Convective activity in a Martian magma chamber recorded by P‐zoning in Tissint olivine

The Tissint Martian meteorite is an unusual depleted olivine‐phyric shergottite, reportedly sourced from a mantle‐derived melt within a deep magma chamber. Here, we report major and trace element data for Tissint olivine and pyroxene, and use these data to provide new insights into the dynamics of the Tissint magma chamber. The presence of irregularly spaced oscillatory phosphorous (P)‐rich bands in olivine, along with geochemical evidence indicative of a closed magmatic system, implies that the olivine grains were subject to solute trapping caused by vigorous crystal convection within the Tissint magma chamber. Calculated equilibration temperatures for the earliest crystallizing (antecrystic) olivine cores suggest a Tissint magma source temperature of 1680 °C, and a local Martian mantle temperature of 1560 °C during the late Amazonian—the latter being consistent with the ambient mantle temperature of Archean Earth.     

Martian meteorite Tissint records unique petrogenesis among the depleted shergottites

Tissint, a new unaltered piece of Martian volcanic materials, is the most silica‐poor and Mg‐Fe‐rich igneous rock among the “depleted” olivine‐phyric shergottites. Fe‐Mg zoning of olivine suggests equilibrium growth (<0.1 °C h^?1) in the range of Fo_80–56 and olivine overgrowth (Fo_55–18) through a process of rapid disequilibrium (~1.0–5.0 °C h^?1). The spatially extended (up to 600 μm) flat‐top Fe‐Mg profiles of olivine indicates that the early‐stage cooling rate of Tissint was slower than the other shergottites. The chemically metastable outer rim of olivine (55) consists of oscillatory phosphorus zoning at the impact‐induced melt domains and grew rapidly compared to the early to intermediate‐stage crystallization of the Tissint bulk. High‐Ca pyroxene to low‐Ca pyroxene and high‐Ca pyroxene to plagioclase ratios of Tissint are more comparable to the enriched basaltic and enriched olivine‐phyric shergottites. Dominance of augite over plagioclase induced augite to control the Ca‐buffer in the residual melt suppressing the plagioclase crystallization, which also caused a profound effect on the Al‐content in the late‐crystallized pyroxenes. Mineral chemical stability, phase‐assemblage saturation, and pressure–temperature path of evolution indicates that the parent magma entered the solidus and left the liquidus field at a depth of 40–80 km in the upper mantle. Petrogenesis of Tissint appears to be similar to LAR 06319, an enriched olivine‐phyric shergottite, during the early to intermediate stage of crystallization. A severe shock‐induced deformation resulted in remelting (10–15 vol%), recrystallization (most Fe‐rich phases), and exhumation of Tissint in a time scale of 1–8 yr. Tissint possesses some distinct characteristics, e.g., impact‐induced melting and deformation, forming phosphorus‐rich recrystallization rims of olivine, and shock‐induced melt domains without relative enrichment of LREEs compared to the bulk; and shared characteristics, e.g., modal composition and magmatic evolution with the enriched basaltic shergottites, evidently reflecting unique mantle source in comparison to the clan of the depleted members.     

Petrology and trace element geochemistry of Tissint,the newest shergottite fall

The fall and recovery of the Tissint meteorite in 2011 created a rare opportunity to examine a Martian sample with a known, short residence time on Earth. Tissint is an olivine‐phyric shergottite that accumulated olivine antecrysts within a single magmatic system. Coarse olivine grains with nearly homogeneous cores of Mg# >80 suggest slow re‐equilibration. Many macroscopic features of this sample resemble those of LAR 06319, including the olivine crystal size distribution and the presence of evolved oxide and olivine compositions. Unlike LAR 06319, however, no magmatic hydrous phases were found in the analyzed samples of Tissint. Minor and trace element compositions indicate that the meteorite is the product of closed‐system crystallization from a parent melt derived from a depleted source, with no obvious addition of a LREE‐rich (crustal?) component prior to or during crystallization. The whole‐rock REE pattern is similar to that of intermediate olivine‐phyric shergottite EETA 79001 lithology A, and could also be approximated by a more olivine‐rich version of depleted basaltic shergottite QUE 94201. Magmatic oxygen fugacities are at the low end of the shergottite range, with log fO₂ of QFM‐3.5 to ‐4.0 estimated based on early‐crystallized minerals and QFM‐2.4 estimated based on the Eu in pyroxene oxybarometer. These values are similarly comparable to other depleted shergottites, including SaU 005 and QUE 94201. Tissint occupies a previously unsampled niche in shergottite chemistry: containing olivines with Mg# >80, resembling the enriched olivine‐phyric shergottite LAR 06319 in its crystallization path, and comparable to intermediate olivine‐phyric shergottite EETA 79001A, depleted olivine‐phyric shergottite DaG 476, and depleted basaltic shergottite QUE 94201 in its trace element abundances and oxygen fugacity. The apparent absence of evidence for terrestrial alteration in Tissint (particularly in trace element abundances in the whole‐rock and individual minerals) confirms that exposure to the arid desert environment results in only minimal weathering of samples, provided the exposure times are brief.     

Experimental petrology of the Tissint meteorite: Redox estimates,crystallization curves,and evaluation of petrogenetic models

Tissint is an olivine‐phyric shergottite from an incompatible element depleted Martian mantle source. Oxythermobarometry applied to Tissint mineral phases demonstrates that the Tissint magma underwent an increase in oxygen fugacity, from ~3.5 log units below the quarz‐fayalite‐magnetite (QFM ) buffer during the early stages of crystallization, to QFM ?1.4 during the latter stages. This is the first time that such an oxidation event has been observed in a depleted shergottite. The reason for the oxidation event is unclear; however, calculations using the MELTS thermodynamic model suggest that auto‐oxidation is insufficient to cause more than ~1 log unit of oxidation, and therefore an external oxidation mechanism—such as oxidation by degassing—is required. If volatiles are responsible for the oxidation, then it indicates that volatiles are not exclusively tied to the enriched Martian mantle reservoir. A series of experiments using the Tissint parental magma were carried out under fixed (isothermal) or variable (cooling rate) temperature control, and at either reducing (QFM ?3.2) or oxidizing (QFM ?1) redox conditions. The observed liquid line of descent supports a potential genetic relationship between basaltic shergottites and olivine‐phyric shergottites. A peritectic relation where olivine is resorbed to form pyroxene is favored by increased oxygen fugacity; if oxidation during crystallization is more common than presently believed, it may explain why olivine is typically anhedral in olivine‐phyric shergottites. Results from a cooling‐rate experiment in which the oxygen fugacity was changed during the latter stages of crystallization resulted in olivine with a Cr compositional profile consistent with oxidized isothermal experiments, despite forming primarily under reducing conditions. A similar profile is observed in Tissint olivines, consistent with its redox history. Our results provide insights into the potential influence of oxidation events on the compositional zoning of minor or trace elements in olivine in olivine‐phyric basalts.     

Petrography,mineral chemistry,and crystallization history of olivine‐phyric shergottite NWA 6234: A new melt composition

Knowledge of Martian igneous and mantle compositions is crucial for understanding Mars' mantle evolution, including early differentiation, mantle convection, and the chemical alteration at the surface. Primitive magmas provide the most direct information about their mantle source regions, but most Martian meteorites either contain cumulate olivine or crystallized from fractionated melts. The new Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 6234 is an olivine‐phyric shergottite. Its most magnesian olivine cores (Fo₇₈) are in Mg‐Fe equilibrium with a magma of the bulk rock composition, suggesting that it represents a melt composition. Thermochemical calculations show that NWA 6234 not only represents a melt composition but is a primitive melt derived from an approximately Fo₈₀ mantle. Thus, NWA 6234 is similar to NWA 5789 and Y 980459 in the sense that all three are olivine‐phyric shergottites and represent primitive magma compositions. However, NWA 6234 is of special significance because it represents the first olivine‐phyric shergottite from a primitive ferroan magma. On the basis of Al/Ti ratio of pyroxenes in NWA 6234, the minor components in olivine and merrillite, and phosphorus zoning of olivine, we infer that the rock crystallized completely at pressures consistent with conditions in Mars' upper crust. The textural intergrowths of the two phosphates (merrillite and apatite) indicate that at a very last stage of crystallization, merrillite reacted with an OH‐Cl‐F‐rich melt to form apatite. As this meteorite crystallized completely at depth and never erupted, it is likely that its apatite compositions represent snapshots of the volatile ratios of the source region without being affected by degassing processes, which contain high OH‐F content.     

Trace elements in olivine and the petrogenesis of the intermediate,olivine‐phyric shergottite NWA 10170

Olivine‐phyric shergottites represent primitive basaltic to picritic rocks, spanning a large range of Mg# and olivine abundances. As primitive olivine‐bearing magmas are commonly representative of their mantle source on Earth, understanding the petrology and evolution of olivine‐phyric shergottites is critical in our understanding of Martian mantle compositions. We present data for the olivine‐phyric shergottite Northwest Africa (NWA) 10170 to constrain the petrology with specific implications for magma plumbing‐system dynamics. The calculated oxygen fugacity and bulk‐rock REE concentrations (based on modal abundance) are consistent with a geochemically intermediate classification for NWA 10170, and overall similarity with NWA 6234. In addition, we present trace element data using laser ablation ICP‐MS for coarse‐grained olivine cores, and compare these data with terrestrial and Martian data sets. The olivines in NWA 10170 contain cores with compositions of Fo₇₇ that evolve to rims with composition of Fo₅₈, and are characterized by cores with low Ni contents (400–600 ppm). Nickel is compatible in olivine and such low Ni content for olivine cores in NWA 10170 suggests either early‐stage fractionation and loss of olivine from the magma in a staging chamber at depth, or that Martian magmas have lower Ni than terrestrial magmas. We suggest that both are true in this case. Therefore, the magma does not represent a primary mantle melt, but rather has undergone 10–15% fractionation in a staging chamber prior to extrusion/intrusion at the surface of Mars. This further implies that careful evaluation of not only the Mg# but also the trace element concentrations of olivine needs to be conducted to evaluate pristine mantle melts versus those that have fractionated olivine (±pyroxene and oxide minerals) in staging chambers.     

Mineral chemistry of the Tissint meteorite: Indications of two‐stage crystallization in a closed system

The Tissint meteorite is a geochemically depleted, olivine‐phyric shergottite. Olivine megacrysts contain 300–600 μm cores with uniform Mg# (~80 ± 1) followed by concentric zones of Fe‐enrichment toward the rims. We applied a number of tests to distinguish the relationship of these megacrysts to the host rock. Major and trace element compositions of the Mg‐rich core in olivine are in equilibrium with the bulk rock, within uncertainty, and rare earth element abundances of melt inclusions in Mg‐rich olivines reported in the literature are similar to those of the bulk rock. Moreover, the P Kα intensity maps of two large olivine grains show no resorption between the uniform core and the rim. Taken together, these lines of evidence suggest the olivine megacrysts are phenocrysts. Among depleted olivine‐phyric shergottites, Tissint is the first one that acts mostly as a closed system with olivine megacrysts being the phenocrysts. The texture and mineral chemistry of Tissint indicate a crystallization sequence of: olivine (Mg# 80 ± 1) → olivine (Mg# 76) + chromite → olivine (Mg# 74) + Ti‐chromite → olivine (Mg# 74–63) + pyroxene (Mg# 76–65) + Cr‐ulvöspinel → olivine (Mg# 63–35) + pyroxene (Mg# 65–60) + plagioclase, followed by late‐stage ilmenite and phosphate. The crystallization of the Tissint meteorite likely occurred in two stages: uniform olivine cores likely crystallized under equilibrium conditions; and a fractional crystallization sequence that formed the rest of the rock. The two‐stage crystallization without crystal settling is simulated using MELTS and the Tissint bulk composition, and can broadly reproduce the crystallization sequence and mineral chemistry measured in the Tissint samples. The transition between equilibrium and fractional crystallization is associated with a dramatic increase in cooling rate and might have been driven by an acceleration in the ascent rate or by encounter with a steep thermal gradient in the Martian crust.     

Experimental petrology of the basaltic shergottite Yamato‐980459: Implications for the thermal structure of the Martian mantle

Abstract— The Martian meteorite Yamato (Y‐) 980459 is an olivine‐phyric shergottite. It has a very primitive character and may be a primary melt of the Martian mantle. We have conducted crystallization experiments on a synthetic Y‐980459 composition at Martian upper mantle conditions in order to test the primary mantle melt hypothesis. Results of these experiments indicate that the cores of the olivine megacrysts in Y‐980459 are in equilibrium with a melt of bulk rock composition, suggesting that these megacrysts are in fact phenocrysts that grew from a magma of the bulk rock composition. Multiple saturation of the melt with olivine and a low‐calcium pyroxene occurs at approximately 12 ± 0.5 kbar and 1540 ± 10°C, suggesting that the meteorite represents a primary melt that separated from its mantle source at a depth of ?100 km. Several lines of evidence suggest that the Y‐980459 source underwent extensive melting prior to and/or during the magmatic event that produced the Y‐980459 parent magma. When factored into convective models of the Martian interior, the high temperature indicated for the upper Martian mantle and possibly high melt fraction for the Y‐980459 magmatic event suggests a significantly higher temperature at the core‐mantle boundary than previously estimated.     

Grove Mountains 020090 enriched lherzolitic shergottite: A two‐stage formation model

Grove Mountains (GRV) 020090 is an enriched lherzolitic shergottite, distinct from other lherzolitic shergottites, except RBT 04262/1. Its characteristics include high abundance of plagioclase (24.2 vol% in the nonpoikilitic area), presence of K‐feldspar, common occurrence of baddeleyite, high FeO contents of olivine (bimodal peaks at Fa 33 mol% and Fa 41 mol%) and low‐Ca pyroxenes (bimodal peaks at Fs 23.8–31.7 mol% and Fs 25.7–33.9 mol%), and significant LREE enrichment of phosphates (500–610 × CI). The bulk composition of GRV 020090 suggests derivation from partial melting of an enriched reservoir. However, the REE patterns of the cores of pigeonite oikocrysts and the olivine chadacrysts are indistinguishable from those of GRV 99027 and other moderately depleted lherzolitic shergottites, and reveal a LREE‐depleted pattern of the primordial parent magma. We propose that the primordial parent magma of GRV 020090 was derived from a moderately depleted Martian upper mantle reservoir, and later the residual melt was contaminated by oxidized and enriched Martian crustal materials as it ascended up to the subsurface. GRV 020090 and RBT 04262/1 may have sampled an igneous unit different from other lherzolitic shergottites.     

Two‐stage polybaric formation of the new enriched,pyroxene‐oikocrystic,lherzolitic shergottite,NWA 7397

Northwest Africa (NWA) 7397 is a newly discovered, enriched, lherzolitic shergottite, the third described example of this group. This meteorite consists of two distinct textural lithologies (1) poikilitic—comprised of zoned pyroxene oikocrysts, with chadacrysts of chromite and olivine, and (2) nonpoikilitic—comprised of olivine, low‐Ca and high‐Ca pyroxene, maskelynite, and minor abundances of merrillite, spinel, ilmenite, and pyrrhotite. The constant Ti/Al ratios of pyroxene oikocrysts suggests initial crystallization of the poikilitic lithology at depth (equivalent to pressures of approximately 10 kbar), followed by crystallization of the nonpoikilitic lithology at shallower levels. Oxygen fugacity conditions become more oxidizing during crystallization ranging from fO₂ conditions of approximately QFM‐2 to QFM‐0.7. Magma calculated to be in equilibrium with the major rock‐forming minerals is LREE‐enriched relative to depleted or intermediate shergottites and has flat overall profiles. Therefore, we suggest that the parental magma for NWA 7397 had sampled an enriched, oxidized, Martian geochemical source, similar to that of other enriched basaltic and olivine‐phyric shergottites. We present a polybaric formation model for the lherzolitic shergottite NWA 7397, to account for the petrologic constraints. Three successive stages in the development of NWA 7397 are discussed (1) formation of a REE‐enriched parental magma from a distinct Martian mantle reservoir; (2) magma ponding and development of a staging chamber concomitant with initial crystallization of the poikilitic lithology; and (3) magma ascent to the near surface, with entrainment of cumulates from the staging chamber and subsequent crystallization of the nonpoikilitic lithology en route to the surface.     

Hydrogen isotopic composition of the Martian mantle inferred from the newest Martian meteorite fall,Tissint

The hydrogen isotopic composition of planetary reservoirs can provide key constraints on the origin and history of water on planets. The sources of water and the hydrological evolution of Mars may be inferred from the hydrogen isotopic compositions of mineral phases in Martian meteorites, which are currently the only samples of Mars available for Earth‐based laboratory investigations. Previous studies have shown that δD values in minerals in the Martian meteorites span a large range of ?250 to +6000‰. The highest hydrogen isotope ratios likely represent a Martian atmospheric component: either interaction with a reservoir in equilibrium with the Martian atmosphere (such as crustal water), or direct incorporation of the Martian atmosphere due to shock processes. The lowest δD values may represent those of the Martian mantle, but it has also been suggested that these values may represent terrestrial contamination in Martian meteorites. Here we report the hydrogen isotopic compositions and water contents of a variety of phases (merrillites, maskelynites, olivines, and an olivine‐hosted melt inclusion) in Tissint, the latest Martian meteorite fall that was minimally exposed to the terrestrial environment. We compared traditional sample preparation techniques with anhydrous sample preparation methods, to evaluate their effects on hydrogen isotopes, and find that for severely shocked meteorites like Tissint, the traditional sample preparation techniques increase water content and alter the D/H ratios toward more terrestrial‐like values. In the anhydrously prepared Tissint sample, we see a large range of δD values, most likely resulting from a combination of processes including magmatic degassing, secondary alteration by crustal fluids, shock‐related fractionation, and implantation of Martian atmosphere. Based on these data, our best estimate of the δD value for the Martian depleted mantle is ?116 ± 94‰, which is the lowest value measured in a phase in the anhydrously prepared section of Tissint. This value is similar to that of the terrestrial upper mantle, suggesting that water on Mars and Earth was derived from similar sources. The water contents of phases in Tissint are highly variable, and have been affected by secondary processes. Considering the H₂O abundances reported here in the driest phases (most likely representing primary igneous compositions) and appropriate partition coefficients, we estimate the H₂O content of the Tissint parent magma to be ≤0.2 wt%.     

Magmatic history and parental melt composition of olivine‐phyric shergottite LAR 06319: Importance of magmatic degassing and olivine antecrysts in Martian magmatism

Several olivine‐phyric shergottites contain enough olivine that they could conceivably represent the products of closed‐system crystallization of primary melts derived from partial melting of the Martian mantle. Larkman Nunatak (LAR) 06319 has been suggested to represent a close approach to a Martian primary liquid composition based on approximate equilibrium between its olivine and groundmass. To better understand the olivine–melt relationship and the evolution of this meteorite, we report the results of new petrographic and chemical analyses. We find that olivine megacryst cores are generally not in equilibrium with the groundmass, but rather have been homogenized by diffusion to Mg# 72. We have identified two unique grain types: an olivine glomerocryst and an olivine grain preserving a primary magmatic boundary that constrains the time scale of eruption to be on the order of hours. We also report the presence of trace oxide phases and phosphate compositions that suggest that the melt contained approximately 1.1% H₂O and lost volatiles during cooling, also associated with an increase in oxygen fugacity upon degassing. We additionally report in situ rare earth element measurements of the various mineral phases in LAR 06319. Based on these reported trace element abundances, we estimate the oxygen fugacity in the LAR 06319 parent melt early in its crystallization sequence (i.e., at the time of crystallization of the low‐Ca and high‐Ca pyroxenes), the rare earth element composition of the parent melt, and those of melts in equilibrium with later formed phases. We suggest that LAR 06319 represents the product of closed‐system crystallization within a shallow magma chamber, with additional olivine accumulated from a cumulate pile. We infer that the olivine megacrysts are antecrysts, derived from a single magma chamber, but not directly related to the host magma, and suggest that mixing of antecrysts within magma chambers may be a common process in Martian magmatic systems.     

Major element and primary sulfur concentrations in Apollo 12 mare basalts: The view from melt inclusions

Abstract— Major element and sulfur concentrations have been determined in experimentally heated olivine‐hosted melt inclusions from a suite of Apollo 12 picritic basalts (samples 12009, 12075, 12020, 12018, 12040, 12035). These lunar basalts are likely to be genetically related by olivine accumulation (Walker et al. 1976a, b). Our results show that major element compositions of melt inclusions from samples 12009, 12075, and 12020 follow model crystallization trends from a parental liquid similar in composition to whole rock sample 12009, thereby partially confirming the olivine accumulation hypothesis. In contrast, the compositions of melt inclusions from samples 12018, 12040, and 12035 fall away from model crystallization trends, suggesting that these samples crystallized from melts compositionally distinct from the 12009 parent liquid and therefore may not be strictly cogenetic with other members of the Apollo 12 picritic basalt suite. Sulfur concentrations in melt inclusions hosted in early crystallized olivine (Fo₇₅) are consistent with a primary magmatic composition of 1050 ppm S, or about a factor of 2 greater than whole rock compositions with 400–600 ppm S. The Apollo 12 picritic basalt parental magma apparently experienced outgassing and loss of S during transport and eruption on the lunar surface. Even with the higher estimates of primary magmatic sulfur concentrations provided by the melt inclusions, the Apollo 12 picritic basalt magmas would have been undersaturated in sulfide in their mantle source regions and capable of transporting chalcophile elements from the lunar mantle to the surface. Therefore, the measured low concentration of chalcophile elements (e.g., Cu, Au, PGEs) in these lavas must be a primary feature of the lunar mantle and is not related to residual sulfide remaining in the mantle during melting. We estimate the sulfur concentration of the Apollo 12 mare basalt source regions to be ～75 ppm, which is significantly lower than that of the terrestrial mantle.     

Primitive olivine‐phyric shergottite NWA 5789: Petrography,mineral chemistry,and cooling history imply a magma similar to Yamato‐980459

Knowledge of Martian igneous basaltic compositions is crucial for constraining mantle evolution, including early differentiation and mantle convection. Primitive magmas provide direct information about their mantle source regions, but most Martian meteorites either contain cumulate olivine or crystallized from fractionated melts. The recently discovered Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 5789 is an olivine‐phyric shergottite. NWA 5789 has special significance among the Martian meteorites because it appears to represent one of the most magnesian Martian magmas known, other than Yamato (Y) 980459. Its most magnesian olivine cores (Fo₈₅) are in Mg‐Fe equilibrium with a magma of the bulk rock composition, suggesting that the bulk represents a magma composition. Based on the Al/Ti ratio of its pyroxenes, we infer that the rock began to crystallize at a high pressure consistent with conditions in Mars’ lower crust/upper mantle. It continued and completed its crystallization closer to the surface, where cooling was rapid and produced a mesostasis of radiating sprays of plagioclase and pyroxene. The mineralogy, petrology, mineral chemistry, and bulk rock composition of NWA 5789 are very similar to those of Y‐980459. The similarities between the two meteorites suggest that NWA 5789 (like Y‐980459) represents a primitive, mantle‐derived magma composition. They also suggest the possibility that NWA 5789 and Y‐980459 formed in the same lava flow. However, based on the mineralogy and texture of its mesostasis, NWA 5789 must have cooled more slowly than Y‐980459. NWA 5789 will help elucidate the igneous geology and geochemistry of Mars.     

Small melt inclusions can record bulk magma compositions: A planetary example from the Martian basalt (shergottite) Tissint

Melt inclusions in igneous minerals can provide constraints on magma compositions, especially for planetary samples where mass is severely limited. Small inclusions (<15 μm diameter) are more abundant than large ones, but have been used little from concern that they did not entrap average magma, but are rich in melt of a diffusional layer against the host mineral. We compared bulk compositions and calculated original compositions of small and large melt inclusions in the Martian basalt meteorite (shergottite) Tissint. Small and large melt inclusions are consistent with the same line of igneous differentiation, have the same abundance ratios for incompatible elements (P, Ti, Al, K, Na), and are consistent with derivation from the bulk composition of Tissint (inferred to represent its parent melt composition). For Tissint, then, small melt inclusions show no evidence of entrapping diffusional boundary layers, and appear to have entrapped bulk magma. Thus, its small inclusions can be as useful as larger ones; this may be so for other planetary samples, and thus provides an additional tool for investigating planetary magmas.     

Melt inclusions in augite from the nakhlite meteorites: A reassessment of nakhlite parental melt and implications for petrogenesis

Abstract– The nakhlites, a subgroup of eight clinopyroxenites thought to come from a single geological unit at the Martian surface, show melt inclusions in augite and olivine. In contrast to olivine‐hosted melt inclusions, augite‐hosted melt inclusions are not surrounded by fractures, and are thus considered preferential candidates for reconstructing parent liquid compositions. Furthermore, two types of augite‐hosted melt inclusion have been defined and characterized in four different nakhlites (Northwest Africa [NWA] 817, Nakhla, Governador Valadares, and NWA 998): Type‐I isolated inclusions in augite cores that contain euhedral to subhedral augite, Ti‐magnetite, and pigeonite plus silica‐rich glass and a gas bubble; Type‐II microinclusions that form trails crosscutting host augite crystals. Fast‐heating experiments were performed on selected pristine primary augite‐hosted melt inclusions from these four samples. Of these, only data from Nakhla were considered robust for reconstruction of a nakhlite parental magma composition (NPM). Based upon careful petrographic selection and consideration of iron‐magnesium ratios, our data are used to propose an NPM, which is basaltic (49.1 wt% SiO₂), of high Ca/Al (1.95), and K₂O‐poor (0.32 wt%). Thermodynamic modeling at an oxygen fugacity one log unit below the QFM buffer using the MELTS and PETROLOG programs implies that Mg‐rich olivine was not a liquidus phase for this composition. Our analysis is used to suggest that olivine megacrysts found in the nakhlites are unlikely to have coprecipitated with augite, and thus may have been introduced during or subsequent to accumulation in the magma chamber, possibly from more evolved portions of the same chamber.     

Geochemistry of intermediate olivine‐phyric shergottite Northwest Africa 6234, with similarities to basaltic shergottite Northwest Africa 480 and olivine‐phyric shergottite Northwest Africa 2990

Abstract— The newly found meteorite Northwest Africa 6234 (NWA 6234) is an olivine (ol)‐phyric shergottite that is thought, based on texture and mineralogy, to be paired with Martian shergottite meteorites NWA 2990, 5960, and 6710. We report bulk‐rock major‐ and trace‐element abundances (including Li), abundances of highly siderophile elements, Re‐Os isotope systematics, oxygen isotope ratios, and the lithium isotope ratio for NWA 6234. NWA 6234 is classified as a Martian shergottite, based on its oxygen isotope ratios, bulk composition, and bulk element abundance ratios, Fe/Mn, Al/Ti, and Na/Al. The Li concentration and δ⁷Li value of NWA 6234 are similar to that of basaltic shergottites Zagami and Shergotty. The rare earth element (REE) pattern for NWA 6234 shows a depletion in the light REE (La‐Nd) compared with the heavy REE (Sm‐Lu), but not as extreme as the known “depleted” shergottites. Thus, NWA 6234 is suggested to belong to a new category of shergottite that is geochemically “intermediate” in incompatible elements. The only other basaltic or ol‐phyric shergottite with a similar “intermediate” character is the basaltic shergottite NWA 480. Rhenium‐osmium isotope systematics are consistent with this intermediate character, assuming a crystallization age of 180 Ma. We conclude that NWA 6234 represents an intermediate compositional group between enriched and depleted shergottites and offers new insights into the nature of mantle differentiation and mixing among mantle reservoirs in Mars.     

Experimental petrology,crystallization history,and parental magma characteristics of olivine‐phyric shergottite NWA 1068: Implications for the petrogenesis of “enriched” olivine‐phyric shergottites

Abstract– Northwest Africa (NWA) 1068 is one of the few olivine‐phyric shergottites (e.g., NWA 1068, Larkman Nunatak [LAR] 06319, and Roberts Massif [RBT] 04262) that is not depleted in light rare earth elements (LREE). Its REE pattern is similar to that of the basaltic shergottite Shergotty, suggesting a possible connection between the olivine‐phyric and the basaltic shergottites. To test this possible link, we have investigated the high‐pressure near‐liquidus phase equilibria for the NWA 1068 meteorite bulk composition. Our results show that the NWA 1068 bulk composition does not represent an unmodified mantle‐derived melt; the olivine and pyroxene in our near‐liquidus experiments are more magnesian than in the rock itself, which suggests that NWA 1068 contains cumulate minerals (extra olivine). We have then used these experimental results combined with the pyroxene compositions in NWA 1068 to constrain the possible high‐pressure crystallization history of the parental magma. These results suggest that NWA 1068 had a complex polybaric history. Finally, we have calculated a model parental magma composition for the NWA 1068 meteorite. The calculated parental magma is an evolved basaltic composition which is too ferroan to be a primitive melt directly derived from the mantle. We suggest that it ponded and crystallized at approximately the base of the crust. This provided an opportunity for the magma to become contaminated by an “enriched” crustal component prior to crystallization. The results and modeling from these experiments are applicable not only to the NWA 1068 meteorite, but also to LAR 06319 and possibly any other enriched olivine‐phyric shergottite.     

The water content and parental magma of the second chassignite NWA 2737: Clues from trapped melt inclusions in olivine

NWA 2737, the second known chassignite, mainly consists of cumulate olivine crystals of homogeneous composition (Fo = 78.7 ± 0.9). These brown colored olivine grains exhibit two sets of perpendicular planar defects due to shock. Two forms of trapped liquids, interstitial melts and magmatic inclusions, have been examined. Mineral assemblages within the olivine‐hosted magmatic inclusions include low‐Ca pyroxene, augite, kaersutite, fluorapatite, biotite, chromite, sulfide, and feldspathic glass. The reconstructed parental magma composition (A^#) of the NWA 2737 is basaltic and resembles both the experimentally constrained parental melt composition of chassiginites and the Gusev basalt Humphrey, albeit with lower Al contents. A^# also broadly resembles the average of shergottite parent magmas or LAR 06319. However, we suggest that the mantle source for the chassignite parental magmas was distinct from that of the shergottite meteorites, particularly in CaO/Al₂O₃ ratio. In addition, based on the analysis of the volatile contents of kaersutite, we derived a water content of 0.48–0.67 wt% for the parental melt. Finally, our MELTS calculations suggest that moderate pressure (approximately 6.8 kb) came closest to reproducing the crystallized melt‐inclusion assemblages.     

Geochemical diversity of shergottite basalts: Mixing and fractionation,and their relation to Mars surface basalts

The chemical compositions of shergottite meteorites, basaltic rocks from Mars, provide a broad view of the origins and differentiation of these Martian magmas. The shergottite basalts are subdivided based on their Al contents: high‐Al basalts (Al > 5% wt) are distinct from low‐Al basalts and olivine‐phyric basalts (both with Al < 4.5% wt). Abundance ratios of highly incompatible elements (e.g., Th, La) are comparable in all the shergottites. Abundances of less incompatible elements (e.g., Ti, Lu, Hf) in olivine‐phyric and low‐Al basalts correlate well with each other, but the element abundance ratios are not constant; this suggests mixing between components, both depleted and enriched. High‐Al shergottites deviate from these trends consistent with silicate mineral fractionation. The “depleted” component is similar to the Yamato‐980459 magma; approximately, 67% crystal fractionation of this magma would yield a melt with trace element abundances like QUE 94201. The “enriched” component is like the parent magma for NWA 1068; approximately, 30% crystal fractionation from it would yield a melt with trace element abundances like the Los Angeles shergottite. This component mixing is consistent with radiogenic isotope and oxygen fugacity data. These mixing relations are consistent with the compositions of many of the Gusev crater basalts analyzed on Mars by the Spirit rover (although with only a few elements to compare). Other Mars basalts fall off the mixing relations (e.g., Wishstone at Gusev, Gale crater rocks). Their compositions imply that basalt source areas in Mars include significant complexities that are not present in the source areas for the shergottite basalts.