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1.
Abstract— Spherical carbonate globules of similar composition, size, and radial Ca‐, Mg‐, and Fe‐zonation to those in martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 were precipitated from Mg‐rich, supersaturated solutions of Ca‐Mg‐Fe‐CO2‐H2O at 150 °C. The supersaturated solutions (pH ? 6–7) were prepared at room temperature and contained in TeflonTM‐lined stainless steel vessels, which were sealed and heated to 150 °C for 24 h. Experiments were also conducted at 25 °C and no globules comparable to those of ALH 84001 were precipitated. Instead, amorphous Fe‐rich carbonates were formed after 24 h and Mg‐Fe calcites formed after 96 h. These experiments suggest a possible low‐temperature inorganic origin for the carbonates in martian meteorite ALH 84001.  相似文献   

2.
Abstract— ALH84001, originally classified as a diogenite, is a coarse-grained, cataclastic, orthopyroxenite meteorite related to the martian (SNC) meteorites. The orthopyroxene is relatively uniform in composition, with a mean composition of Wo3.3En69.4Fs27.3. Minor phases are euhedral to subhedral chromite and interstitial maskelynite, An31.1Ab63.2Or5.7, with accessory augite, Wo42.2En45.1Fs12.7, apatite, pyrite and carbonates, Cc11.5Mg58.0Sd29.4Rd1.1. The pyroxenes and chromites in ALH84001 are similar in composition to these phases in EETA79001 lithology A megacrysts but are more homogeneous. Maskelynite is similar in composition to feldspars in the nakhlites and Chassigny. Two generations of carbonates are present, early (pre-shock) strongly zoned carbonates and late (post-shock) carbonates. The high Ca content of both types of carbonates indicates that they were formed at moderately high temperature, possibly ～700 °C. ALH84001 has a slightly LREE-depleted pattern with La 0.67x and Lu 1.85x CI abundances and with a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Sm 0.56x CI). The uniform pyroxene composition is unusual for martian meteorites, and suggests that ALH84001 cooled more slowly than did the shergottites, nakhlites or Chassigny. The nearly monomineralic composition, coarse-grain size, homogenous orthopyroxene and chromite compositions, the interstitial maskelynite and apatite, and the REE pattern suggest that ALH84001 is a cumulate orthopyroxenite containing minor trapped, intercumulus material.  相似文献   

3.
Abstract— A single orthopyroxene crystal from the Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 was studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) to retrieve information about its thermal history. Both sets of data were used to measure the Fe2+‐Mg order degree between the M1 and M2 sites expressed by the distribution coefficient kD. The 529 ± 30°C closure temperature (Tc) of the Fe2+‐Mg ordering process of ALH 84001 orthopyroxene (Fs28) was calculated using Stimpfl (2005a, 2005b) ln kD versus 1/T equation obtained for intermediate iron sample. At this Tc, the orthopyroxene cooling rate, calculated by Ganguly's (1982) numerical method, was 0.1 °C/day. This study puts new constraints on the last high‐temperature thermal episode recorded by orthopyroxene. With reference to the geological history (Treiman 1998), we ascribe this episode to the I3 event, and we interpret the Tc of 529 °C as a lower limit for this impact heating. Our data confirm that experimentally defined physical conditions for the formation of magnetite from decomposition of carbonates took place on the Martian surface during event I3.  相似文献   

4.
Abstract— Compositional and textural relationships of shock‐melted glasses in the Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 meteorite have been examined by optical microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and compositional mapping. The feldspathic and silica glasses exhibit features which constrain the relative timing of shock events and carbonate deposition in ALH 84001. The feldspathic glasses are stoichiometric and have compositions plausibly described as forming from igneous plagioclase (An27–39Ab58–68Or3–7) or sanidine (Or51Ab46An3), or from a mixture of these phases (mixed‐feldspar glasses). These observations argue against prior interpretations of feldspathic glasses as unflowed maskelynite, hydrothermal precipitates or alteration products, or shock melts that have undergone alkali volatilization. Carbonate was deposited around previously formed mixed‐feldspar glass clasts, suggesting that carbonate deposition occurred after the shock event that formed the granular bands (crushed zones) in this meteorite. SiO2‐rich glasses appear to be silica remobilized during shock, with little addition of other material. A petrogenetic history of ALH 84001 consistent with the observations of feldspathic and silica glasses is (1) igneous crystallization and cumulate formation; (2) a pre‐carbonate shock event that formed the granular bands (crushed zones) and sheared chromites, and melted igneous plagioclase and sanidine to form mixed‐feldspar glasses; (3) carbonate and silica deposition in the granular bands (veining of plagioclase glasses by SiO2 and deposition of carbonate around mixed‐feldspar and plagioclase glass clasts); (4) a post‐carbonate shock event that resulted in invasion of carbonate by feldspathic melts, shock faulting and decarbonation of carbonate, high‐temperature mobilization of silica melts, and minor dissolution of orthopyroxene by silica melts.  相似文献   

5.
Abstract— The carbonate mineralogy of several complex carbonate‐rich regions in Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 has been examined. These regions contain familiar forms of carbonate, as well as textural forms previously unreported including carbonate rosettes, planiform “slab” carbonates, distinct “post‐slab” magnesites, and carbonates interstitial to feldspathic glass and orthopyroxene. Slab carbonates reveal portions of the carbonate growth sequence not seen in the rosettes and suggest that initial nucleating compositions were calcite‐rich. The kinetically controlled growth of rosettes and slab carbonates was followed by an alteration event that formed the magnesite‐siderite layers on the exterior surfaces of the carbonate. Post‐slab magnesite, intimately associated with silica glass, is compositionally similar to the magnesite in these exterior layers but represents a later generation of carbonate growth. Feldspathic glasses had little or no thermal effect on carbonates, as indicated by the lack of thermal decomposition or any compositional changes associated with glass/carbonate contacts.  相似文献   

6.
Abstract— The martian meteorite, Allan Hills (ALH) 84001, contains D‐rich hydrogen of plausible martian origin (Leshin et al., 1996). The phase identity of the host(s) of this hydrogen are not well known and could include organic matter (McKay et al., 1996), phlogopite (Brearley, 2000), glass (Mittlefehldt, 1994) and/or other unidentified components of this rock. Previous ion microprobe studies indicate that much of the hydrogen in ALH 84001 as texturally associated with concretions of nominally anhydrous carbonates, glass and oxides (Boctor et al., 1998; Sugiura and Hoshino, 2000). We examined the physical and chemical properties of the host(s) of this hydrogen by stepped pyrolysis of variously pre‐treated subsamples. A continuous‐flow method of water reduction and mass spectrometry (Eiler and Kitchen, 2001) was used to permit detailed study of the small amounts of this hydrogen‐poor sample available for study. We find that the host(s) of D‐rich hydrogen released from ALH 84001 at relatively low temperatures (?500 °C) is soluble in orthophosphoric and dilute hydrochloric acids and undergoes near‐complete isotopic exchange with water within hours at temperatures of 200 to 300 °C. These characteristics are most consistent with the carrier phase(s) being a hydrous salt (e.g., carbonate, sulfate or halide); the thermal stability of this material is inconsistent with many examples of such minerals (e.g., gypsum) and instead suggests one or more relatively refractory hydrous carbonates (e.g., hydromagnesite). Hydrous salts (particularly hydrous carbonates) are common on the Earth only in evaporite, sabkha, and hydrocryogenic‐weathering environments; we suggest that much (if not all) of the “martian” hydrogen in ALH 84001 was introduced in analogous environments on or near the martian surface rather than through biological activity or hydrothermal alteration of silicates in the crust.  相似文献   

7.
Abstract— The abundances and isotopic compositions of N and Ar have been measured by stepped combustion of the Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) Martian orthopyroxenite. Material described as shocked is N-poor ([N] ～ 0.34 ppm; δ15N ～ +23%); although during stepped combustion, 15N-enriched N (δ15N ～ +143%) is released in a narrow temperature interval between 700 °C and 800 °C (along with 13C-enriched C (δ13C ～ +19%) and 40Ar). Cosmogenic species are found to be negligible at this temperature; thus, the iso-topically heavy component is identified, in part, as Martian atmospheric gas trapped relatively recently in the history of ALH 84001. The N and Ar data show that ALH 84001 contains species from the Martian lithosphere, a component interpreted as ancient trapped atmosphere (in addition to the modern atmospheric species), and excess 40Ar from K decay. Deconvolution of radiogenic 40Ar from other Ar components, on the basis of end-member 36Ar/14N and 40Ar/36Ar ratios, has enabled calculation of a K-Ar age for ALH 84001 as 3.5–4.6 Ga, depending on assumed K abundance. If the component believed to be Martian palaeoatmos-phere was introduced to ALH 84001 at the time the K-Ar age was set, then the composition of the atmosphere at this time is constrained to: δ15N ≥ +200%, 40Ar/36Ar ≤ 300 and 36Ar/14N ≥ 17 × 10?5. In terms of the petrogenetic history of the meteorite, ALH 84001 crystallised soon after differentiation of the planet, may have been shocked and thermally metamorphosed in an early period of bombardment, and then subjected to a second event. This later process did not reset the K-Ar system but perhaps was responsible for introducing (recent) atmospheric gases into ALH 84001; and it might mark the time at which ALH 84001 suffered fluid alteration resulting in the formation of the plagioclase and carbonate mineral assemblages.  相似文献   

8.
Abstract— Microstructures in the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite were studied using optical and electron microscopy, putting emphasis on shock effects, which are widespread. Some orthopyroxene exhibits only (100) slip, but more typical grains suffered extensive slip, microfracturing, and frequently contain (100) clino‐inversion lamellae. In fracture zones, shock deformation of orthopyroxene has produced all three effects in profusion, together with intergranular pockets of orthopyroxene glass and intragranular glass lamellae, which were apparently created by shearing on low index planes, usually (100) or {110}. Both types of plane are loci that pseudo‐planar fractures tend to follow. Thus, the glass lamellae, which have not been observed in other meteorites, probably formed by frictional heating during the sliding of microscale corrugated surfaces, one over another, leading to local melting. We infer that the orthopyroxene glass and the fracture zones both formed from shear stresses created by strong shock. Ubiquitous undeformed micrometer and submicrometer euhedral chromites in orthopyroxene and plagioclase glasses and carbonate probably crystallized after shock heating and fracture zone formation. Nanocrystals of eskolaite (Cr2O3) coating silica glass grains are probably also a result of shock‐induced thermal decomposition of chromite. Iron sulfides (pyrite and pyrrhotite were identified) tended to be associated with plagioclase glass. A carbonate disk showing no evidence for shock deformation had a substructure of elongated, slightly misoriented subcells in the exterior; interior regions had more eqiaxed subcells. Both microstructures probably formed during growth, but the conditions are undetermined. Chemical composition varied on a micron scale, but the rim of the disk was more ferroan; oxide precipitates and voids were widely distributed as in fracture‐filling carbonates. If the fracture zones and opx glass are the result of strong shock, as we deduce, it is very unlikely that pores could have filled by carbonate long after the fracture zones formed. We infer that the carbonate, like the phosphate, olivine, pyrrhotite, eskolaite, and many euhedral, submicrometer chromites, crystallized during the final stages of the impact that created the fracture zones and glasses with compositions of plagioclase, silica, and orthopyroxene.  相似文献   

9.
Abstract— The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) was considered to be a major sign of ancient biogenic activity on planet Mars (McKay et al. 1996). An asserted spatial association of PAHs with carbonates, carriers of so‐called nanofossils, was crucial for their suggested connection to early life forms. Although both observations can be explained individually without employing living organisms, a lateral correlation of PAHs and carbonates would suggest a genetic link between PAHs and the microstructures, favoring a biogenic explanation. On the other hand, without such a correlation, a biogenic or even a Martian origin of the PAHs cannot be inferred. Here we show that there is no correlation of PAHs and carbonates in ALH 84001. Furthermore, a general trend of high PAH concentrations at locations where terrestrial lead is present obviously suggests a terrestrial origin for PAHs in ALH 84001.  相似文献   

10.
Abstract— We have studied carbonate and associated oxides and glasses in a demountable section of Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) using optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to elucidate their origins and the shock history of the rock. Massive, fracture‐zone, and fracture‐filling carbonates in typical locations were characterized by TEM, X‐ray microanalysis, and electron diffraction in a comprehensive study that preserved textural and spatial relationships. Orthopyroxene is highly deformed, fractured, partially comminuted, and essentially unrecovered. Lamellae of diaplectic glass and other features indicate shock pressures >30 GPa. Bridging acicular crystals and foamy glass at contacts of orthopyroxene fragments indicate localized melting and vaporization of orthopyroxene. Carbonate crystals are >5 mm in size, untwinned, and very largely exhibit the R3c calcite structure. Evidence of plastic deformation is generally found mildly only in fracture‐zone and fracture‐filling carbonates, even adjacent to highly deformed orthopyroxene, and appears to have been caused by low‐stress effects including differential shrinkage. High dislocation densities like those observed in moderately shocked calcite are absent. Carbonate contains impactderived glasses of plagioclase, silica, and orthopyroxene composition indicating brief localized impact heating. Stringers and lenses of orthopyroxene glass in fracture‐filling carbonate imply flow of carbonates and crystallization during an impact. Periclase (MgO) occurs in magnesite as 30–50 nm crystals adjacent to voids and negative crystals and as ?1 μm patches of 3 nm crystals showing weak preferred orientation consistent with (111)MgO//(0001)carb, as observed in the thermal decomposition of CaCO3 to CaO. Magnetite crystals that are epitaxially oriented at voids, negative crystals, and microfractures clearly formed in situ. Fully embedded, faceted magnetites are topotactically oriented, in general with (111)mag//(0001)carb, so that their oxygen layers are aligned. In optically opaque rims, magnetites are more irregularly shaped and, except for the smallest crystals, poorly aligned. All magnetite and periclase crystals probably formed by exsolution from slightly non‐stoichiometric, CO2‐poor carbonate following impact‐induced thermal decomposition. Any magnetites that existed in the rock before shock heating could not have preserved evidence for biogenic activity.  相似文献   

11.
Abstract— Crystallographic relationships between magnetite, sulfides, and carbonate rosettes in fracture zones of the Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 Martian meteorite have been studied using analytical electron microscopy. We have focused on those magnetite grains whose growth mechanisms can be rigorously established from their crystallographic properties. Individual magnetite nanocrystals on the surfaces of carbonates are epitaxially intergrown with one another in “stacks” of single-domain crystals. Other magnetite nanocrystals are epitaxially intergrown with the surfaces of the carbonate substrates. The observed magnetite/carbonate (hkl) Miller indices orientation relationships are (?, ?, 3)m ‖ (1, ?, 0)c and (1, ?, 1)m ‖ (0,0, 3)c with lattice mismatches of ～13% and ～11%, respectively. Epitaxy is a common mode of vapor-phase growth of refractory oxides like magnetite, as is the spiral growth about axial screw dislocations previously observed in other magnetite nanocrystals in ALH 84001. Epitaxy rules out intracellular precipitation of these magnetites by (Martian) organisms, provides further evidence of the high-temperature (>120 °C) inorganic origins of magnetite in ALH 84001, and indicates that the carbonates also have been exposed to elevated temperatures.  相似文献   

12.
Clay minerals, although ubiquitous on the ancient terrains of Mars, have not been observed in Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001, which is an orthopyroxenite sample of the early Martian crust with a secondary carbonate assemblage. We used a low‐temperature (20 °C) one‐dimensional (1‐D) transport thermochemical model to investigate the possible aqueous alteration processes that produced the carbonate assemblage of ALH 84001 while avoiding the coprecipitation of clay minerals. We found that the carbonate in ALH 84001 could have been produced in a process, whereby a low‐temperature (~20 °C) fluid, initially equilibrated with the early Martian atmosphere, moved through surficial clay mineral and silica‐rich layers, percolated through the parent rock of the meteorite, and precipitated carbonates (thereby decreasing the partial pressure of CO2) as it evaporated. This finding requires that before encountering the unweathered orthopyroxenite host of ALH 84001, the fluid permeated rock that became weathered during the process. We were able to predict the composition of the clay minerals formed during weathering, which included the dioctahedral smectite nontronite, kaolinite, and chlorite, all of which have been previously detected on Mars. We also calculated host rock replacement in local equilibrium conditions by the hydrated silicate talc, which is typically considered to be a higher temperature hydrothermal phase on Earth, but may have been a common constituent in the formation of Martian soils through pervasive aqueous alteration. Finally, goethite and magnetite were also found to precipitate in the secondary alteration assemblage, the latter associated with the generation of H2. Apparently, despite the limited water–rock interaction that must have led to the formation of the carbonates ~ 3.9 Ga ago, in the vicinity of the ALH 84001 source rocks, clay formation would have been widespread.  相似文献   

13.
Abstract— Carbonates in Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 occur as grains on pyroxene grain boundaries, in crushed zones, and as disks, veins, and irregularly shaped grains in healed pyroxene fractures. Some carbonate disks have tapered Mg-rich edges and are accompanied by smaller, thinner and relatively homogeneous, magnesite microdisks. Except for the microdisks, all types of carbonate grains show the same unique chemical zoning pattern on MgCO3-FeCO3-CaCO3 plots. This chemical characteristic and the close spatial association of diverse carbonate types show that all carbonates formed by a similar process. The heterogeneous distribution of carbonates in fractures, tapered shapes of some disks, and the localized occurrence of Mg-rich microdisks appear to be incompatible with growth from an externally derived CO2-rich fluid that changed in composition over time. These features suggest instead that the fractures were closed as carbonates grew from an internally derived fluid and that the microdisks formed from a residual Mg-rich fluid that was squeezed along fractures. Carbonate in pyroxene fractures is most abundant near grains of plagioclase glass that are located on pyroxene grain boundaries and commonly contain major or minor amounts of carbonate. We infer that carbonates in fractures formed from grain boundary carbonates associated with plagioclase that were melted by impact and dispersed into the surrounding fractured pyroxene. Carbonates in fractures, which include those studied by McKay et al. (1996), could not have formed at low temperatures and preserved mineralogical evidence for Martian organisms.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract— We report a comprehensive imaging study including confocal microRaman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and 3‐D extended focal imaging light microscopy of carbonate globules throughout a depth profile of the Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 and similar objects in mantle peridotite xenoliths from the Bockfjorden volcanic complex (BVC), Svalbard. Carbonate and iron oxide zoning in ALH 84001 is similar to that seen in BVC globules. Hematite appears to be present in all ALH 84001 carbonate‐bearing assemblages except within a magnesite outer rim found in some globules. Macromolecular carbon (MMC) was found in intimate association with magnetite in both ALH 84001 and BVC carbonates. The MMC synthesis mechanism appears similar to established reactions within the Fe‐C‐O system. By inference to a terrestrial analogue of mantle origin (BVC), these results appear to represent the first measurements of the products of an abiotic MMC synthesis mechanism in Martian samples. Furthermore, the ubiquitous but heterogeneous distribution of hematite throughout carbonate globules in ALH 84001 may be partly responsible for some of the wide range in measured oxygen isotopes reported in previous studies. Using BVC carbonates as a suitable analogue, we postulate that a low temperature hydrothermal model of ALH 84001 globule formation is most likely, although alteration (decarbonation) of a subset of globules possibly occurred during a later impact event.  相似文献   

15.
Abstract— Rare earth element (REE) and other selected trace and minor element concentrations were measured in individual grains of orthopyroxene, feldspathic glass (of plagioclase composition) and merrillite of the ALH 84001 Martian meteorite. Unlike in other Martian meteorites, phosphate is not the main REE carrier in ALH 84001. The REE pattern of ALH 84001 bulk rock is dependent on the modal abundances of three REE-bearing phases, namely, orthopyroxene, which contains most of the heavy rare earth elements (HREEs); feldspathic glass, which dominates the Eu abundances; and merrillite, which contains the majority of the light rare earth elements (LREEs). Variations in the REE abundances previously observed in different splits of ALH 84001 can easily be explained in terms of small variations in the modal abundances of these three minerals without the need to invoke extensive redistribution of LREEs. At least some orthopyroxenes (i.e., those away from contacts with feldspathic glass) in ALH 84001 appear to have preserved their original REE zonation from igneous fractionation. An estimate of the ALH 84001 parent magma composition from that of the unaltered orthopyroxene “core” (i.e., zoned orthopyroxene with the lowest REE abundances) indicates that it is LREE depleted. This implies that the Martian mantle was already partly depleted within ～100 Ma of solar system formation, which is consistent with rapid accretion and differentiation of Mars. Although equilibration and exchange of REEs between phases (in particular, transport of LREEs into the interstitial phases, feldspathic glass and merrillite) cannot be ruled out, our data suggest that the LREE enrichment in melts “in equilibrium” with these interstitial phases is most likely the result of late-stage infiltration of the cumulate pile by a LREE-enriched melt.  相似文献   

16.
Abstract— The geologic history of Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 is more complex than previously recognized, with evidence for four or five crater-forming impacts onto Mars. This history of repeated deformation and shock metamorphism appears to weaken some arguments that have been offered for and against the hypothesis of ancient Martian life in ALH 84001. Allan Hills 84001 formed originally from basaltic magma. Its first impact event (I1) is inferred from the deformation (D1) that produced the granular-textured bands (“crush zones”) that transect the original igneous fabric. Deformation D1 is characterized by intense shear and may represent excavation or rebound flow of rock beneath a large impact crater. An intense thermal metamorphism followed D1 and may be related to it. The next impact (I2) produced fractures, (Fr2) in which carbonate “pancakes” were deposited and produced feldspathic glass from some of the igneous feldspars and silica. After I2, carbonate pancakes and globules were deposited in Fr2 fractures and replaced feldspathic glass and possibly crystalline silicates. Next, feldspars, feldspathic glass, and possibly some carbonates were mobilized and melted in the third impact (I3). Microfaulting, intense fracturing, and shear are also associated with I3. In the fourth impact (I4), the rock was fractured and deformed without significant heating, which permitted remnant magnetization directions to vary across fracture surfaces. Finally, ALH 84001 was ejected from Mars in event I5, which could be identical to I4. This history of multiple impacts is consistent with the photogeology of the Martian highlands and may help resolve some apparent contradictions among recent results on ALH 84001. For example, the submicron rounded magnetite grains in the carbonate globules could be contemporaneous with carbonate deposition, whereas the elongate magnetite grains, epitaxial on carbonates, could be ascribed to vapor-phase deposition during I3.  相似文献   

17.
Abstract— We have measured the 13C/12C and 14C/12C ratios in CO2 released by acid etching of the carbonate-bearing SNC meteorites Allan Hills 84001 and Nakhla. Most of the C released is strongly enriched in 13C. In 10 out of 12 samples, 15‰ <δ13C < 55‰. Terrestrial values of carbonateδ13C from weathering products are generally between ?10 and +10‰. Two leachate samples especially rich in 13C, ALH 84001,27 and Nakhla 25, have elemental Si/Mg ratios much lower than those of the bulk meteorites and 14C activities that are much lower than the values expected for terrestrial carbonates. The former observation indicates that these leachates consist primarily of carbonates and, less likely, phosphates. The latter observation implies that heavy C was introduced not by terrestrial weathering but by extraterrestrial processes. For ALH 84001,121 (sample 27) and Nakhla (BM 1913,26) δ13C = +41‰ and +35‰, respectively. The measured 18O/16O ratios in the leaches are similar: δ18O ～ 15 ± 5‰, contrasting with 4.2‰ in the bulk silicates. We infer that the C in the carbonates retains an extraterrestrial isotopic signature, but probably not O, due to its ease of isotopic exchange (Cole and Ohmoto, 1986).  相似文献   

18.
Abstract— The lherzolitic Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 1950 consists of two distinct zones: 1) low‐Ca pyroxene poikilically enclosing cumulate olivine (Fo70–75) and chromite, and 2) areas interstitial to the oikocrysts comprised of maskelynite, low‐ and high‐Ca pyroxene, cumulate olivine (Fo68–71) and chromite. Shock metamorphic effects, most likely associated with ejection from the Martian subsurface by large‐scale impact, include mechanical deformation of host rock olivine and pyroxene, transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite, and localized melting (pockets and veins). These shock effects indicate that NWA 1950 experienced an equilibration shock pressure of 35–45 GPa. Large (millimeter‐size) melt pockets have crystallized magnesian olivine (Fo78–87) and chromite, embedded in an Fe‐rich, Al‐poor basaltic to picro‐basaltic glass. Within the melt pockets strong thermal gradients (minimum 1 °C/μm) existed at the onset of crystallization, giving rise to a heterogeneous distribution of nucleation sites, resulting in gradational textures of olivine and chromite. Dendritic and skeletal olivine, crystallized in the melt pocket center, has a nucleation density (1.0 × 103 crystals/mm2) that is two orders of magnitude lower than olivine euhedra near the melt margin (1.6 × 105 crystals/mm2). Based on petrography and minor element abundances, melt pocket formation occurred by in situ melting of host rock constituents by shock, as opposed to melt injected into the lherzolitic target. Despite a common origin, NWA 1950 is shocked to a lesser extent compared to Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 (45–55 GPa). Assuming ejection in a single shock event by spallation, this places NWA 1950 near to ALH 77005, but at a shallower depth within the Martian subsurface. Extensive shock melt networks, the interconnectivity between melt pockets, and the ubiquitous presence of highly vesiculated plagioclase glass in ALH 77005 suggests that this meteorite may be transitional between discreet shock melting and bulk rock melting.  相似文献   

19.
Abstract— One of the five lines of evidence used by McKay et al. (1996) for relic life in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 was the presence of objects thought to be microfossils. These ovoid and elongated forms are similar to structures found in terrestrial rocks and described as “nanobacteria” (Folk, 1993; McBride et al, 1994). Using the same procedures and apparatus as McKay et al. (1996), we have found structures on internal fracture surfaces of lunar meteorites that cannot be distinguished from the objects described on similar surfaces in ALH 84001. The lunar surface is currently a sterile environment and probably always has been. However, the lunar and Martian meteorites share a common terrestrial history, which includes many thousands of years of exposure to Antarctic weathering. Although we do not know the origin of these ovoid and elongated forms, we suggest that their presence on lunar meteorites indicates that the objects described by McKay et al. (1996) are not of Martian biological origin.  相似文献   

20.
Abstract— Hydrogen‐isotopic compositions of carbonate and maskelynite in Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). the δd values of both minerals show considerable deviation. The deviation seems to be caused by addition of varying amounts of terrestrial water in the case of carbonate. In the case of maskelynite, H is heterogeneously distributed and the deviation in δD values seems to be due to mixing of this indigenous heavy H with isotopically normal H present in the SIMS chamber. The indigenous δD value in ALH 84001 seems to be ～2000%‰. Carbonate rather than maskelynite seems to be the main carrier of H in ALH 84001. Because ALH 84001 is ～4 Ga old, the H‐isotopic composition suggests that a large fraction of the initial martian atmosphere had already escaped by 4 Ga.  相似文献   

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