2015. The size-frequency distribution (SFD) of craters on the surfaces in the Pluto system have long been expected to provide a useful measure of the size distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) down to much smaller size scales than presently observed. However, currently predicted escape rates of Pluto’s atmosphere suggest that of order one-half to several kilometers of nitrogen ice has been removed from Pluto’s surface over geologic time. Because this range of depths is comparable to or greater than most expected crater depths on Pluto, one might expect that many craters on Pluto’s surface may have been removed or degraded by this process, biasing the observed crater SFD relative to the production–function crater SFD. Further, if Pluto’s surface volatile layer is comparable to or deeper than crater depths, and if the viscosity of this layer surface ice is low like the viscosity of pure N2 ice at Pluto’s measured 35K surface temperature (or as low as the viscosity of CH4 ice at warmer but plausible temperatures on isolated pure-CH4 surfaces on Pluto), then craters on Pluto may also have significantly viscously relaxed, also potentially biasing the observed crater SFD and surface crater retention age. Here we make a first exploration of how these processes can affect the displayed cratering record on Pluto. We find that Pluto’s surface may appear to be younger owing to these effects than it actually is. We also find that by comparing Pluto’s cratering record to Charon’s, it may be possible to estimate the total loss depth of material from Pluto’s surface over geologic time, and therefore to estimate Pluto’s time-averaged escape rate.

C-35: Preservation of mammalian sperm by freeze-drying

Stable conservation of genetic resources is important in various research fields. Sperm preservation is a valuable method for bio-banking of mammalian genetic resources. Freeze-drying is a useful technique for storing biological materials as samples can be preserved for a long-term in a refrigerator (4 °C). Freeze-drying sperm has been studied as a new, simple preservation method in various mammals. It is an effective method preservation as it has been reported that offspring could be obtained from mouse and rat sperm preserved long term at 4 °C after freeze-drying using a simple solution containing 10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA adjusted pH to 8.0 (TE buffer) (Kaneko T., Cryobiology 64, 211–214, 2012; Kaneko T., PLoS One 7, e35043, 2012). Freeze-drying sperm results in lower costs and increased safety, as specialized cryoprotectants and a constant supply of liquid nitrogen is not required. A further advantage is that freeze-dried sperm can be temporarily stored at room temperature. Freeze-drying is possible to transport sperm oversea at ambient temperature that requires neither liquid nitrogen nor dry ice. Furthermore, freeze-dried valuable samples can be also protected safety even at ambient temperature in the event of unexpected power failure and disaster such as earthquakes and typhoons. At the present, freeze-drying sperm has been applied to a “Freeze-drying Zoo” for conservation of wild endangered animals ( http://www.anim.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/reproduction/home.aspx ).

Current status of freeze-drying technology to preserve domestic animals sperm.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in new preservation techniques that facilitate sperm storage and distribution, with freeze-drying (FD) having been proposed as an alternative method for sperm preservation and maintenance of genetic resources in different animal species. FD is a method in which frozen material is dried by sublimation of ice, thereby involving a direct transition from a solid (ice) to a vapour (gas) phase. One of the main advantages of FD is that nitrogen and dry ice are no longer required for the storage and shipment of frozen sperm, which can be stored at room temperature or 4°C, thereby resulting in enormous reductions in storage and shipping costs. Unlike sperm cryopreserved after gradual freezing, the sperm membrane may be further damaged by both snap-freezing and drying stresses during the FD procedure. As mammalian spermatozoa lose their motility, viability and, at least partially, their DNA integrity when freeze-dried, they must be microinjected into an oocyte by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Although the efficiency of ICSI is limited when freeze-dried spermatozoa are used, embryos and live offspring can be produced. DNA fragmentation in freeze-dried spermatozoa is one of the main causes of failure of embryonic development and successful pregnancy. In this regard, it has been suggested that endonucleases are among the leading causes of DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa along with oxidative stress caused by the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Many factors influence the FD process, and it is not clear how FD affects specific components of sperm from different animal species. As such, a sound understanding of the FD process would result in increased production of embryos and/or live offspring. The aim of this review was to study the various stages and techniques used in the FD process and to further evaluate the results obtained.

Abstract 2236: The Biospecimen Methodological Study (BMS): Identifying best practices for tissue preservation and maintenance of RNA integrity

Abstract Researchers may use a number of traditional methods for human tissue preservation and stabilization such as liquid nitrogen (LN2) or dry ice, and yet the effectiveness of newer methods remains unclear. The National Cancer Institute's Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB; formerly known as OBBR) conducted a study to better understand such tissue preservation methods to inform BBRB's biospecimen collection efforts for the NIH Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) program. The Biospecimen Methodological Study (BMS) was developed to provide an evidence-based structure to support future tissue collection and data analysis methods by comparing features of three different preservation methods: PAXgene Tissue (Qiagen); LN2; and dry ice. In preliminary studies, use of PAXgene Tissue has proven highly successful in preservation and maintenance of RNA quality. Another critical aspect of the BMS was to determine the degree to which the time between cardiac cessation and tissue preservation alters RNA integrity; such changes in molecular integrity could result in changes in molecular profiles upon gene expression analysis. The results of this study will provide valuable information about tissue processing parameters by identifying artifacts associated with different preservation methods and timing post cardiac cessation. Identifying and utilizing superior biospecimen preservation methods for RNA analysis will help identify patient-specific changes in gene expression and ultimately contribute to the development of targeted molecular medicine. Citation Format: Abhi Rao, Latarsha Carithers, Helen Moore. The Biospecimen Methodological Study (BMS): Identifying best practices for tissue preservation and maintenance of RNA integrity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2236. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2236

Titan’s past and future: 3D modeling of a pure nitrogen atmosphere and geological implications

Several clues indicate that Titan’s atmosphere has been depleted in methane during some period of its history, possibly as recently as 0.5–1 billion years ago. It could also happen in the future. Under these conditions, the atmosphere becomes only composed of nitrogen with a range of temperature and pressure allowing liquid or solid nitrogen to condense. Here, we explore these exotic climates throughout Titan’s history with a 3D Global Climate Model (GCM) including the nitrogen cycle and the radiative effect of nitrogen clouds. We show that for the last billion years, only small polar nitrogen lakes should have formed. Yet, before 1Ga, a significant part of the atmosphere could have condensed, forming deep nitrogen polar seas, which could have flowed and flooded the equatorial regions. Alternatively, nitrogen could be frozen on the surface like on Triton, but this would require an initial surface albedo higher than 0.65 at 4Ga. Such a state could be stable even today if nitrogen ice albedo is higher than this value. According to our model, nitrogen flows and rain may have been efficient to erode the surface. Thus, we can speculate that a paleo-nitrogen cycle may explain the erosion and the age of Titan’s surface, and may have produced some of the present valley networks and shorelines. Moreover, by diffusion of liquid nitrogen in the crust, a paleo-nitrogen cycle could be responsible of the flattening of the polar regions and be at the origin of the methane outgassing on Titan.