Abstract
BLACK magnetic spherules found in deposits collected by the Challenger Expedition (1872–76) have been recognized as being probably of cosmic origin1. These spherules represent but a very small fraction of the sediments by mass, and have little effect on their average chemical composition. The relatively high nickel content of deep-sea deposits in the Pacific Ocean led Pettersson and Rotschi2 to suggest a cosmic origin for the excess nickel. The amount of accretion of cosmic matter by the earth required to account for this excess would not conflict with some estimates of the density of matter in the zodiacal-light cloud3, although other estimates would fall short of the requirements.
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References
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ÖPIK, E. Cosmic Sources of Deep-Sea Deposits. Nature 176, 926–927 (1955). https://doi.org/10.1038/176926a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/176926a0
