地外有机化合物

球粒陨石中的有机化合物起源于星际介质,是构成太阳星云的初始组分,并与其他物质一起吸积形成小行星和行星。在小行星内,有机质经历了不同程度的水蚀变和热变质作用。球粒陨石中的有机化合物尽管是非生命成因,但组成极为复杂,主要是类似于干酪根的大分子物质,以及少量可溶性有机物。大部分可溶有机分子也发现于地球生物圈,但前者可具有完全不同的H、C、N等同位素组成,这也是它们来源于地球之外的重要证据。星云中宇宙线和紫外线（UV）的辐射、小行星的热变质和水蚀变,是地外有机质演化的主要过程。球粒陨石中的有机质是地球生命起源的物质基础,是生命起源不可或缺的重要环节。同样重要的是,大量的火星探测表明,火星历史上有过满足生命存在的基本条件,而在火星陨石中还发现了一些生物活动相关的线索。未来很可能首先在火星上发现地外生命存在的证据。     

太阳星云凝聚过程的岩石学模型：（Ⅱ）非球陨石、C1陨石及类C1陨石的凝聚成因和小行星区星云凝聚作用

综述了非球陨石（铁陨石，石铁陨石和无球粒陨石）在成分结构方面的非分异成因证据，推断其成因是：星云盘中心层中的星云发生气－液凝聚作用形成的熔滴，在较高温度下彼此合并形成了较大熔体，熔体固化后形成该类陨石母体。根据Ｃ１陨石不含球粒和其它成分特征，推断它们是星云只发生气－固凝聚作用的产物。对近年来新发现的一些特殊成分的碳质球粒陨石进行了综合分析，暂定名为类Ｃ１陨石。通过类Ｃ１陨石与其它球粒陨石及Ｃ１陨石成分结构特征的对比，推断它们是星云盘边缘层星云发生气－液－固和气－固联合凝聚作用，同时发生水化作用的产物。最后，在对所有陨石凝聚成因进行解释的基础上，建立了小行星区星云凝聚模型。     

太阳系形成及演化研究方法

通过对陨石的研究,说明太阳系的形成与演化历史,包括太阳星云的凝聚过程、高温加热熔融事件和低温蚀变过程,陨石母体的热变质作用、熔融分异作用以及冲击变质作用等。对太阳星云的化学组成和同位素组成不均一性、前太阳物质的存在及其意义、太阳系形成和演化的同位素绝对年龄、间隔年龄以及宇宙射线暴露年龄等进行了讨论。结合太阳系形成和演化的研究,特别对电子探针、离子探针、透射电子显微镜以及拉曼光谱等微束分析技术在该领域的应用和相关问题进行了讨论。     

Enstatite achondrite meteorites (aubrites) and the histories of their asteroidal parent bodies

The aubrites are nearly monomineralic enstatite pyroxenites, consisting mostly of nearly FeO-free enstatite, with minor albitic plagioclase, nearly FeO-free diopside and forsterite, metallic Fe,Ni, troilite, and a host of rare accessory minerals, many unknown from Earth, that formed under highly reducing conditions. As a result, many of the normally lithophile elements such as Ti, Cr, Mn, Na, etc. behave partly as chalcophiles (i.e., occur in sulfides), and Si is partly siderophile and occurs in metallic Fe,Ni. Aubrites must therefore have formed in a very unique part of the solar nebula, possibly within 1 AU of the Sun. While of the 27 aubrites, 15 are fragmental breccias, 6 are regolith breccias, and 6 are described as non-brecciated, their ingredients are clearly of igneous origin and formed by melting and fractional crystallization, possibly of a magma ocean. This is indicated by the occurrence of a variety of lithic clasts of igneous origin, and by the REE and other trace element distributions. Their highly reduced nature and their oxygen isotopic compositions suggest close kinship to the enstatite chondrites. However, they did not form from known EH or EL chondrites on their parent bodies. Rather, they formed from enstatite chondrite-like material on at least two separate parent bodies, the Shallowater parent body and, for all other aubrites, on the aubrite parent body. Visible and near-infrared reflectance spetra of asteroids suggest that the aubrite parent bodies may be asteroids of the E-type and perhaps the E(II) sub-class, such as 3103 Eger and 2867 Steins (the target of the Rosetta Mission). If aubrites formed by the melting and fractional crystallization of enstatite chondrite-like parent lithologies, which should have contained ～10 vol% plagioclase, then meteorites of enstatite-plagioclase basaltic composition should exist, which is not the case. These early basaltic melts may have been removed from the aubrite parent body by explosive pyroclastic volcanism, and these small pyroclasts would have been destroyed in space long ago. Age dates suggest that the aubrites formed very early in the history of the solar system, within a few Ma of CAI formation, and that the heat sources for heating and melting of their parent bodies were, most likely, short-lived radionuclides such as ²⁶Al and, perhaps, ⁶⁰Fe. Finally, attention has been drawn to the surface composition of Mercury of low bulk FeO and of nearly FeO-free enstatite, perhaps with plagioclase, diopside and sulfide. While known aubrites clearly did not originate from Mercury, recent calculations suggest that several percent of high-speed ejecta from Mercury reach Earth. This is only factors of 2–3 less than typical launches from Mars and, since there are now 53 Martian meteorites in our collections, meteoriticists should be alert to the potential discovery of a genuine meteorite from Mercury which, superficially, should resemble aubrites. However, recent results from the Neutron Spectrometer of the Messenger Flyby of Mercury have been interpreted to suggest that the planet’s surface may, in fact, contain abundant Fe–Ti-oxides and, if true, a meteorite from Mercury should not resemble any currently known meteorite type.     

Multiple parent bodies of polymict brecciated meteorites

In three brecciated meteorites, Bencubbin, Cumberland Falls and Plainview, the oxygen isotopic compositions of different rock types within each meteorite were determined to seek genetic relationships between them. In all cases the isotopic compositions are not consistent with derivation from a single parent body. There is no evidence that chondrites and achondrites could be derived from a common parent body. The chondritic inclusions in Bencubbin and Cumberland Falls cannot be identified with any of the ordinary chondritic meteorites. The carbonaceous chondritic fragments in Bencubbin are smilar to, but not identical with, C2 meteorites. The achondritic portion of Bencubbin has a very unusual isotopic composition, which, along with its close relative Weatherford, sets it in a class distinctly apart from other achondrites. Lithic fragments in brecciated meteorites provide a wider range of rock types than is represented by known macroscopic meteorites. Collisions between some meteorite parent bodies were of sufficiently low velocity that fragments of both are preserved in breccias.     

火星生命研究的进展与前景

关于火星是否存在或曾经存在生命的争论由来已久。有人以ALH84001火星陨石新鲜破裂面上的大量碳酸盐小球体和多环芳香烃（PAHs）为主要依据，推论火星至少在13～36亿 aBP前很可能有生命形态存在。然而，很多人认为ALH84001陨石的各种特性可以是非生物成因的。由于地球上的生物在超过115℃的温度下很难存活（火星可与之类比），争论的焦点逐渐集中在碳酸盐球体的形成温度上。也有研究者关注该陨石上有机物质的来源问题。对ALH84001陨石的综合学科研究提出了互相矛盾的证据。综述了自1996年以来在国外各种主要期刊上发表的关于 ALH84001陨石与火星生命的研究成果（也包括了一些对其他火星陨石的研究），认为目前尚不能断言火星生命存在与否。对火星继续深入探索以获取进一步的证据是十分必要的。以美国国家航空和宇航局（NASA）Odys sey宇宙飞船起始的火星探测计划将引发新一轮火星生命研究的热潮。     

Astropedology: palaeosols and the origins of life

Palaeosols are ancient soils formed in sedimentary successions between events of sedimentation, erosion and volcanic activity. Soil formation is regulated by circumstances of climate, vegetation, topographic relief, parent material and time. These factors are quantified by nomopedology, in the form of climofunctions, chronofunctions and other relationships useful for interpreting conditions of the past from palaeosols. In deep time, palaeosols reveal the timing and extent of the Great Oxidation Event of 2.4 Ga. There is also circumstantial evidence for life in palaeosols back to 3.5 Ga on Earth and 3.7 Ga on Mars. These are the oldest known intact profiles, but pieces of palaeosols some 4.56 Ga in age may be represented by carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Astropedology is the study of very ancient palaeosols and meteorites relevant to the origin of life and different planetary soil systems. Complex chemical assembly, metal catalysis of organic compounds, and the course of hydrolytic reactions as a kind of planetary metabolism make soils an attractive theoretical site for the origin of life. Because dilute solutions tend to an equilibrium that undoes organosynthetic reactions, life is more likely to have arisen on a soil planet like Mars than a water planet like Earth.     

Parentage Identification of Differentiated Achondritic Meteorites by Hand‐held Energy Dispersive X‐Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

We evaluate the potential of a hand‐held energy dispersive XRF spectrometer for the preliminary classification of non‐chondritic differentiated meteorites. The studied achondrites include nine lunar meteorites, seventeen Martian meteorites, five angrites and eighteen meteorites from asteroid 4 Vesta. Analytical precision and accuracy was tested on thirty‐nine terrestrial igneous rock slabs with a wide range of composition. Replicate analyses, performed on the studied meteorites, show that Fe/Mn values together with Si and Ca/K ratio can be used in the discrimination of different achondrite groups. Fusion crust's Fe/Mn values of meteorites from Vesta and Mars are indistinguishable from those of the interior implying that even measurements on the fusion‐crusted external surface could be sufficient to pigeonhole non‐chondritic meteorites. Hand‐held energy dispersive XRF spectrometer is a non‐destructive but very effective technique for preliminary classification of achondrites in the field and in laboratory and for the identification of mislabelled meteorites in museum collections.     

吉林省南部宇宙尘的化学组成特征

在吉林省南部元古宇石英岩内发现磁性微球粒３９２枚,根据其产状,形貌及一般特征,微结构和化学组成表明为陨石消融型宇宙尘,由４亚４小类组成一个宇宙尘系列,（１）金属球粒;（２）纯铁球粒,（ｂ）ＦＣＮ型（天然不锈钢）球粒;（２）氧化物球粒（ａ）普通铁质宇宙尘（ｂ）铬铁氧化物球粒;（３）玻璃质球粒;（４）氧化物－金属过渡型球粒,其母体要能是一分异的ＦＣＮ型石－铁陨石质陨星体,核部为ＦＣＮ合金,经消融分异作     

Early core formation in asteroids and late accretion of chondrite parent bodies: Evidence from Hf-W in CAIs, metal-rich chondrites, and iron meteorites

The ¹⁸²Hf-¹⁸²W isotopic systematics of Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), metal-rich chondrites, and iron meteorites were investigated to constrain the relative timing of accretion of their parent asteroids. A regression of the Hf-W data for two bulk CAIs, various fragments of a single CAI, and carbonaceous chondrites constrains the ¹⁸²Hf/¹⁸⁰Hf and ε_W at the time of CAI formation to (1.07 ± 0.10) × 10⁻⁴ and −3.47 ± 0.20, respectively. All magmatic iron meteorites examined here have initial ε_W values that are similar to or slightly lower than the initial value of CAIs. These low ε_W values may in part reflect ¹⁸²W-burnout caused by the prolonged cosmic ray exposure of iron meteorites, but this effect is estimated to be less than ∼0.3 ε units for an exposure age of 600 Ma. The W isotope data, after correction for cosmic ray induced effects, indicate that core formation in the parent asteroids of the magmatic iron meteorites occurred less than ∼1.5 Myr after formation of CAIs. The nonmagmatic IAB-IIICD irons and the metal-rich CB chondrites have more radiogenic W isotope compositions, indicating formation several Myr after the oldest metal cores had segregated in some asteroids.Chondrule formation ∼2-5 Myr after CAIs, as constrained by published Pb-Pb and Al-Mg ages, postdates core formation in planetesimals, and indicates that chondrites do not represent the precursor material from which asteroids accreted and then differentiated. Chondrites instead derive from asteroids that accreted late, either farther from the Sun than the parent bodies of magmatic iron meteorites or by reaccretion of debris produced during collisional disruption of older asteroids. Alternatively, chondrites may represent material from the outermost layers of differentiated asteroids. The early thermal and chemical evolution of asteroids appears to be controlled by the decay of ²⁶Al, which was sufficiently abundant (initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al >1.4 × 10⁻⁵) to rapidly melt early-formed planetesimals but could not raise the temperatures in the late-formed chondrite parent asteroids high enough to cause differentiation. The preservation of the primitive appearance of chondrites thus at least partially reflects their late formation rather than their early and primitive origin.     

根据40Ar/39Ar年龄谱探讨陨石冲击事件的分期

⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar年龄谱是研究陨石冲击事件的重要资料。根据对55块陨石⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar冲击年龄和陨石暴露年龄的分析,发现陨石的冲击年龄与陨石类型之间存在对应关系。据此,将陨石冲击事件划分为九期。其中3900-4000Ma、470-540Ma和小于65Ma是陨石母体的三个重要演化阶段。阶段Ⅰ、Ⅱ和Ⅲ(冲击年龄大于30亿年)主要涉及高钙型无球粒陨石。所有球粒陨石的冲击年龄均小于30亿年。陨石暴露年龄因类型而异,铁陨石最大,石铁陨石次之,石陨石最小。     

Planet formation processes revealed by meteorites

The history of the solar system is locked within the planets, asteroids and other objects that orbit the Sun. While remote observations of these celestial bodies are essential for understanding planetary processes, much of the geological and geochemical information regarding solar system heritage comes directly from the study of rocks and other materials originating from them. The diversity of materials available for study from planetary bodies largely comes from meteorites; fragments of rock that fall through Earth's atmosphere after impact‐extraction from their parent planet or asteroid. These extra‐terrestrial objects are fundamental scientific materials, providing information on past conditions within planets, and on their surfaces, and revealing the timing of key events that affected a planet's evolution. Meteorites can be sub‐divided into four main groups: (1) chondrites, which are unmelted and variably metamorphosed ‘cosmic sediments’ composed of particles that made up the early solar nebula; (2) achondrites, which represent predominantly silicate materials from asteroids and planets that have partially to fully melted, from a broadly chondritic initial composition; (3) iron meteorites, which represent Fe‐Ni samples from the cores of asteroids and planetesimals; and (4) stony‐iron meteorites such as pallasites and mesosiderites, which are mixtures of metal and dominantly basaltic materials. Meteorite studies are rapidly expanding our understanding of how the solar system formed and when and how key events such as planetary accretion and differentiation occurred. Together with a burgeoning collection of classified meteorites, these scientific advances herald an unprecedented period of further scientific challenges and discoveries, an exciting prospect for understanding our origins.     

Origin of fossil meteorites from Ordovician limestone in Sweden

Based on the analysis of data in [1, 2] on the concentrations of noble gases and the cosmic ray exposure age (CREA) of chromite grains in fossil meteorites, it was demonstrated in [3] that the distributions of gas concentrations and cosmic ray exposure ages can be explained under the assumption of the fall of a single meteorite in the form of a meteorite shower in southern Sweden less than 0.2 Ma after the catastrophic destruction of the parental body (asteroid) of L chondrites in space at approximately 470 Ma. This assumption differs from the conclusion in [1, 2, 4] about the long-lasting (for 1–2 Ma) delivery of L chondrites to the Earth, with the intensity of the flux of this material one to two orders of magnitude greater than now. The analysis of newly obtained data on samples from the Brunflo fossil meteorite [5] corroborates the hypothesis of a meteorite shower produced by the fall of a single meteorite. The possible reason for the detected correlations between the cosmic ray exposure ages of meteorites and the masses of the samples with the ²⁰Ne concentrations can be the occurrence of Ne of anomalous isotopic composition in the meteorites.     

Petrographic criteria for fluid mobility of graphitic carbon in terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples

Graphitic carbon is a widespread precipitate in terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples. However it has a range of possible origins, which can be difficult to distinguish, including the in situ alteration of organic matter, thermal alteration of hydrocarbons, and precipitation from C–O–H fluids. Petrographic characteristics help to understand the origin of the graphite, including relationships with rock fabric, paragenetic sequences and evidence for fluid mobility. Characterization of a range of terrestrial samples will allow better interpretation of the petrography of carbon in extraterrestrial samples. In particular, improved petrographic data from carbonaceous chondrites and ureilite meteorites should help to distinguish the origin of carbon in their parent bodies.     

The role of S in the evolution of the parental cores of the iron meteorites

Most iron meteorites presumably formed from the cores of parent bodies having more or less chondritic bulk compositions. Consideration of the behavior of S during condensation and core formation indicates that these cores, at least in the case of groups having high or moderate volatile contents (IIAB, IIIAB), contained a substantial amount of S. When elemental fractionations observed in these iron meteorite groups are compared to model calculations of fractional crystallization it becomes evident that at least the IIAB parent melt, and very likely the IIIAB parent melt as well, did not contain the full S complement of the parent body. We consider three possible scenarios to account for the S depletion: (1) Outgassing of S during parent body differentiation; this was probably only possible if the parent body contained organic material, which is improbable for IIIAB. (2) Liquid immiscibility. Our fractional crystallization model would predict curved log Xvs. log Ni relationships in this case, which for many elements are not observed. (3) Formation of metastable liquid layers by episodic melting during core formation. This is based on the fact that the difference in melting temperature between a FeFeS eutectic and FeNi metals is ～500 K. Two melting episodes would tend to form distinct liquid layers that maintain their identities over the crystallization lifetime of the core.Solidification of the cores parental to the main iron meteorite groups should also produce a significant number of sulfide meteorites. The scarcity of sulfide-rich meteorites can be attributed to their lower mechanical resistance to space attrition, higher ablation during atmospheric passage, and faster weathering on earth.     

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy applications to meteorites: Chemical analysis and composition profiles

A fast procedure for chemical analysis of different meteorites is presented, based on LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy). The technique is applied to several test cases (Dhofar 019, Dhofar 461, Sahara 98222, Toluca, Sikhote Alin and Campo del Cielo) and can be useful for rapid meteorite identification providing geologists with specific chemical information for meteorite classification. Concentration profiles of Fe, Ni and Co are simultaneously detected across the Widmanstätten structure of the iron meteorite Toluca with a view to determining cooling rates. The LIBS analysis of meteorites is also used as a laboratory test for analogous studies on the respective parent bodies (Mars, asteroids) in space exploration missions where one clear advantage of the proposed technique is that no direct contact with the sample is required.     

Re-Os同位素体系在陨石研究中的应用

铁陨石中的Re ,Os含量反映其结晶分异历史。通过铁陨石定年修正187Re的衰变常数为 :λ(187Re) =1 6 6 6× 10 -11a-1。ReOs同位素测年法可以直接用于对铁陨石的定年 ,结果表明天然铁陨石大体同时形成 ,但ReOs定年技术已有可能揭示不同化学群铁陨石形成年代的序列 ,但研究尚需深入。这些方法也可以用来探讨铁陨石和石铁陨石的形成源区、冷却历史和后期变化。虽然在石陨石中Re ,Os同位素的浓度很低 ,但也有了探索性研究成果。随着技术的不断发展 ,ReOs同位素体系在天体化学中的作用将愈加明显和重要。     

Apatite as a probe of halogen and water fugacities in the terrestrial planets

Apatite preserves a record of the halogen and water fugacities that existed during the waning stages of crystallization of planetary magmas, when they became saturated in phosphates. We develop a thermodynamic formalism based on apatite-merrillite equilibria that makes it possible to compare the relative values of halogen and water fugacities in Martian, lunar and terrestrial basalts, accounting for possible differences in pressure, temperature and oxygen fugacities among the planets. We show that each of these planetary bodies has distinctive ratios among volatile fugacities at apatite saturation and that these fugacities are in some cases related in a consistent way to volatile fugacities in the mantle magma sources. Our analysis shows that the Martian mantle parental to basaltic SNC meteorites was dry and poor in both fluorine and chlorine compared to the terrestrial mantle. The limited data available from Mars show no secular variation in mantle halogen and water fugacities from ∼4 Ga to ∼180 Ma. The water and halogens found in present-day Martian surface rocks have thus resided in the planet’s surficial systems since at least 4 Ga, and may have been degassed from the planet’s interior during a primordial crust-forming event. In comparison to the Earth and Mars, the Moon, and possibly the eucrite parent body too, appear to be strongly depleted not only in H₂O but also in Cl₂ relative to H₂O. Chlorine depletion is strongest in mare basalts, perhaps reflecting an eruptive process characteristic of large-scale lunar magmatism.     

History and origin of aubrites

The cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages of aubrites are among the longest of stone meteorites. New aubrites have been recovered in Antarctica, and these meteorites permit a substantial extension of the database on CRE ages, compositional characteristics, and regolith histories. We report He, Ne, and Ar isotopic abundances of nine aubrites and discuss the compositional data, the CRE ages, and regolith histories of this class of achondrites. A Ne three-isotope correlation reveals a solar-type ratio of ²⁰Ne/²²Ne = 12.1, which is distinct from the present solar wind composition and lower than most ratios observed on the lunar surface. For some aubrites, the cosmic ray-produced noble gas abundances include components produced on the surface of the parent object. The Kr isotopic systematics reveal significant neutron-capture-produced excesses in four aubrites, which is consistent with Sm and Gd isotopic anomalies previously documented in some aubrites. The nominal CRE ages confirm a non-uniform distribution of exposure times, but the evidence for a CRE age cluster appears doubtful. Six meteorites are regolith breccias with solar-type noble gases, and the observed neutron effects indicate a regolith history. ALH aubrites, which were recovered from the same location and are considered to represent a multiple fall, yield differing nominal CRE ages and, if paired, document distinct precompaction histories.     

26Al as a heat source for early melting of planetesimals: Results from isotopic studies of meteorites

Ion microprobe studies of magnesium isotopic composition in igneous components from several chondritic meteorites have been carried out to look for²⁶Mg excess that may be attributed to the presence of the now-extinct radionuclide²⁶Al(τ ∼ 1 Ma) at the time of formation of these objects. A positive evidence for the presence of²⁶Al in the analysed objects will strengthen its case as the primary heat source for the early thermal metamorphism/melting of meteorite parent bodies. Based on calculated temperature profiles inside chondritic objects of different sizes and initial²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios, we have estimated the initial abundances of²⁶Al needed to provide the heat necessary for the wide range of thermal processing seen in various types of meteorites. The magnesium isotopic data obtained by us do not provide definitive evidence for the presence of²⁶Al at the time of formation of the analysed igneous phases in different chondritic meteorites. Experimental evidence for a planetary scale distribution of²⁶Al in the early solar system to serve as a significant heat source for the thermal metamorphism and melting of meteorite parent bodies (planetesimals) remains elusive.