Adam Sarafian

Adam Sarafian (born March 26, 1986^[1]) is an American geologist who has advanced theories about the origin of water on Earth. As a pole vaulter, he set the New Jersey state high school record and won the national championship in 2004.

Sport

A native of Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey and student at Ocean Township High School, Sarafian won the national championship in the pole vault with a jump measuring 16 ft 03⁄4 in (4.89 m), which he accomplished after three jumps at the 2004 Adidas Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[2] Sarafian won the pole vault competition at the Golden West Invitational in 2004 with a vault of 16 ft 101⁄4 in (5.13 m).^[1] In May 2004, Sarafian had a jump of 17 ft 41⁄2 in (5.29 m) at the Shore Conference track and field championship, which was the highest of any American that year and the 20th-highest jump by any jumper from the United States to that point. The jump also set the New Jersey state record, breaking a mark of 16 ft 6 in (5.02 m) that had been set in 1980.^[3] As of August 2021, Sarafian still holds the state high school record.^[4]

Science

A resident of Long Branch, New Jersey, he chose geology as his major at the University of Georgia, which he attended on an athletic scholarship. Sarafian has published a theory that has appeared in Science that the water on Earth is derived from asteroid impacts from 4 Vesta shortly after the formation of the Solar System during a time when the Earth was far smaller and hotter that it is now and some 135 million years before previous theories had believed the planet's water had arrived. Sarafian's theory contrasts with theories that had posited that the Earth's water was derived from comet impacts. Sarafian has noted that the chemical composition of water in comets is inconsistent with what is found on Earth and that the deuterium in water in Earth is consistent with the signatures found in asteroids from Vesta fragments that have struck Earth in recent centuries.^[5] Sarafian earned a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Adam Sarafian, University of Georgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. "Born March 28, 1986...Son of Sue and Steve Sarafian...Majoring in Geology."
^ Morris, Tim. "Sarafian is national champion after Adidas meet", The Hub, June 25, 2004. Accessed January 1, 2017. "'Just hearing it is so cool,' said Ocean Township's Adam Sarafian, who can claim that title after winning the pole vault at last weekend's Adidas Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina State University in Raleigh."
^ Morris, Tim. "Ocean’s Sarafian destroys state pole vault record Spartan takes mark up to 17-4 1/2, best in country in 2004", Central Jersey Archives, May 21, 2004. Accessed November 16, 2020. "Ocean Township’s Adam Sarafian is the new owner of a state record after he jumped 17-4 1/2 on Saturday at the Shore Conference Championships at Brick Township.... Saturday, at the Shore Conference Championships held at Brick Township High School, Sarafian demolished the 24-year-old state record of 16-6 set by Bill Lange of Bridgewater-Raritan East in 1980 by 10 1/2 inches and his own personal best (16-4 3/4) by almost a foot. In addition to becoming the state’s first high school 17-footer, Sarafian recorded the top jump in the country for 2004 and No. 20 all-time."
^ "NJSIAA/M-F Athletic Annual State Group Track & Field Championships" (PDF). New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
^ Radel, Dan. "Waters origins discovered by Ocean Twp track star", Asbury Park Press, December 24, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020.
^ Howell, Elizabeth. "Meteorites brought water to Earth during the first two million years", Phys.org, January 18, 2018. Accessed November 16, 2020. "'We're looking at as many meteorite parent bodies as possible right now to figure out where they were in the early solar system and how much water they had,' says Adam Sarafian, a recent doctoral graduate in the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

[UGAbio-1] Adam Sarafian, University of Georgia. Accessed November 16, 2020. "Born March 28, 1986...Son of Sue and Steve Sarafian...Majoring in Geology."

[2] Morris, Tim. "Sarafian is national champion after Adidas meet", The Hub, June 25, 2004. Accessed January 1, 2017. "'Just hearing it is so cool,' said Ocean Township's Adam Sarafian, who can claim that title after winning the pole vault at last weekend's Adidas Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina State University in Raleigh."

[3] Morris, Tim. "Ocean’s Sarafian destroys state pole vault record Spartan takes mark up to 17-4 1/2, best in country in 2004", Central Jersey Archives, May 21, 2004. Accessed November 16, 2020. "Ocean Township’s Adam Sarafian is the new owner of a state record after he jumped 17-4 1/2 on Saturday at the Shore Conference Championships at Brick Township.... Saturday, at the Shore Conference Championships held at Brick Township High School, Sarafian demolished the 24-year-old state record of 16-6 set by Bill Lange of Bridgewater-Raritan East in 1980 by 10 1/2 inches and his own personal best (16-4 3/4) by almost a foot. In addition to becoming the state’s first high school 17-footer, Sarafian recorded the top jump in the country for 2004 and No. 20 all-time."

[4] "NJSIAA/M-F Athletic Annual State Group Track & Field Championships" (PDF). New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved July 15, 2024.

[5] Radel, Dan. "Waters origins discovered by Ocean Twp track star", Asbury Park Press, December 24, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020.

[6] Howell, Elizabeth. "Meteorites brought water to Earth during the first two million years", Phys.org, January 18, 2018. Accessed November 16, 2020. "'We're looking at as many meteorite parent bodies as possible right now to figure out where they were in the early solar system and how much water they had,' says Adam Sarafian, a recent doctoral graduate in the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

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