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Organic Cosmochemistry and Geochemistry Lab
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A lab that explores the origins and forms of organic matter in space and on Earth through meteorites and microorganisms.
AboutAbout the lab
When and where did organic matter come from?
The Organic Cosmochemistry and Geochemistry Lab studies when and where organic matter came from, and in what forms it exists today on Earth and in space.
Its subjects are the organic matter contained in meteorites and microorganisms that grow in extreme environments such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents and salt pans.
The lab also considers how much of this organic matter living organisms can use.
For organic matter in meteorites and sediments, the lab considers that new methods of analysis and evaluation are needed.
Key terms
- Meteorite
- A lump of rock or metal that has fallen to Earth from space. It serves as a sample for studying extraterrestrial organic matter.
- Insoluble organic matter
- Organic matter that does not dissolve in solvents. Compared with soluble organic matter, its analysis and understanding are still less advanced.
- Deep-sea hydrothermal vent
- A place on the seafloor where hot water issues forth. It is an extreme environment with high temperature and low pH.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
Organic matter is what living organisms themselves are made of. The lab investigates from various angles when and where organic matter came from, in what forms it exists on Earth and in space, and how much of it living organisms can use.
*Illustrative imageOrganic Matter in Meteorites and Cometary Ice
The lab studies in what forms organic matter exists in extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites, and what kinds of life-related organic matter, and how much of it, can form from simple substances under conditions such as those in cometary ice. The lab believes this may make it possible to estimate more realistically what organic matter looked like in the early stages of the formation of life.
*Illustrative imageAnalysis of Mixtures and Insoluble Organic Matter
Analyses of organic matter so far have focused mainly on pure substances and those that dissolve in solvents. Our understanding of organic matter that exists naturally as mixtures, and of insoluble organic matter, is still limited, and the lab believes new analytical and evaluation methods are needed to study the major organic matter in meteorites and the organic matter in sediments.
*Illustrative imageMicroorganisms That Grow in Extreme Environments
The lab studies microorganisms that grow in extreme environments such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents (high temperature, low pH) and salt pans (high salt concentration). The lab thinks they may provide some answers about how life lived on the early Earth, in terms of both ecology and evolution.
MembersFaculty
- Associate ProfessorNoriaki Yamauchi
- Assistant ProfessorFumio Kitajima
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Allende meteorite, carbonaceous chondrite ( )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Organic Matter in Meteorites and Cometary Ice: “Comet 67P on 19 September 2014 NavCam mosaic” ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- Analysis of Mixtures and Insoluble Organic Matter: “Admire Meteorite End-Cut” Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Microorganisms That Grow in Extreme Environments: “Aerial image of Grand Prismatic Spring (view from the south)” Carsten Steger / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Cosmic Material Evolution Lab): “Namibie Hoba Meteorite 05” No machine-readable author provided. Calips assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Earth System Chemistry Lab): “Pāhoehoe Lava flow” Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Earth and Planetary Natural History Lab): “Uncoiled Lower Creataceous Ammonites from Northern Bulgaria (Coll. N. Dimitrova) at the Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski' Museum of Paleontology and Historical Geology” Motekov / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Deep Earth Physics Lab): “June 2014 magnetic field” ESA/DTU Space / Public domain (cropped)
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