The Dergaon (H5) chondrite: Fall,classification, petrological and chemical characteristics,cosmogenic effects,and noble gas records |
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Authors: | P N SHUKLA A D SHUKLA V K RAI S V S MURTY N BHANDARI J N GOSWAMI A C MAZUMDAR P PHUKON K DUORAH R E GREENWOOD I A FRANCHI |
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Abstract: | Abstract— A multiple fall of a stony meteorite occurred near the town of Dergaon in Assam, India, on March 2, 2001. Several fragments weighing <2 kg and a single large fragment weighing ~10 kg were recovered from the strewn field, which extended over several tens of square kilometers. Chemical, petrographic, and oxygen isotopic studies indicate it to be, in most aspects, a typical H5 chondrite, except the unusually low K content of ~340 ppm. A cosmic ray exposure of 9.7 Ma is inferred from the cosmogenic noble gas records. Activities of eleven cosmogenic radionuclides were measured. 26Al and 22Na activities as well as the 22Na/26Al activity ratio are close to the values expected on the basis of solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. The low 60Co activity (<1 dpm/kg) is indicative of a small preatmospheric size of the meteorite. Cosmic ray heavy nuclei track densities in olivine grains range from ~106 cm?2 in samples from the largest fragment to approximately (4–9) × 105 cm?2 in one of the smaller fragments. The combined track, radionuclide, and noble gas data suggest a preatmospheric radius of ~20 cm for the Dergaon meteorite. |
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