Origin of Halogens and Nitrogen in Enstatite Chondrites |
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| Authors: | Alan E Rubin Byeon-Gak Choi |
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| Institution: | (1) Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, USA;(2) Department of Earth Science Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-748, Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | The EH and EL enstatite chondrites are the most reduced chondrite groups, having formed in nebular regions where the gas may
have had high C/O and/or pH2/pH2O ratios. Enstatite chondrites (particularly EH) have higher CI- and Mg-normalized abundances of halogens (especially F and
Cl) and nitrogen than ordinary chondrites and most groups of carbonaceous chondrites. Even relative to CI chondrites, EH and
EL chondrites are enriched in F. We have found that literature values for the halogen abundance ratios in EH and EL chondrites
are strongly correlated with the electronegativities of the individual halogens. We suggest that the most reactive halogens
were the most efficient at forming compounds (e.g., halides) that were incorporated into EH-chondrite precursor materials.
It seems plausible that, under the more-oxidizing conditions pertaining to the other chondrite groups, a larger fraction of
the halogens remained in the gas. Nitrogen may have been incorporated into the enstatite chondrites as simple nitrides that
did not condense under the more-oxidizing conditions in the regions where other chondrite groups formed. Literature data show
that unequilibrated enstatite chondrites have light bulk N (δ 15N ≈ −20‰) compared to most ordinary (−5 to +20‰) and carbonaceous (+20 to +190‰) chondrites; this may reflect the contribution
in enstatite chondrites of nitride condensates with δ15 N values close to the proposed nebular mean (~−400‰). In contrast, N in carbonaceous chondrites is mainly contained within
15N-rich organic matter. The major carrier of N in ordinary chondrites is unknown. |
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| Keywords: | Chondrites Enstatite chondrites Halogens Nitrogen Electronegativity |
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