The determination of atmospheric phosphine in Ny-Ålesund

Zhang, Rui; Wu, Min; Wang, Qiang; Geng, Jinju; Yang, Xiaodi

doi:10.1007/s11434-010-3085-8

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although PH3 is found everywhere in the Earth's atmosphere, its atmospheric abundance is widely variant, with high concentration regions sometimes having more PH3 than low concentration areas by a factor of 10,000 (Pasek et al 2014). PH3 has been found worldwide in the lower troposphere of the Earth in the ppq to ppb range in daytime, with higher night time concentrations than at day time (due to inhibited UV-induced oxidation) (Gassmann 1994;Gassmann et al 1996;Glindemann et al 2003;Glindemann et al 1996b;Han et al 2000;Hong et al 2010a;Ji-ang et al 1999;Li et al 2009;Zhang et al 2010;Zhu et al 2007a;Zhu et al 2007b;Zhu et al 2006a). In the high troposphere PH3 was found at a peak of 7 ppt during daylight (Glindemann et al 2003;Han et al 2011b).…”

Section: Phosphine Emissions On Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A sample of locally measured gaseous PH3 concentrations in a variety of environments on Earth, ranging from ppq to ppb (ng/m 3 to μg/m 3 ), can be found in Figure 1. (Han et al 2011a) 2) (Han et al 2000) 3) (Niu et al 2013) 4) (Glindemann et al 1996a) 5) (Zhang et al 2010) 6) (Glindemann et al 1996a) 7) (Zhu et al 2007a;Zhu et al 2007b) 8) (Zhang et al 2010) 9,10) (Glindemann et al 2003) 11) (Li et al 2009) 12) (Zhu et al 2007a;Zhu et al 2007b) 13) (Gassmann et al 1996) 14) (Glindemann et al 2003) 15) (Geng et al 2005;Han et al 2011b) 16) (Hong et al 2010a). We do not include measurements of "Matrix-Bound Phosphine" (material that releases PH3 when a matrix is treated with high temperatures and strong acid or alkali).…”

Section: Phosphine Emissions On Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phosphine as a Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres

et al. 2020

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A long-term goal of exoplanet studies is the identification and detection of biosignature gases. Beyond the most discussed biosignature gas O2, only a handful of gases have been considered in detail. Here we evaluate phosphine (PH3). On Earth, PH3 is associated with anaerobic ecosystems, and as such it is a potential biosignature gas in anoxic exoplanets.We simulate the atmospheres of habitable terrestrial planets with CO2-and H2-dominated atmospheres, and find that phosphine can accumulate to detectable concentrations on planets with surface production fluxes of 10 10 -10 14 cm -2 s -1 (corresponding to surface concentrations of 10s of ppb to 100s of ppm), depending on atmospheric composition, and UV irradiation. While high, the surface flux values are comparable to the global terrestrial production rate of methane, or CH4 (10 11 cm -2 s -1 ) and below the maximum local terrestrial PH3 production rate (10 14 cm -2 s -1 ). As with other gases, PH3 can more readily accumulate on low-UV planets, e.g. planets orbiting quiet M-dwarfs or with a photochemically generated UV shield.If detected, phosphine is a promising biosignature gas, as it has no known abiotic false positives on terrestrial planets from any source that could generate the high fluxes required for detection. PH3 also has three strong spectral features such that in any atmosphere scenario one of the three will be unique compared to other dominant spectroscopic molecules. PH3's weakness as a biosignature gas is its high reactivity, requiring high outgassing rates for detectability. We calculate that tens of hours of JWST time are required for a potential detection of PH3. Yet, because PH3 is spectrally active in the same wavelength regions as other atmospherically important molecules (such as H2O and CH4), searches for PH3 can be carried out at no additional observational cost to searches for other molecular species relevant to characterizing exoplanet habitability.

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Section: Phosphine Emissions On Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Phosphine Emissions On Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphine as a Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres

et al. 2020

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“…Even though the atmospheric aerosol nucleation has received a lot of attention, uncertainties about the nucleation mechanisms and the species involved still exist. The presence of phosphine in the upper and lower atmosphere suggests that a volatile P biogeochemical cycle exists. − P is also an element that is essential to the life of all organisms and very important in biomolecules with adenosine triphosphate, a well-known example . Here, we focus on the possibility of formation of a OH···P hydrogen bond and its characterization.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Positively Charged Phosphorus as a Hydrogen Bond Acceptor

Hansen

Kjaergaard

2014

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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Phosphorus (P) is an element that is essential to the life of all organisms, and the atmospheric detection of phosphine suggests the existence of a volatile biogeochemical P cycle. Here, we investigate the ability of P to participate in the formation of OH···P hydrogen bonds. Three bimolecular alcohol-trimethylphosphine complexes have been detected. Initially, the complexes were detected using matrix isolation spectroscopy, which favors complex formation. Subsequently, the fundamental OH-stretching vibration was observed in room-temperature gas-phase spectra. On the basis of our measured OH-stretching frequency red shifts and quantum chemical calculations, we find that P is an acceptor atom similar in strength to O and S and that all three P, O, and S atoms are weaker acceptors than N. The quantum chemical calculations show that both H and P in the OH···P hydrogen bond have partial positive charges, as expected from their electronegativities. However, the electrostatic potentials show a negative potential area on the electron density surface around P that facilitates formation of hydrogen bonds.

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“…This steady-state concentration of reduced P indicates active maintenance of reduced P in the environment, as reduced P can be oxidized to phosphate by microbes under relatively short time scales (26,27). Phosphine production is generally known to be highest in high P environments (28), under lower pH conditions (29), and can be high in arctic regions (30), consistent with the thermodynamics of the disproportionation reaction.…”

Section: Florida Water Analysismentioning

confidence: 62%

Redox chemistry in the phosphorus biogeochemical cycle

Pasek

Sampson

Atlas

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

138

107

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The element phosphorus (P) controls growth in many ecosystems as the limiting nutrient, where it is broadly considered to reside as pentavalent P in phosphate minerals and organic esters. Exceptions to pentavalent P include phosphine-PH 3 -a trace atmospheric gas, and phosphite and hypophosphite, P anions that have been detected recently in lightning strikes, eutrophic lakes, geothermal springs, and termite hindguts. Reduced oxidation state P compounds include the phosphonates, characterized by C−P bonds, which bear up to 25% of total organic dissolved phosphorus. Reduced P compounds have been considered to be rare; however, the microbial ability to use reduced P compounds as sole P sources is ubiquitous. Here we show that between 10% and 20% of dissolved P bears a redox state of less than +5 in water samples from central Florida, on average, with some samples bearing almost as much reduced P as phosphate. If the quantity of reduced P observed in the water samples from Florida studied here is broadly characteristic of similar environments on the global scale, it accounts well for the concentration of atmospheric phosphine and provides a rationale for the ubiquity of phosphite utilization genes in nature. Phosphine is generated at a quantity consistent with thermodynamic equilibrium established by the disproportionation reaction of reduced P species. Comprising 10-20% of the total dissolved P inventory in Florida environments, reduced P compounds could hence be a critical part of the phosphorus biogeochemical cycle, and in turn may impact global carbon cycling and methanogenesis.phosphorus | redox chemistry | phosphonates | element cycling | biogeochemistry L ife as we know it is dependent on phosphate esters, which act in metabolism as energy-storing polyphosphates and cofactors, in replication and transcription as the backbone of RNA and DNA, and in cell structure as phospholipids. Phosphate minerals are the ultimate source of phosphate in the biosphere. However, most phosphate minerals are poorly soluble and slow to dissolve at neutral pH and at room temperature; hence phosphorus (P) is the limiting nutrient in many ecosystems. Phosphorus cycling is especially slow compared with carbon and nitrogen cycling (1).Although inorganic phosphate and phosphate esters (P 5+ ) are viewed as the prevalent compounds in nature, phosphonates, with C−P bonds, are ubiquitous, comprising up to 25% of the dissolved organic P in some natural samples (2). The P in phosphonates has a stronger potential for electron sharing than the P in phosphates, based on the electronegativity difference between C and P (2.5-2.2) compared with O (3.5) and P in phosphates. With a greater potential for electron sharing, the formal oxidation state of P in phosphonates is thus less than +5; hence phosphonates represent a reduced oxidation state P (hereafter, reduced P) speciation in the environment. Phosphonates appear to be critical to some biogeochemical pathways, including a role for methylphosphonate in aerobic methanogenesis in marine environme...

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The determination of atmospheric phosphine in Ny-Ålesund

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

Phosphine as a Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Phosphine as a Biosignature Gas in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Positively Charged Phosphorus as a Hydrogen Bond Acceptor

Redox chemistry in the phosphorus biogeochemical cycle

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