普通球粒陨石NWA15004岩石矿物学特征及球粒类型研究

普通球粒陨石是目前发现数量最多的陨石,对认识早期太阳星云演化和太阳系物质成分具有重要的意义。Northwest Africa (NWA) 15004是一块非洲西北部新发现的普通球粒陨石。本次研究使用光学显微镜、电子探针以及扫描电镜等分析仪器对该陨石进行详细的岩石学、矿物学及球粒特征研究。结果表明该陨石球粒轮廓较为模糊,基质重结晶明显,橄榄石平均Fa值为25.4 mol%(PMD为2.65%),低钙辉石的平均Fs值21.3 mol%(PMD为3.95%),硅酸盐矿物化学成分较为均一,根据岩相学及矿物学特征将其划分为L5型普通球粒陨石。橄榄石和辉石颗粒发育波状消光和面状破裂,且观察到有熔融囊的出现,表明该陨石受到S3以上的冲击变质作用。球粒的成因和形成的星云环境需要准确的球粒类型划分,球粒按结构类型分类较多,但其化学成分均一,该陨石所有球粒的橄榄石辉石的Mg^#约为74.5,均为Ⅱ型富铁球粒,结合“CIPW标准”计算基质化学成分均为A5型球粒。利用共生单斜辉石和斜方辉石矿物对成分特征计算得到NWA 15004陨石热变质平衡温度为814℃,说明该陨石母体经历了较高程度热变...     

南极格罗夫山6块非平衡型普通球粒陨石的矿物-岩石学特征

主要报导了南极格罗夫山新回收的6块非平衡型普通球粒陨石的岩石学和矿物化学特征.它们都保存了原始的矿物-岩石学特征,包括非常清晰的球粒结构、基质不透明、橄榄石和低钙辉石颗粒具有明显的成分环带、以及颗粒之间极不均匀的化学组成等.这6块陨石包括3块高铁群(H3)和3块低铁群(L3)群.根据非平衡型普通球粒陨石中橄榄石成分Fa变化的PMD(相对标准偏差)值与陨石热变质程度的相关性,进一步划分岩石类型亚类:CRV 020016为H3.7型、GRV 020162为H3.5型、GRV 020166为H3.4型、GRV 020106为L3.7型、GRV 020164为L3.7型、GRV 020165为L3.7型.全部6块陨石的冲击变质程度很低,为S1-S2;样品比较新鲜,风化作用划分为W1-W2.     

三块普通球粒陨石岩石矿物学特征及其复合球粒研究

普通球粒陨石数量约占球粒陨石的80%,对其开展研究有助于揭示早期太阳系的演化。本文使用扫描电镜和电子探针对三块普通球粒陨石的岩石学、矿物学和地球化学特征进行了分析，重点讨论了复合球粒的成因。研究表明，三块陨石均具典型的球粒陨石结构，其中GRV 050191与GRV 051993分别为LL3型和H3型陨石，球粒结构清晰且丰富；NWA 15005为H5型陨石，球粒可分辨，基质出现重结晶。GRV 050191与GRV 051993中矿物成分变化较大，橄榄石有成分环带，NWA 15005中矿物成分均一。根据陨石岩石矿物学特征，GRV 050191、GRV 051993和NWA 15005冲击变质程度分别为S2、S1和S3,风化程度为W1、W1和W2。复合球粒是由两个或多个球粒熔融形成的，本次研究发现的3个复合球粒，其中2个属于包封型复合球粒(CPC-1和CPC-3),1个为伴生型复合球粒(CPC-2)。SiO₂-FeO-MgO相图数据表明，复合球粒形成温度窗口约为100℃。根据复合球粒中橄榄石的FeO含量变化推测越早形成的球粒，其FeO含量越低，橄榄石化学成分变化趋势表明...     

南极格罗夫山陨石GRV053645的岩石矿物学特征

南极格罗夫山陨石GRV053645是一块非常原始的普通球粒陨石,它很好地保存有太阳星云凝聚和增生的相关信息,对研究太阳星云的起源意义重大。本文描述了这块陨石的岩石矿物学特征,包括球粒结构类型、基质不透明、橄榄石和低钙辉石具有明显的成分环带等。根据Fe-Ni合金含量、球粒平均直径大小和橄榄石平均Fa值,表明这块陨石属于低铁群(L)。利用橄榄石Fa的PMD值与岩石类型亚类的相关性,其岩石类型应为3.4亚类。该陨石冲击变质程度和风化等级都比较低,分别为S2和W1。     

南极 GRV 021788橄辉无球粒陨石的岩石学和矿物学特征

橄辉无球粒陨石是一类特殊的无球粒陨石,既具有高度分异的火成特征,又具有原始球粒陨石的特征。南极格罗夫山GRV021788陨石由橄榄石、辉石以及少量的富碳基质、不透明矿物组成,具有橄辉无球粒陨石典型的岩相学和矿物学特征,包括橄榄石晶体三线共点的接触和富镁还原边等。GRV021788的主要矿物的化学成分为:橄榄石Fa23.2～Fa1.5,易变辉石Fs21.2Wo10.6～Fs18.7Wo10.7。橄榄石颗粒有明显的反环带结构,而易变辉石的反环带则不明显。黑色填隙基质富碳,含金刚石和石墨。岩石学和矿物化学特征表明GRV021788是一橄辉无球粒陨石,属单矿(monomict)Ⅰ类(Fa23.2～Fs20.4)橄辉无球粒陨石。陨石的形成机制与多阶段部分熔融-堆积模式较为一致。     

吉林陨石的热变质及冲击变质研究

吉林陨石的岩石学、矿物学、化学组成及球粒结构的研究表明,陨石主要由橄榄石、古铜辉石、铁纹石、陨硫铁、斜长石及少量的铬铁矿、钛铁矿、斜古铜辉石、白磷钙矿及玻璃等近40种矿物组成。橄榄石(Fa18.7％)及古铜辉石(En81.8 Fs15.3 Wo2.9)的成分比较稳定。球粒比较发育,约占20％,但大多球粒的轮廓模糊,有的球粒与基质难以分辨,球粒结构类型多样,组成球粒和基质的矿物成分基本一致。按W.R.范施穆斯(VanSchmus)的分类,吉林陨石应属于H_5球粒陨石。根据同位素地质年龄的测定结果,吉     

6块新回收沙漠陨石的矿物岩石学特征及类型划分

干旱沙漠地区与南极冰盖均有利于陨石样品保存。2013年4-5月,通过首次新疆哈密沙漠陨石考察,回收了陨石样品47块。文中报导其中6块样品的矿物岩石学特征,并划分它们的化学岩石类型。Arlatager004、006、0014、0022和TuzLeik001等5块样品主要由橄榄石、辉石、长石、铁镍金属和陨硫铁组成,具有典型的普通球粒陨石岩石结构特征,其球粒结构不明显,表明经历过较强的热变质,岩石类型划分为5型;根据样品中橄榄石Fa值,低钙辉石Fs值和样品的金属含量等,将Arlatager004、006、0014、0022划分为L5型普通球粒陨石;TuzLeik001划分为H5型普通球粒陨石。Kumtag005具有典型的球粒结构,结合橄榄石Fa值和低钙辉石Fs值以及岩石学特征,将其划分为L3型普通球粒陨石。根据橄榄石Fa值与其百分标准平均方差(PMD)之间的关系,将Kumtag005的岩石类型亚型划分为L 3.4。这6块样品代表了3个化学群,结合该地区回收到的其他陨石分析结果,表明新疆哈密沙漠是一个新的陨石富集区,这些沙漠陨石的发现和研究,必将极大促进中国陨石学和天体化学的发展。     

我国普通球粒陨石岩石学,化学组成及分类的研究

对69个普通球粒陨石进行了岩石学及化学组成的研究,在此基础上提出橄榄石成分(mol％Fa)-铁纹石中钴含量两维分类参数,69个球粒陨石包括25个H、20个L、17个LL、2个介于H与L之间及5个介于L与LL之间的类型。根据矿物学的分类参数及化学组成的研究,普通球粒陨石母体至少有5个,即H、H/L、L、L/LL及LL,而不是3个(H、L及LL)。每群球粒陨石的不同岩石类型之间化学成分无重大的变化,表明球粒陨石的变质作用是在封闭体系的条件下发生的。本文给出了普通球粒陨石不同化学群和不同岩石类型的平均化学成分。     

南极格罗夫山H群和L群普通球粒陨石对比研究

通过对15块南极格罗夫山普通球粒陨石(中国第19次和第22次南极科考回收)进行岩石学、矿物学分析,为其进一步研究提供重要基础数据。研究表明这些陨石均为平衡型陨石,其中有5块为H群,其余为L群。除GRV 051869和GRV 021491经历较强冲击变质作用、具有S4型的冲击变质程度外,其他陨石的冲击变质作用轻微,主要集中在S1和S2型。这些陨石的风化程度普遍较轻,仅GRV052076达到了W3型,其他为W1和W2型。主要矿物成分分析表明,组成H群和L群的最初始星云物质可能是相同的,陨石的主要差别是由于两个群陨石各自所处环境的不同所造成。L群平均球粒半径大于H群球粒半径,可能为球粒形成过程中星云温度变化不均一或者不同类型球粒分不同时期形成。另外,研究表明橄榄石中的Ca含量可以作为一个反映陨石热历史的有用指标。     

南极格罗夫山陨石GRV020022的岩石矿物学特征

GRV020022是第19次中国南极科学考察队在南极格罗夫山地区蓝冰上发现的一块陨石,为了解其矿物化学成分,对该陨石进行了扫描电镜观察和电子探针分析。结果显示,GRV020022陨石的主要组成矿物为橄榄石、低钙辉石、铁镍金属、陨硫铁、长石等,且矿物成分不均一,如橄榄石Fa _(8.9-25.6)(平均Fa_(18.3))和低钙辉石Fs _(15.9-21.6)(平均Fs _(17.9)),具球粒结构,基质有一定程度的重结晶,岩石类型属于4型。根据GRV020022陨石的橄榄石平均Fa值、低钙辉石平均Fs值、Fe-Ni合金含量及铁纹石中的Co含量(4.8 mg/g),将该陨石划归H群。另外陨石的冲击变质程度和风化等级分别为S3和W1。     

Chondrules in H3 chondrites: textures,compositions and origins

Major and minor element bulk compositions of 90 individual chondrules and 16 compound chondrule sets in unequilibrated (type 3) H-group chondrites were determined in polished thin sections by broad beam electron probe analysis and the chondrules were classified petrographically into six textural types (barred olivine, porphyritic olivine, porphyritic pyroxene, barred pyroxene, radiating pyroxene, fine-grained). Although analyses of individual chondrules scatter widely, the mean composition of each textural type (except barred pyroxene) is rather distinct, as verified by discriminant function analysis. Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and Na₃O are correlated in chondrules, but Al₂O₃ and CaO do not correlate. Compound chondrule sets were found to consist almost entirely of chondrules or partial chondrules of similar texture and composition.The data suggest that composition played a conspicuous role in producing the observed textures of chondrules, though other factors such as cooling rates and degrees of supercooling prior to nucleation were also important. If compound chondrules formed and joined when they were still molten or plastic, then the data suggest that chondrules of each textural type could have formed together in space or time. The correlation of Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ with Na₂O and not with CaO appears to rule out formation of chondrules by direct equilibrium condensation from the nebula. We conclude that the most reasonable model for formation of the majority of chondrules is that they originated from mixtures of differing fractions of high-, intermediate- and low-temperature nebular condensates that underwent melting in space. A small percentage of chondrules might have formed by impacts in meteorite parent-body regoliths.     

Relict olivine grains, chondrule recycling, and implications for the chemical, thermal, and mechanical processing of nebular materials

Chondrules and isolated forsterites in five low-subtype ordinary chondrites [NWA 3127 (LL3.1), Sahara 97210 (LL3.2), Wells (LL3.3), Chainpur (LL3.4), and Sahara 98175 (LL3.5)] were studied using petrographic, EMPA, and SIMS techniques to better constrain the origin of chondrules and the olivine grains within them. Our results imply that igneous crystallization, vapor fractionation, redox effects, and open-system behavior were important processes. All olivine grains, including normal, relict, and isolated forsterite grains, show evidence for igneous fractionation under disequilibrium conditions, with olivine crystallizing during rapid cooling (closer to 2000 °C/h than to 100 °C/h). Vapor fractionation is manifested by anti-correlated abundances between refractory elements (Al, Sc, Y, Ti, Ca, V) and volatile elements (Cr, Mn, P, Rb, Fe) in olivine. Redox effects are evidenced in various ways, and imply that Fe, Co, Ni, and P were partitioned more into metal, and V was partitioned more into olivine, under reducing conditions in the most FeO-poor melts. There is no obvious evidence for systematic variations in olivine composition according to meteorite subtype, but shock melting in Sahara 97210 resulted in the injection of glass-derived melt into olivine, resulting in artificially high abundances of Ba, Sr, Na, Ti, and some other incompatible elements in olivine. Terrestrial weathering in a hot desert environment may have mobilized Ba and Sr in some glasses.Our data suggest that chondrules in ordinary chondrites experienced repeated thermal, chemical, and mechanical processing during a “recycling” process over an extended time period, which involved multiple episodes of melting under fluctuating redox and heating conditions, and multiple episodes of chondrule break-up in some cases. Forsterite grains, including normal grains in forsterite-bearing type I chondrules, the cores of isolated forsterites, and relict forsterite in type II chondrules, all crystallized from similar, refractory melts under reducing conditions; relict Mg-olivine and isolated forsterite grains were thus derived from type I chondrules. Olivine in type II chondrules, including normal grains and ferroan overgrowths on relict Mg-olivine, crystallized from more volatile-rich, oxidized, and relatively unfractionated melts. Relict dusty olivine grains in type I chondrules were derived from type II chondrules during incomplete melting episodes involving reduction and some vaporization, with clear (non-dusty) grains in dusty olivine-bearing chondrules crystallizing from the reduced and partly vaporized melts. Melt compositions parental to normal olivine grains in type I and II chondrules are systematically enriched in refractory elements compared to bulk chondrule compositions, implying that chondrules often experienced open-system exchange with more volatile-rich surroundings after some olivine had crystallized, possibly while the chondrules were still partly molten. Type II chondrules could have been derived from type I chondrules by the addition of relatively volatile-rich material, followed by re-melting and little evaporation under oxidizing conditions. In contrast, type I chondrules could have been derived from type II chondrules by re-melting involving more-or-less evaporation under reducing conditions. Chemical, oxygen isotope, and petrographic data are best accommodated by a model in which there were several (>2-3, sometimes ?4-5) melting episodes for most chondrules in ordinary chondrites.     

Chondrules in the CB/CH-like carbonaceous chondrite Isheyevo: Evidence for various chondrule-forming mechanisms and multiple chondrule generations

The recently discovered metal-rich carbonaceous chondrite Isheyevo consists of Fe, Ni-metal grains, chondrules, heavily hydrated matrix lumps and rare refractory inclusions. It contains several lithologies with mineralogical characteristics intermediate between the CH and CB carbonaceous chondrites; the contacts between the lithologies are often gradual. Here we report the mineralogy and petrography of chondrules in the metal-rich (70 vol%) and metal-poor (20 vol%) lithologies. The chondrules show large variations in textures [cryptocrystalline, skeletal olivine, barred olivine, porphyritic olivine, porphyritic olivine-pyroxene, porphyritic pyroxene], mineralogy and bulk chemistry (magnesian, ferrous, aluminum-rich, silica-rich). The porphyritic magnesian (Type I) and ferrous (Type II) chondrules, as well as silica- and Al-rich plagioclase-bearing chondrules are texturally and mineralogically similar to those in other chondrite groups and probably formed by melting of mineralogically diverse precursor materials. We note, however, that in contrast to porphyritic chondrules in other chondrite groups, those in Isheyevo show little evidence for multiple melting events; e.g., relict grains are rare and igneous rims or independent compound chondrules have not been found. The magnesian cryptocrystalline and skeletal olivine chondrules are chemically and mineralogically similar to those in the CH and CB carbonaceous chondrites Hammadah al Hamra 237, Queen Alexandra Range 94411 (QUE94411) and MacAlpine Hills 02675 (MAC02675), possibly indicating a common origin from a vapor–melt plume produced by a giant impact between planetary embryos; the interchondrule metal grains, many of which are chemically zoned, probably formed during the same event. The magnesian cryptocrystalline chondrules have olivine–pyroxene normative compositions and are generally highly depleted in Ca, Al, Ti, Mn and Na; they occasionally occur inside chemically zoned Fe, Ni-metal grains. The skeletal olivine chondrules consist of skeletal forsteritic olivine grains overgrown by Al-rich (up to 20 wt% Al₂O₃) low-Ca and high-Ca pyroxene, and interstitial anorthite-rich mesostasis. Since chondrules with such characteristics are absent in ordinary, enstatite and other carbonaceous chondrite groups, the impact-related chondrule-forming mechanism could be unique for the CH and CB chondrites. We conclude that Isheyevo and probably other CH chondrites contain chondrules of several generations, which may have formed at different times, places and by different mechanisms, and subsequently accreted together with the heavily hydrated matrix lumps and refractory inclusions into a CH parent body. Short-lived isotope chronology, oxygen isotope and trace element studies of the Isheyevo chondrules can provide a possible test of this hypothesis.     

Redistribution of Trace Elements During Shock-inducd Melting and Phase Tranzition of Minerals in the Suizhou l6 Chondrite

The Suizhou meteorite is an L6 chondrite. This meteorite is consisted of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, FeNi metal, troilite, whitlockite, chlorapatite, chromite and ilmenite. Olivine and pyroxene grains display shock-induced mosaic texture, and most plagioclase grains were melted and transformed to maskelynite. This meteorite contains a few very thin shock-produced melt veins ranging from 20 to 100 μm in width. They are chondritic in composition and contain abundant high-pressure minerals in two assemblages. One is the coarse-grained assemblage of ringwoodite, majorite, lingunite with minor amount of tuite, xieite, the CF-phase, akimotoite and amorphized perovskite, and the fine-grained assemblage (the melt vein matrix) composed of majorite-pyrope garnet, magnesiowüstite. FeNi metal and troilite in the Suizhou shock veins were molten and occur as small intergrowth grains or veinlets filling the interstices of garnet crystals or cracks in the vein matrix. It was revealed that olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase in the Suizhou shock veins have transformed in solid state to their high-pressure polymorphs ringwoodite, majorite, and lingunite, respectively, without change in their chemical compositions.     

Oxygen, silicon, and Mn-Cr isotopes of fayalite in the Kaba oxidized CV3 chondrite: Constraints for its formation history

The iron-rich olivine end-member, fayalite, occurs in the matrix, chondrules, Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), silicate aggregates, and dark inclusions in the Kaba and Mokoia oxidized CV3 chondrites. In most occurrences, fayalite is associated with magnetite and troilite. To help constrain the origin of the fayalite (Fa_98-100), we measured oxygen and silicon isotopic compositions and Mn-Cr systematics in fayalite from two petrographic settings of the Kaba meteorite. One setting consists of big fayalite laths embedded in the matrix and radiating from a core of fine-grained magnetite and sulfide, while the other setting consists of small fayalite-magnetite-sulfide assemblages within or at the surface of Type I barred or porphyritic olivine chondrules. Oxygen in the big fayalite laths and small chondrule fayalites falls on the terrestrial fractionation line, and is distinct from that in chondrule forsterites, which are enriched in ¹⁶O (Δ¹⁷O = ∼−4‰). Oxygen in the big fayalite laths may be isotopically heavier than that in chondrule fayalites. Silicon isotopes suggest that forsterite is ∼1‰/amu heavier than adjacent fayalite within Kaba chondrules. However, we were unable to confirm large silicon isotopic differences among fayalites reported previously. The Mn-Cr data for big Kaba fayalites give an initial ⁵³Mn/⁵⁵Mn ratio of (2.07 ± 0.17) × 10⁻⁶, consistent with literature results on Mokoia chondrule fayalites. The combined data suggest that fayalites in both petrographic settings formed at about the same time, ∼9.7 Ma after the formation of CAIs. Our data indicate that those fayalite-magnetite-troilite assemblages replacing metal inside and around chondrules formed by aqueous alteration on the meteorite parent body. The formation site and mechanism for the big fayalite laths is less clear, but the petrographic setting indicates that they did not form in situ. None of the models that have been suggested for formation of these fayalites is entirely satisfactory.     

The mineral chemistry and origin of inclusion matrix and meteorite matrix in the Allende CV3 chondrite

The two textural varieties of olivine-rich Allende inclusions (rimmed and unrimmed olivine aggregates) consist primarily of a porous, fine-grained mafic constituent (inclusion matrix) that differs from the opaque meteorite matrix of CV3 chondrites by being relatively depleted in sulfides, metal grains, and (perhaps) carbonaceous material. Olivine is the most abundant mineral in Allende inclusion matrix; clinopyroxene, nepheline, sodalite, and Ti-Al-pyroxene occur in lesser amounts. Olivine in unrimmed olivine aggregates (Type 1A inclusions) is ferrous and has a narrow compositional range (Fo_50–65). Olivine in rimmed olivine aggregates (Type 1B inclusions) is, on average, more magnesian, with a wider compositional range (Fo_53–96). Olivine grains in the granular rims of Type 1B inclusions are zoned, with magnesian cores (Fo_>80) and ferrous rinds (Fo_<70). Ferrous olivines (Fo_<65) in both varieties of inclusions commonly contain significant amounts of Al₂O₃ (as much as ~0.7 wt%), CaO (as much as ~0.4 wt%), and TiO₂ (as much as ~0.2 wt%), refractory elements that probably occur in submicroscopic inclusions of Ca,Al,Ti-rich glass (rather than in the olivine crystal structure). Defocussed beam analyses of Allende matrix materials demonstrate that: (1) inclusion matrix in Type 1A inclusions is more enriched in olivine and FeO than inclusion matrix in the cores of Type 1B inclusions; (2) opaque matrix materials are depleted in feldspathoids and enriched in sulfides and metal grains relative to inclusion matrix; (3) the bulk compositions of Type 1A and Type 1B inclusions overlap; and (4) excluding sulfides and metal, the bulk compositions of Allende matrix materials cluster in a complementary pattern around the bulk composition of C1 chondrites.Inclusion matrix and meteorite matrix in Allende and other CV3 chondrites are probably relatively primitive nebular material, but a careful evaluation of the equilibrium condensation model suggests that these matrix materials do not consist of crystalline phases that formed under equilibrium conditions in a relatively cool gas of solar composition. Allende inclusion matrix is interpreted as an aggregate of condensates that formed under relatively oxidizing, non-equilibrium conditions from supercooled, supersaturated vapors produced during the vaporization of interstellar dust by aerodynamic drag heating in the solar nebula; CV3 meteorite matrix contains, in addition, a proportion of interstellar material that was heated (but not vaporized) in the nebula. Granular olivine in rimmed olivine aggregates may have formed during the recrystallization and incipient melting of aggregates of inclusion matrix in the nebula. The mineral chemistry of matrix olivine in Allende seems to have been established by three different processes: non-equilibrium vapor → solid condensation; recrystallization and partial melting in the nebula; and $\text{Fe}\text{Mg}$ equilibration (without textural homogenization) in the meteorite parent body.     

Chemical and oxygen isotopic compositions of accretionary rim and matrix olivine in CV chondrites: Constraints on the evolution of nebular dust

A correlation of petrography, mineral chemistry and in situ oxygen isotopic compositions of fine-grained olivine from the matrix and of fine- and coarse-grained olivine from accretionary rims around Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules in CV chondrites is used here to constrain the processes that occurred in the solar nebula and on the CV parent asteroid. The accretionary rims around Leoville, Vigarano, and Allende CAIs exhibit a layered structure: the inner layer consists of coarse-grained, forsteritic and ¹⁶O-rich olivine (Fa_1-40 and Δ¹⁷O = −24‰ to −5‰; the higher values are always found in the outer part of the layer and only in the most porous meteorites), whereas the middle and the outer layers contain finer-grained olivines that are more fayalitic and ¹⁶O-depleted (Fa_15-50 and Δ¹⁷O = −18‰ to +1‰). The CV matrices and accretionary rims around chondrules have olivine grains of textures, chemical and isotopic compositions similar to those in the outer layers of accretionary rims around CAIs. There is a correlation between local sample porosity and olivine chemical and isotopic compositions: the more compact regions (the inner accretionary rim layer) have the most MgO- and ¹⁶O-rich compositions, whereas the more porous regions (outer rim layers around CAIs, accretionary rims around chondrules, and matrices) have the most MgO- and ¹⁶O-poor compositions. In addition, there is a negative correlation of olivine grain size with fayalite contents and Δ¹⁷O values. However, not all fine-grained olivines are FeO-rich and ¹⁶O-poor; some small (<1 μm in Leoville and 5-10 μm in Vigarano and Allende) ferrous (Fa_>20) olivine grains in the outer layers of the CAI accretionary rims and in the matrix show significant enrichments in ¹⁶O (Δ¹⁷O = −20‰ to −10‰). We infer that the inner layer of the accretionary rims around CAIs and, at least, some olivine grains in the finer portions of accretionary rims and CV matrices formed in an ¹⁶O-rich gaseous reservoir, probably in the CAI-forming region. Grains in the outer layers of the CAI accretionary rims and in the rims around chondrules as well as matrix may have also originated as ¹⁶O-rich olivine. However, these olivines must have exchanged O isotopes to variable extents in the presence of an ¹⁶O-poor reservoir, possibly the nebular gas in the chondrule-forming region(s) and/or fluids in the parent body. The observed trend in isotopic compositions may arise from mixtures of ¹⁶O-rich forsterites with grain overgrowths or newly formed grains of ¹⁶O-poor fayalitic olivines formed during parent body metamorphism. However, the observed correlations of chemical and isotopic compositions of olivine with grain size and local porosity of the host meteorite suggest that olivine accreted as a single population of ¹⁶O-rich forsterite and subsequently exchanged Fe-Mg and O isotopes in situ in the presence of aqueous solutions (i.e., fluid-assisted thermal metamorphism).     

A study of chondrules in the Boxian meteorite from Anhui Province,China

The types of chondrules in the Boxian meteorite have been determined. Electron microprobe analysis of various textural types of chondrules in the meteorite has revealed the composition of glassy chondrules and of their glassy matrix. Also presented in this paper are the related explanations. In addition, the genesis, textural diversity and evolution of the chondrules as well as the olivine girdles observed in the chondrules are discussed.     

The oxygen-isotope composition of chondrules and isolated forsterite and olivine grains from the Tagish Lake carbonaceous chondrite

The oxygen-isotope compositions (obtained by laser fluorination) of hand-picked separates of isolated forsterite, isolated olivine and chondrules from the Tagish Lake carbonaceous chondrite describe a line (δ¹⁷O = 0.95 * δ¹⁸O − 3.24; R² = 0.99) similar to the trend known for chondrules from other carbonaceous chondrites. The isolated forsterite grains (Fo_99.6-99.8; δ¹⁸O = −7.2‰ to −5.5‰; δ¹⁷O = −9.6‰ to −8.2‰) are more ¹⁶O-rich than the isolated olivine grains (Fo_39.6-86.8; δ¹⁸O = 3.1‰ to 5.1‰; δ¹⁷O = −0.3‰ to 2.2‰), and have chemical and isotopic characteristics typical of refractory forsterite. Chondrules contain olivine (Fo_97.2-99.8) with oxygen-isotope compositions (δ¹⁸O = −5.2‰ to 5.9‰; δ¹⁷O = −8.1‰ to 1.2‰) that overlap those of isolated forsterite and isolated olivine. An inverse relationship exists between the Δ¹⁷O values and Fo contents of Tagish Lake isolated forsterite and chondrules; the chondrules likely underwent greater exchange with ¹⁶O-poor nebular gases than the forsterite. The oxygen-isotope compositions of the isolated olivine grains describe a trend with a steeper slope (1.1 ± 0.1, R² = 0.94) than the carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral line (CCAM_slope = 0.95). The isolated olivine may have crystallized from an evolving melt that exchanged with ¹⁶O-poor gases of somewhat different composition than those which affected the chondrules and isolated forsterite. The primordial components of the Tagish Lake meteorite formed under conditions similar to other carbonaceous chondrite meteorite groups, especially CMs. Its alteration history has its closest affinities to CI carbonaceous chondrites.