Libourel Guy

Professor Université Côte d’Azur

Cosmochemistry

office : Pavillon Henri Chrétien (PHC-S 7) [map]
delivery address : Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, PHC-S 7, Route de l'Observatoire, 06300 Nice, France
mailing address : Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Boulevard de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France

  phone :  +33 4 92 00 30 37
  cell phone :  +33 6 79 02 95 96
  email :
  skype : guylibourel

Research Interests

I am a cosmochemistry scientist working at Lagrange Laboratory. I am also affiliated faculty at Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai’i (USA).

My scientific research focuses on studying the petrology/geochemistry of primitive meteorites and of their pristine constituents (refractory inclusions, chondrules, metal) to shed light on the early evolution of our Solar System. I am also designing dedicated high temperature experiments for reconstructing the formation conditions of primitive objects and their astrophysical setting of formation. Finally, I am performing thermal shock or hypervelocity impact experiments for understanding the evolution of asteroidal surfaces.

With expertise at the Materials/Geosciences/Astrophysics interface, I am Co-I of the OSIRIS-REx, Hayabusa2, MMX and Hera space missions.

I have been at the Laboratoire Lagrange as a member of the research group Théories et Observations en Planétologie since 2013. PPrior to this, I was the leader of the experimental team group at the Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (Nancy) from 1991-2012.

My activities encompass also teaching, collective activities and outreach actions.

Current Projects

• ANR O-Return (PI: G; Libourel) — In preparation for the 1st study of OSIRIS-REx return asteroid samples.
• ERC HolyEarth (PI: A. Morbidelli) — A holistic approach to understand Earth formation.
• Stellar factory
• Chondrule formation
• Carbonaceous chondrite parent body
• Thermal fatigue and regolith formation
• Hypervelocity impacts and iron-rich asteroids

Selected Publications

Libourel G., Nagashima K., Portail M., Krot A. N., Oxygen isotope variations in Mg-rich olivines from type I chondrules in carbonaceous chondrites. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta,  (2022)

Libourel G., Ganino C., Delbo M., Niezgoda M., Remy B., Aranda, L., Michel P. Network of thermal cracks in meteorites due to temperature variations: new experimental evidence and implications for asteroid surfaces. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 500 (2), 1905-1920 (2021)

Fu R., Volk M.W.R, Bilardello D., Libourel G., Lesur G., Ben Dor O. The fine-scale magnetic history of the Allende meteorite: Implications for the structure of the solar nebula. AGU Advances. (2021)

Libourel G., Ganino C., Delbo M., Niezgoda M., Remy B., Aranda, L., Michel P. Network of thermal cracks in meteorites due to temperature variations: new experimental evidence and implications for asteroid surfaces. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 500 (2), 1905-1920 (2021)

Morbidelli A., Libourel G., Palme H., Jacobson S.A., Rubie D.C. (2020) Subsolar Al/Si and Mg/Si ratios of non-carbonaceous chondrites reveal planetesimal formation during early condensation in the protoplanetary disk. Earth and Planetary Science letters, 538.

Lauretta D.S., Hergenrother C.W., … Libourel G., …et al. (2019) OSIRIS-REx discovery of particle ejection from asteroid (101955) Bennu. Science 366, eaay3544.

Libourel G., Nakamura A.M., Beck P., Potin S., Ganino C., Jacomet S., Ogawa R., Hasegawa S., Michel P. (2019) Hypervelocity impacts as a source of deceiving surface signatures on iron-rich asteroids. Science Advances, 5, eaav3971.

Libourel G., Portail M. (2018) Chondrules as direct thermochemical sensors of solar protoplanetary disk gas. Science Advances 4, eaar3321.

Ganino C., Libourel G. (2017) Reduced and unstratified crust in CV chondrite parent body. Nature communications 8: 261, Published online 2017 Aug 15.

Alí-Lagoa V., Delbo M., Libourel G. (2015) Rapid temperature changes and the early activity on comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 810:L22

Corrigan C., Libourel G. (2014). Asteroïds. Elements, Vol. 14, 1, 76p, ISSN 1811-5209

Delbo M., Libourel G., Wilkerson J., Murdoch N., Michel P., Ramesh K.T., Ganino C., Verati C., Marchi S., (2014). Thermal fatigue as the origin of regolith on small asteroids. Nature, 508, 233.

Books

Corrigan C. & Libourel G. (2014) Asteroids: Linking Meteorites and Planets. Elements, Vol.14, 76p, ISSN 1811-5209.

Barbey P. & Libourel G. (2004) Les relations de phases et leurs applications: des Sciences de la Terre aux Matériaux. Editions scientifiques Gordon Breach, 254p, ISBN 2847030220.