Makiko K. Haba
Cosmo/Geochemist
Research Interests
Here, I'd like to introduce my research topics. My research is based on chemical and isotopic analyses of meteorites for understanding how our Solar System formed and evolved.
Most of the meteorites in our collection come from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the others are from Mars and Moon. There are many types of asteroids in the main asteroid belt, such as pristine undifferentiated asteroids, differentiated asteroids having layered structures, and astroids having only metallic core. Because the meteorites sample these various asteroids, Mars and Moon, they provide information on the evolutionary history of planetary materials from the beginning of the Solar System to planet formation.
I'm interested mainly in extracting chronological data from meteorites through high-precision analyses of stable isotopes. Please see below for more details.
stony meteorite (eucrite)
Stony-iron meteorite (mesosiderite)
Solar System formation and origin of elements
Short-lived radionuclides with half-lives between 0.1 to 100 million years have been found in meteorites and used for high-precision chronological studies of the early Solar System. Their initial abundances in the Solar System are not only important for early Solar System chronology but also provide insights into the nucleosynthesis of elements by combining them with astrophysical models.
I'm working on niobium-92 which is a short-lived p-process isotope and decays to zirconium-92 with a half-life of 37 million years. I'm trying to understand the origin of p-process elements and provide a new tool to date the early evolution of planetary materials in our Solar System.
Related paper:
Haba, M. K., Lai, Y.-J., Wotzlaw, J. F., Yamaguchi, A., Lugaro, M., & Schönbächler, M. (2021) Precise initial abundance of Niobium-92 in the Solar System and implications for p-process nucleosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (8), e2017750118.
Formation and evolution of protoplanets
Asteroid 4 Vesta is considered to be a remnant of protoplanets that formed in the early Solar System. This asteroid provides a rare opportunity for us to understand the genesis and evolution of protoplanets.
In my research, I'm focusing on zircons in HED meteorites and mesosiderites which possibly came from Vesta. The dating of these zircons revealed that the upper crust of Vesta formed 4550-4560 million years ago and experienced a large scale collision 4525.4 million years ago.
I'm trying to improve the dating method (U-Pb) for meteoritic zircons to provide ages with higher temporal resolution.
Related paper:
Haba, M. K., Wotzlaw, J. F., Lai, Y.-J., Yamaguchi, A., & Schönbächler, M. (2019). Mesosiderite formation on asteroid 4 Vesta by a hit-and-run collision. Nature Geoscience, 12(7), 510–515.
Haba, M. K., & Wotzlaw, J. F. (2021). ID-TIMS zircon U-Pb geochronology of the Camel Donga eucrite. Chemical Geology, 567, 120073.
Credit:NASA
Meteorite's journey to Earth
Meteorites land on Earth after a long journey in space. The periods from launching from their parent bodies to landing on Earth are important for understanding the delivery mechanisms of meteorites from the main asteroid belt, Mars, and Moon.
Meteorites are exposed to cosmic rays in space and accumulate cosmogenic nuclides, which provide residence time in space called a cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age. Among them, 81Kr-Kr CRE dating is a reliable method, which utilizes cosmogenic Kr isotopes produced by spallation from Rb, Sr, Y, and Zr.
I'm trying to apply the 81Kr-Kr CRE age dating to meteoritic zircons (ZrSiO4) because they can accumulate cosmogenic Kr isotopes and very robust during the delivery of meteorites to Earth.
Related paper:
Haba, M. K. & Nagao, K. (2021). Cosmogenic noble gas nuclides in zircons from the Estherville mesosiderite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, in press.