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1.
Abstract— The fine-grained matrix of the unique, unequilibrated carbonaceous chondrite Lewis Cliff (LEW) 85332 has been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Compositionally, LEW 85332 has a matrix that is more Fe-rich than typical CI chondrites but has elemental abundance ratios that appear to be closer to CI matrices than to CM or CR chondrites. The mineralogy of the matrix is dominated by phyllosilicate phases that are predominantly interlayered Fe-rich serpentine/saponite; anhydrous silicate phases such as olivine and pyroxene are rare. Minor magnetite, troilite and ferrihydrite also occur associated with the phyllosilicates. Despite the high degree of weathering in LEW 85332, the phyllosilicates appear to have an extraterrestrial origin, but the highly variable Mg/Fe ratios of saponite may be the result of partial terrestrial oxidation of Fe-rich saponite to a more Mg-rich saponite and ferrihydrite. Alternatively, some of the ferrihydrite may have formed as a result of terrestrial weathering of Fe-Ni metal. The compositional and mineralogical data suggest that the matrix of LEW 85332 may represent a very early stage in the type of aqueous alteration experienced by the CI chondrites, although it is improbable that LEW 85332 was a precursor to the CI chondrites because of its high abundance of chondrules. The absence of carbonates, the high-Fe content of the matrix and phyllosilicate phases and relatively low abundance of magnetite all indicate that the degree of oxidation and leaching of LEW 85332 matrix was significantly less than that experienced by the CI chondrites. The absence of clear evidence for alteration of chondrules suggests that either the formation of the hydrous phases in the matrix occurred prior to accretion or that alteration occurred on a parent body and involved limited amounts of fluid, such that the reactions took place preferentially and exclusively within the fine-grained (anhydrous?) matrix materials.  相似文献   

2.
Secondary mineral assemblages in the nakhlite meteorites, Lafayette, Governador Valadares (GV), Nakhla, Yamato (Y)‐000593/Y‐000749 have been studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron probe micro analysis. The different nakhlites have distinctive secondary assemblages in their olivine grains and mesostases, showing compositional fractionation correlated with their relative depths below the Martian surface. Fracture‐filled veins in Lafayette at the bottom of the pile consist of a siderite‐phyllosilicate‐Fe oxide‐hydrated silicate gel assemblage. Corresponding veins in Nakhla and GV further up the pile are predominantly a siderite‐gel assemblage, with additional evaporites including gypsum. Y‐000593/Y‐000749 veins are dominated by gel. The gel’s Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio decreases from Lafayette (0.37) to GV (0.32), Nakhla (0.24), and Y‐000593 (0.15). We suggest that hydrothermal fluid flowed up this depth profile, initiated by melting of buried H2O–CO2 ice. Our results show a complex mix of Fe‐rich phyllosilicate within the veins and mesostasis of Lafayette with d‐spacings of 0.7–1.1 nm suggesting a mixture of smectite and serpentine. The phyllosilicate formed at close to neutral pH, ≤150 °C. We also suggest that water rock ratios (W/R) of 1–10 occurred in Lafayette with smaller values for the other nakhlites. This is reflected in the volume of alteration minerals: 10% of olivine in Lafayette to 3% in Nakhla. Textural evidence of rapid cooling, together with the W/R and likely fluid velocities, suggest that the secondary assemblages formed quickly, e.g., within months. A model is proposed in which the secondary assemblages formed in an impact‐induced hydrothermal system terminated by precipitation of the gel and evaporation of soluble salts.  相似文献   

3.
Abstract The matrix of Vigarano, a meteorite which belongs to the reduced subgroup of the CV3 chondrites, contains small amounts (<10%) of ferrihydrite and smectite. These hydrous minerals occur together as fine fibrous intergrowths between anhydrous silicate and oxide grains. Coarser crystals of ferrihydrite fill fractures that cut matrix minerals, and smectite also lines narrow channels within olivine grains. These channels may have formed by preferential alteration of olivines along (100)-parallel defects. Formation of ferrihydrite and smectite in the matrix of Vigarano was the result of mild aqueous alteration in a low-temperature (<150 °C), oxidising parent body environment. Partial equilibration of matrix olivines indicates that alteration was followed by thermal metamorphism with a peak temperature of 400–500 °C. Mineralogically similar alteration products, which also were formed by parent body processes, have previously been described from the matrices of four CV meteorites: Bali, Grosnaja, Kaba and Mokoia, all of which belong to the oxidised subgroup. This discovery of the products of oxidative aqueous alteration in Vigarano has important consequences for understanding the chemical and thermal history of the CV class of meteorites.  相似文献   

4.
Veins containing carbonates, hydrous silicates, and sulfates that occur within and between grains of augite and olivine in the Nakhla meteorite are good evidence for the former presence of liquid water in the Martian crust. Aqueous solutions gained access to grain interiors via narrow fractures, and those fractures within olivine whose walls were oriented close to (001) were preferentially widened by etching along [001]. This orientation selective dissolution may have been due to the presence within olivine of shock‐formed [001](100) and [001]{110} screw dislocations. The duration of etching is likely to have been brief, possibly less than a year, and the solutions responsible were sufficiently cool and reducing that laihunite did not form and Fe liberated from the olivine was not immediately oxidized. The pores within olivine were mineralized in sequence by siderite, nanocrystalline smectite, a Fe‐Mg phyllosilicate, and then gypsum, whereas only the smectite occurs within augite. The nanocrystalline smectite was deposited as submicrometer thick layers on etched vein walls, and solution compositions varied substantially between and sometimes during precipitation of each layer. Together with microcrystalline gypsum the Fe‐Mg phyllosilicate crystallized as water briefly returned to some of the veins following desiccation fracturing of the smectite. These results show that etching of olivine enhanced the porosity and permeability of the nakhlite parent rock and that dissolution and secondary mineralization took place within the same near‐static aqueous system.  相似文献   

5.
Abstract— Two unusual dark clasts found in the Vigarano CV3 chondrite were examined using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Both clasts lack chondrules, Ca-Al-rich inclusions, and coarse-grained mineral fragments; they, instead, contain abundant inclusions that consist of fine grains (<1 μm) of homogeneous Fe-rich olivine, thus resembling the fine-grained variety of dark inclusions in CV3 chondrites. The external shapes of inclusions in the clasts bear a close resemblance to those of chondrules and chondrule fragments; some of the inclusions are surrounded by dark rims similar to chondrule rims. Our SEM observations reveal the following unusual characteristics: 1) the inclusions are not mere random aggregates of olivine grains but have peculiar internal textures, that is, assemblages of round or oval shaped outlines, which are suggestive of pseudomorphs after porphyritic olivine chondrules; 2) one of thick inclusion rims contains a network of vein-like strings of elongated olivine grains; 3) an Fe-Ni metal aggregate in one of the clasts has an Fe-, Ni-, S-rich halo suggesting a reaction between its precursor and the surrounding matrix; and 4) olivine in the clasts commonly shows a swirly, fibrous texture similar to that of phyllosilicate. These characteristics suggest that the dark clasts in Vigarano are not primary aggregates of dust in the solar nebula but were affected by aqueous alteration and subsequent dehydration by heating after accretion to the meteorite parent body. The fine olivine grains in these clasts were presumably produced by thermal transformation of phyllosilicate, as is the case with those in the two thermally metamorphosed Antarctic CM chondrites, Belgica-7904 and Yamato-86720. From textural and mineralogical similarities, some of the dark inclusions and clasts previously reported from CV3 chondrites and other types of meteorites may have origins common with these clasts in Vigarano.  相似文献   

6.
Abstract— Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 97990 (CM2.6) is among the least‐altered CM chondrites known. It contains 1.8 vol% refractory inclusions; 40 were studied from a single thin section. Inclusion varieties include simple, banded and nodular structures as well as simple and complex distended objects. The inclusions range in mean size from 30 to 530 μm and average 130 ± 90 μm. Many inclusions contain 25 ± 15 vol% phyllosilicate (predominantly Mg‐Fe serpentine); several contain small grains of perovskite. In addition to phyllosilicate, the most abundant inclusions in QUE 97990 consist mainly of spinel‐pyroxene (35%), followed by spinel (20%), spinel‐pyroxene‐olivine (18%), pyroxene (12%), pyroxene‐olivine (8%) and hibonite ± spinel (8%). Four pyroxene phases occur: diopside, Al‐rich diopside (with ≥ 8.0 wt% Al2O3), Al‐Ti diopside (i.e., fassaite), and (in two inclusions) enstatite. No inclusions contain melilite. Aqueous alteration of refractory inclusions transforms some phases (particularly melilite) into phyllosilicate; some inclusions broke apart during alteration. Melilite‐free, phyllosilicate‐bearing, spinel inclusions probably formed from pristine, phyllosilicate‐free inclusions containing both melilite and spinel. Sixty‐five percent of the refractory inclusions in QUE 97990 appear to be largely intact; the major exception is the group of spinel inclusions, all of which are fragments. Whereas QUE 97990 contains about 50 largely intact refractory inclusions/cm2, estimates from literature data imply that more‐altered CM chondrites have lower modal abundances (and lower number densities) of refractory inclusions: Mighei (CM ? 2.3) contains roughly 0.3–0.6 vol% inclusions (?10 largely intact inclusions/cm2); Cold Bokkeveld (CM2.2) contains ?0.01 vol% inclusions (on the order of 6 largely intact inclusions/cm2).  相似文献   

7.
We report on the petrography and mineralogy of three types of silicate veinlets in the brecciated eucrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 1109. These include Fe‐rich olivine, Mg‐rich olivine, and pyroxene veinlets. The Fe‐rich olivine veinlets mainly infill fractures in pyroxene and also occur along grain boundaries between pyroxene and plagioclase crystals, in both nonequilibrated and equilibrated lithic clasts. The host pyroxene of Fe‐rich olivine veinlets shows large chemical variations between and within grains. The Fe‐rich olivine veinlets also contain fine‐grained Fe3+‐bearing chromite, highly calcic plagioclase, merrillite, apatite, and troilite. Based on texture and mineral chemistry, we argue that the formation of Fe‐rich olivine was related to fluid deposition at relatively high temperatures. However, the source of Fe‐rich olivine in the veinlets remains unclear. Magnesium‐rich olivine veinlets were found in three diogenitic lithic clasts. In one of these, the Mg‐rich olivine veinlets only occur in one of the fine‐grained interstitial regions and extend into fractures within surrounding coarse‐grained orthopyroxene. Based on the texture of the interstitial materials, we suggest that the Mg‐rich olivine veinlets formed by shock‐induced localized melting and recrystallization. Pyroxene veinlets were only observed in one clast where they infill fractures within large plagioclase grains and are associated with fine‐grained pyroxene surrounding coarse‐grained pyroxene. The large chemical variations in pyroxene and the fracture‐filling texture indicate that the pyroxene veinlets might also have formed by shock‐induced localized melting and rapid crystallization. Our study demonstrates that silicate veinlets formed by a range of different surface processes on the surface of Vesta.  相似文献   

8.
The near-infrared reflectance spectra of the martian surface present strong absorption features attributed to hydration water present in the regolith. In order to characterize the relationships between this water and atmospheric vapor and decipher the physical state of water molecules in martian regolith analogs, we designed and built an experimental setup to measure near-IR reflectance spectra under martian atmospheric conditions. Six samples were studied that cover part of the diversity of Mars surface mineralogy: a hydrated ferric oxide (ferrihydrite), two igneous samples (volcanic tuff, and dunite sand), and three potential water rich soil materials (Mg-sulfate, smectite powder and a palagonitic soil, the JSC Mars-1 regolith stimulant). Sorption and desorption isotherms were measured at 243 K for water vapor pressure varying from 10−5 to ∼0.3 mbar (relative humidity: 10−4 to 75%). These measurements reveal a large diversity of behavior among the sample suite in terms of absolute amount of water adsorbed, shape of the isotherm and hysteresis between the adsorption and desorption branches. Simultaneous in situ spectroscopic observations permit a detailed analysis of the spectral signature of adsorbed water and also point to clear differences between the samples. Ferric (oxy)hydroxides like ferrihydrite or other phases present in palagonitic soils are very strong water adsorbent and may play an important role in the current martian water cycle by allowing large exchange of water between dust-covered regions and atmosphere at diurnal and seasonal scales.  相似文献   

9.
The nakhlite meteorites are clinopyroxenites that are derived from a ~1300 million year old sill or lava flow on Mars. Most members of the group contain veins of iddingsite whose main component is a fine‐grained and hydrous Fe‐ and Mg‐rich silicate. Siderite is present in the majority of veins, where it straddles or cross‐cuts the Fe‐Mg silicate. This carbonate also contains patches of ferric (oxy)hydroxide. Despite 40 years of investigation, the mineralogy and origins of the Fe‐Mg silicate is poorly understood, as is the paragenesis of the iddingsite veins. Nanometer‐scale analysis of Fe‐Mg silicate in the Nakhla meteorite by electron and X‐ray imaging and spectroscopy reveals that its principal constituents are nanoparticles of opal‐A. This hydrous and amorphous phase precipitated from acidic solutions that had become supersaturated with respect to silica by dissolution of olivine. Each opal‐A nanoparticle is enclosed within a ferrihydrite shell that formed by oxidation of iron that had also been liberated from the olivine. Siderite crystallized subsequently and from solutions that were alkaline and reducing, and replaced both the nanoparticles and olivine. The fluids that formed both the opal‐A/ferrihydrite and the siderite were sourced from one or more reservoirs in contact with the Martian atmosphere. The last event recorded by the veins was alteration of the carbonate to a ferric (oxy)hydroxide that probably took place on Mars, although a terrestrial origin remains possible. These results support findings from orbiter‐ and rover‐based spectroscopy that opaline silica was a common product of aqueous alteration of the Martian crust.  相似文献   

10.
Lunar breccias preserve the records of geologic processes on the Moon. In this study, we report the occurrence, petrography, mineralogy, and geologic significance of the observed secondary olivine veinlets in lunar feldspathic breccia meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 11273. Bulk‐rock composition measurements show that this meteorite is geochemically similar to other lunar highland meteorites. In NWA 11273, five clasts are observed to host veinlets that are dominated by interconnecting olivine mineral grains. The host clasts are mainly composed of mafic minerals (i.e., pyroxene and olivine) and probably sourced from a basaltic lithology. The studied olivine veinlets (~5 to 30 μm in width) are distributed within the mafic mineral host, but do not extend into the adjacent plagioclase. Chemically, these olivine veinlets are Fe‐richer (Fo41.4–51.9), compared with other olivine grains (Fo54.3–83.1) in lithic clasts and matrix of NWA 11273. By analogy with the secondary olivine veinlets observed in meteorites from asteroid Vesta (howardite–eucrite–diogenite group samples) and lunar mare samples, our study suggests that the newly observed olivine veinlets in NWA 11273 are likely formed by secondary deposition from a lunar fluid, rather than by crystallization from a high‐temperature silicate melt. Such fluid could be sulfur‐ and phosphorous‐poor and likely had an endogenic origin on the Moon. The new occurrence of secondary olivine veinlets in breccia NWA 11273 reveals that the fluid mobility and deposition could be a previously underappreciated geological process on the Moon.  相似文献   

11.
Petrology of Martian meteorite Northwest Africa 998   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
Abstract— Nakhlite Northwest Africa (NWA) 998 is an augite-rich cumulate igneous rock with mineral compositions and oxygen isotopic composition consistent with an origin on Mars. This 456-gram, partially fusion-crusted meteorite consists of (by volume) ∼75% augite (core composition Wo39En39Fs22), ∼9% olivine (Fo35), ∼7% plagioclase (Ab61An35) as anhedra among augite and olivine, ∼3.5% low-calcium pyroxenes (pigeonite and orthopyroxene) replacing or forming overgrowths on olivine and augite, ∼1% titanomagnetite, and other phases including potassium feldspar, apatite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, ilmenite, and fine-grained mesostasis material. Minor secondary alteration materials include “iddingsite” associated with olivine (probably Martian), calcite crack fillings, and iron oxide/hydroxide staining (both probably terrestrial). Shock effects are limited to minor cataclasis and twinning in augite. In comparison to other nakhlites, NWA 998 contains more low-calcium pyroxenes and its plagioclase crystals are blockier. The large size of the intercumulus feldspars and the chemical homogeneity of the olivine imply relatively slow cooling and chemical equilibration in the late- and post-igneous history of this specimen, and mineral thermometers give subsolidus temperatures near 730 °C. Oxidation state was near that of the QFM buffer, from about QFM-2 in earliest crystallization to near QFM in late crystallization, and to about QFM + 1.5 in some magmatic inclusions. The replacement or overgrowth of olivine by pigeonite and orthopyroxene (with or without titanomagnetite), and the marginal replacement of augite by pigeonite, are interpreted to result from late-stage reactions with residual melts (consistent with experimental phase equilibrium relationships). Apatite is concentrated in planar zones separating apatite-free domains, which suggests that residual magma (rich in P and REE) was concentrated in planar (fracture?) zones and possibly migrated through them. Loss of late magma through these zones is consistent with the low bulk REE content of NWA 998 compared with the calculated REE content of its parent magma.  相似文献   

12.
Abstract– Petrological and geochemical analyses of Miller Range (MIL) 03346 indicate that this meteorite originated from the same augitic cumulate layer(s) as the nakhlite Martian meteorites, but underwent rapid cooling prior to complete crystallization. As with the other nakhlites, MIL 03346 contains a secondary alteration assemblage, in this case consisting of iddingsite‐like alteration veins in olivine phenocrysts, Fe‐oxide alteration veins associated with the mesostasis, and Ca‐ and K,Fe‐sulfate veins. We compared the textural and mineralogical compositions of MIL 090030, 090032, and 090136 with MIL 03346, focusing on the composition and Raman spectra of the alteration assemblages. These observations indicate that the meteorites are paired, and that the preterrestrial olivine‐bound alteration assemblages were produced by weakly acidic brine. Although these alteration assemblages resemble similar assemblages in Nakhla, the absence of siderite and halite in the Miller Range nakhlites indicates that the parental alteration brine was comparatively HCO3? depleted, and less concentrated, than that which altered Nakhla. This indicates that the Miller Range nakhlite alteration brine experienced a separate evolutionary pathway to that which altered Nakhla, and therefore represents a separate branch of the Lafayette‐Nakhla evaporation sequence. Thin‐sections cut from the internal portions of these meteorites (away from any fusion crust or terrestrially exposed edge), contain little Ca‐sulfate (identified as gypsum), and no jarosite, whereas thin‐sections with terrestrially exposed edges have much higher sulfate abundances. These observations suggest that at least the majority of sulfate within the Miller Range nakhlites is terrestrially derived.  相似文献   

13.
Sutter's Mill is a regolith breccia composed of both heavily altered clasts and more reduced xenoliths. Here, we present a detailed investigation of fragments of SM18 and SM51. We have characterized the water content and the mineralogy by infrared (IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the structure of the organic compounds by Raman spectroscopy, to characterize the secondary history of the clasts, including aqueous alteration and thermal metamorphism. The three methods used in this study suggest that SM18 was significantly heated. The amount of water contained in phyllosilicates derived by TGA is estimated to be approximately 3.2 wt%. This value is quite low compared with other CM chondrites that typically range from 6 to 12 wt%. The infrared transmission spectra of SM18 show that the mineralogy of the sample is dominated by a mixture of phyllosilicate and olivine. SM18 shows an intense peak at 11.2 μm indicative of olivine (Fig. 1). If we compare SM18 with other CM and metamorphosed CM chondrites, it shows one of the most intense olivine signatures, and therefore a lower proportion of phyllosilicate minerals. The Raman results tend to support a short‐duration heating hypothesis. In the ID/IG versus FWHM‐D diagram, SM18 appears to be unusual compared to most CM samples, and close to the metamorphosed CM chondrites Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 91008 and PCA 02012. In the case of SM51, infrared spectroscopy reveals that olivine is less abundant than in SM18 and the 10 μm silicate feature is more similar to that of moderately altered CM chondrites (like Murchison or Queen Alexandra Range [QUE] 97990). Raman spectroscopy does not clearly point to a heating event for SM51 in the ID/IG versus FWHM‐D diagram. However, TGA analysis suggests that SM51 was slightly dehydrated as the amount of water contained in phyllosilicates is approximately 3.7 wt%, which is higher than SM18, but still lower than phyllosilicate water contents in weakly altered CM chondrites. Altogether, these results confirm that fragments with different secondary histories are present within the Sutter's Mill fall. The dehydration that is clearly observed for SM18 is attributed to a short‐duration heating based on the similarity of its Raman spectra to that of PCA 91008. Because of the brecciated nature of Sutter's Mill and the presence of adjacent clasts with different thermal histories, impacts that can efficiently fragment and heat porous materials are the preferred heat source.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract— We have studied an Allende dark inclusion by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and transmission electron microscopy. The inclusion consists of chondrules, isolated olivines and matrix, which, as in the Allende host, is mainly composed of 5–20 μm long lath-shaped fayalitic grains with a narrow compositional range (Fa42 ± 2) and nepheline. Olivine phenocrysts in chondrules and isolated olivine grains show various degrees of replacement by 5–10 μm wide fayalitic rims (Fa39 ± 2) and 100–1000 μm wide translucent zones, which consist of 5–20 μm long lath-shaped fayalitic grains (Fa41 ± 1) intergrown with nepheline. These fayalitic olivines, like those in the matrix of the dark inclusion, contain 10–20 nm sized inclusions of chromite, hercynite, and Fe-Ni sulfides. The fayalitic rims around remnant olivines are texturally and compositionally identical to those in Allende host, suggesting that they have similar origins. Chondrules are surrounded by opaque rims consisting of tiny lath-shaped fayalitic olivines (<1–3 μm long) intergrown with nepheline. As in the Allende host, fayalitic olivine veins may crosscut altered chondrules, fine-grained chondrule rims and extend into the matrix, indicating that alteration occurred after accretion. We infer that fayalitic olivine rims and lath-shaped fayalites in Allende and its dark inclusions formed from phyllosilicate intermediate phases. This explanation accounts for (1) the similarity of the replacement textures observed in the dark inclusion and Allende host to aqueous alteration textures in CM chondrites; (2) the anomalously high abundances of Al and Cr and the presence of tiny inclusions of spinels and sulfides in fayalitic olivines in Allende and Allende dark inclusions; (3) abundant voids and defects in lath-shaped fayalites in the Allende dark inclusion, which may be analogous to those in partly dehydrated phyllosilicates in metamorphosed CM/CI chondrites. We conclude that the matrix and chondrule rims in Allende were largely converted to phyllosilicates and then completely dehydrated. The Allende dark inclusions experienced diverse degrees of aqueous/hydrothermal alteration prior to complete dehydration. The absence of low-Ca pyroxene in the dark inclusion and its significant replacement by fayalitic olivine in Allende is consistent with the lower resistance of low-Ca pyroxene to aqueous alteration relative to forsteritic olivine. Hydro-thermal processing of Allende probably also accounts for the low abundance of planetary noble gases and interstellar grains, and the formation of nepheline, sodalite, salite-hedenbergite pyroxenes, wollastonite, kirschsteinite and andradite in chondrules and Ca,Al-rich inclusions.  相似文献   

15.
The CM carbonaceous chondrite meteorites experienced aqueous alteration in the early solar system. They range from mildly altered type 2 to almost completely hydrated type 1 chondrites, and offer a record of geochemical conditions on water‐rich asteroids. We show that CM1 chondrites contain abundant (84–91 vol%) phyllosilicate, plus olivine (4–8 vol%), magnetite (2–3 vol%), Fe‐sulfide (<5 vol%), and calcite (<2 vol%). The CM1/2 chondrites contain phyllosilicate (71–88 vol%), olivine (4–20 vol%), enstatite (2–6 vol%), magnetite (2–3 vol%), Fe‐sulfides (1–2 vol%), and calcite (~1 vol%). As aqueous alteration progressed, the abundance of Mg‐serpentine and magnetite in the CM chondrites increased. In contrast, calcite abundances in the CM1/2 and CM1 chondrites are often depleted relative to the CM2s. The modal data support the model, whereby metal and Fe‐rich matrix were the first components to be altered on the CM parent body(ies), before further hydration attacked the coarser Mg‐rich silicates found in chondrules and fragments. Based on the absence of tochilinite, we suggest that CM1 chondrites experienced increased alteration due to elevated temperatures (>120 °C), although higher water/rock ratios may also have played a role. The modal data provide constraints for interpreting the composition of asteroids and the mineralogy of samples returned from these bodies. We predict that “CM1‐like” asteroids, as has been proposed for Bennu—target for the OSIRIS‐REx mission—will have a high abundance of Mg‐rich phyllosilicates and Fe‐oxides, but be depleted in calcite.  相似文献   

16.
Forsterite and clinoenstatite in type IAB chondrules from the Murchison CM carbonaceous chondrite have been partially serpentinized, and the mechanisms of their alteration reveal crystallographic and microstructural controls on the reaction of silicate minerals with parent body aqueous solutions. Grains of forsterite were altered in two stages. Narrow veinlets of Fe‐rich serpentine formed first and by the filling of sheet pores. Most of these pores were oriented parallel to (010) and (001) and had been produced by earlier fracturing and/or congruent dissolution. In the second stage, the subset of veinlets that were oriented parallel to (001) was widened accompanying the replacement of forsterite by Mg‐Fe serpentine. This reaction proceeded most rapidly parallel to [001], and crystallographic controls on the trajectory of retreating vein walls created fine‐scale serrations. Murchison clinoenstatite grains have a skeletal appearance due to the presence of abundant veinlets and patches of phyllosilicate. Two alteration stages can again be recognized, with initial water–mineral interaction producing tochilinite‐rich veinlets by the filling of (001)‐parallel contraction cracks. Pores then formed by congruent dissolution that was guided principally by orthopyroxene lamellae, and they were subsequently filled by submicrometer‐sized crystals of polyhedral serpentine. This finding that Murchison forsterite and clinoenstatite grains have been altered demonstrates that aqueous processing of magnesium silicate minerals started much earlier in CM parent body history than previously believed. Our results also show that the occurrence of polyhedral serpentine can be used to locate former pore spaces within the parent body.  相似文献   

17.
The ~15 Ma, 26 km diameter Ries impact structure in south‐central Germany was one of the first terrestrial impact structures where evidence of impact‐associated hydrothermal alteration was recognized. Previous studies suggested that pervasive, high‐temperature hydrothermal activity was restricted to the area within the “inner ring” (i.e., the crater‐fill impactite units). Here we present mineralogical evidence for localized hydrothermal activity in the ejecta beyond the crater rim in two previously unstudied settings: a pervasively altered lens of suevite ejecta directly overlying the Bunte Breccia at the Aumühle quarry; and suevite ejecta at depth overlain by ~20 m of lacustrine sediments sampled by the Wörnitzostheim 1965 drill core. A comprehensive set of X‐ray diffraction analyses indicates five distinct alteration regimes (1) surficial ambient weathering characterized by smectite and a minor illitic component; (2) locally restricted hydrothermal activity characterized by an illitic component and minor smectite; (3) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and calcite; (4) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, calcite, zeolites, and clinochlore; and (5) pervasive hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and minor clinochlore. These data spatially extend the Ries postimpact hydrothermal system suggesting a much more extensive, complex, and dynamic system than previously thought. Constraining the mineralogical alteration regimes at the Ries impact structure may also further our understanding of impact‐associated phyllosilicate formation on Mars with implications for climate models and habitability.  相似文献   

18.
Abstract— Mokoia is a CV3 chondrite that contains abundant phyllosilicate mineralization. We present a detailed petrographic and scanning electron microscopic study of 24 dark inclusions (DIs) that we found in Mokoia. The overall texture and constituent minerals of the DIs resemble those in the host meteorite. Fe‐bearing saponite and Na‐rich phlogopite, the same phyllosilicates as in the host meteorite, occur in the DIs, which strongly suggests that the DIs have a similar alteration history to the host meteorite. However, the DIs show several distinct differences from the host meteorite. Olivine grains in the DI matrices are more homogeneous in Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratio than those in the host meteorite matrix. Phyllosilicates in the DIs are less abundant than in the host meteorite, and they have been dehydrated to various extents. These characteristics suggest that the DIs have experienced higher degree of thermal metamorphism than the host meteorite. In addition, the matrices in the DIs are more compacted than those in the host meteorite. Most olivine grains in the DIs show undulatory extinction in transmitted crossed‐polarized light and some show planar fractures, while such olivine grains are rare in the host meteorite. Two of the DIs contain Si‐, Mg‐, Fe‐ and O‐rich melt veins. These characteristics indicate that most DIs have been shocked to shock stage S3‐S4, while the host meteorite is shock stage S1 (virtually unshocked). Thermal metamorphism of the DIs was likely caused by shock heating. These results are consistent with the contention previously proposed for the DIs in CV3 chondrites (i.e., the DIs have experienced aqueous alteration and subsequent dehydration on the CV parent body). We suggest that thermal and shock metamorphism occurred locally to various extents after pervasive aqueous alteration in the Mokoia parent body.  相似文献   

19.
Abstract— The Kobe CK4 chondrite, like most metamorphosed CK chondrites, exhibits pronounced silicate darkening of matrix and chondrule mesostases. Our petrographic and scanning electron microscopic study reveals that the matrix of Kobe consists mostly of intermixtures of two types of fine‐grained olivine. One forms subhedral to anhedral normal crystals. The other fills interstices of the subhedral to anhedral olivine crystals, exhibiting a complex network of veinlets. The latter type of olivine contains high densities of small spherical vesicles (<0.05‐3 μm in diameter) and grains (<0.05‐5 μm) of magnetite and pentlandite as well as round to anhedral grains (1–10 μm) of plagioclase, low‐Ca pyroxene, diopside and chlorapatite. The vesicular olivine is particularly abundant in regions of matrix that exhibit a relatively high degree of darkening and commonly fills chondrule mesostases. The vesicular olivine is clearly the principal cause of the silicate darkening in Kobe. The internal texture of the vesicular olivine closely resembles those of local melts produced from the matrices of experimentally and naturally shocked carbonaceous chondrites. The occurrence and texture of the vesicular olivine suggest that it resulted from recrystallization of partially melted matrix olivine by shock. Kobe exhibits light shock effects in olivine that are consistent with shock stage S2 that is too low to explain the occurrence of olivine melting. We suggest that the vesicular olivine in Kobe was produced by shock metamorphism at a relatively mild shock pressure (<25 GPa) and a high temperature (>600 °C). Thus, it is probable that the shock effects in olivine, manifest as fracturing and deformation, were relatively minor, but heating was strong enough to cause partial melting of matrix olivine.  相似文献   

20.
Using density functional theory, we have examined the hydration mechanism of olivine with the objective of understanding the reaction pathways toward the formation of crystalline serpentine and brucite. It is found that further supply of water beyond saturation of the adsorption sites on olivine surfaces leads to the formation of amorphous brucite and serpentine molecules, with the latter forming in the subsurface domain. The calculated activation energy for this process is ~25 kJ mol?1, which permits formation of the amorphous materials well within the life span of the solar nebula. In addition, molecular dynamic simulations show that the adsorbed water in olivine is stable at least up to 900 K—a finding that is in accord with independent experimental studies. Thus, adsorption plus subsurface reaction of H2O in olivine could have taken place at temperatures considerably higher than the stability limit of hydrous minerals in the nebular condition. Using the DFT derived enthalpy of adsorption data, and reasonable approximation for the entropy of adsorption, we have calculated the fractional coverage of the reactive surface sites of olivine grains of spherical geometry by adsorbed water, and the corresponding ocean equivalent water (OEW) that could have been accreted into the Earth. These results suggest that adsorption and the associated subsurface hydroxylation of olivine grains might have been responsible for a significant fraction of the Earth's water budget. The adsorption of water into olivine crystals in the solar nebula might also have led to the delivery of water to other planetary bodies.  相似文献   

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