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。     

Thermal metamorphism of primitive meteorites—XL The enstatite meteorites: origin and evolution of a parent body

We report neutron activation data for Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cs, Cu, Ga, In, Rb, Se, Te, Tl and Zn in samples of Abee heated at temperatures of 1000–1400°C in a low-pressure environment (initially ~ 10^?5 atm H₂) and in 9 enstatite achondrites (aubrites) and the silicate portion of the unique stony-iron, Mt Egerton. Trace element losses in heated Abee progress with temperature, the lowest retention being 2.4 × 10^?6 of initial contents. These data indicate trace element loss above 1000°C via diffusion-controlled processes having apparent activation energies of 8–55 kcal/mol ; only Co exhibits a significantly higher energy. These trace element data and those for aubrites, Mt Egerton and E4–6 chondrites, and mineralogic and isotopic evidence link all enstatite meteorites to a common parent body. Volatile, mobile elements vary inversely with cobalt content in aubrites and Mt Egerton but directly in E4–6 chondrites; this is inconsistent with all genetic models positing fractionation of such elements during nebular condensation and accretion. However, the data are consistent with the idea that aubrites and Mt. Egerton reflect fractional crystallization of a magma produced from enstatite chondrite-like parent material (probably E6) and late introduction of chalcophiles and mobile elements transported by FeS-Fe eutectic from an E4–6 region experiencing open-system metamorphism. As suggested earlier, the only primary process that affected enstatite meteorites involved fractionation of non-volatile lithophiles from sulfides and metal during condensation and accretion of chondritic parent material from the nebula. If, as seems likely, volatile/mobile elements reflect secondary processes, they can only be used to establish alteration conditions within the enstatite parent body and not to estimate temperatures during primary nebular condensation and accretion.     

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。     

Non-basaltic asteroidal magmatism during the earliest stages of solar system evolution: A view from Antarctic achondrites Graves Nunatak 06128 and 06129

The recently recovered paired Antarctic achondrites Graves Nunatak 06128 and 06129 (GRA) are meteorites that represent unique high-temperature asteroidal processes that are identified in only a few other meteorites. The GRA meteorites contain high abundances of sodic plagioclase, relatively Fe-rich pyroxenes and olivine, abundant phosphates, and low temperature alteration. They represent products of very early planetesimal melting (4565.9 ± 0.3 Ma) of an unsampled geochemical reservoir from an asteroid that has characteristics similar to the brachinite parent body. The magmatism represented by these meteorites is contrary to the commonly held belief that the earliest stages of melting on all planetary bodies during the first 2-30 Ma of solar system history were fundamentally basaltic in nature. These sodic plagioclase-rich rocks represent a series of early asteroidal high-temperature processes: (stage 1) melting and partial extraction of a low-temperature Fe-Ni-S melt, (stage 2) small degrees of disequilibrium partial melting of a sodium- or alkali-rich chondritic parent body with additional incorporation of Fe-Ni-S melt that was not fully extracted during stage 1, (stage 3) volatile-enhanced rapid extraction and emplacement of the Na-rich, high-normative plagioclase melt, (stage 4) final emplacement and accumulation of plagioclase and phosphates, (stage 5) subsolidus reequilibration of lithology between 962 and 600 °C at an fO₂ of IW to IW + 1.1, and (stage 6) replacement of merrillite and pyroxene by Cl-apatite resulting from the interaction between magmatic minerals and a Cl-rich fluid/residuum melt. The subsolidus events started as early as 4561.1 Ma and may have continued for upwards of 144 million years.The existence of assemblages similar to GRA on several other planetary bodies with different geochemical characteristics (ureilite, winonaites, IAB irons) implies that this type of early asteroidal melting was not rare. Whereas, eucrites and angrites represent extensive melting of a parent body with low concentrations of moderately-volatile elements, GRA represents low-degrees of melting of a parent body with chondritic abundances of moderately volatile elements. The interpretation of the low-temperature mineral assemblage is somewhat ambiguous. Textural features suggest multiple episodes of alteration. The earliest stage follows the interaction of magmatic assemblages with a Cl-rich fluid. The last episode of alteration appears to cross-cut the fusion crust and earlier stages of alteration. Stable isotopic measurements of the alteration can be interpreted as indicating that an extraterrestrial volatile component was preserved in GRA.     

K–Ar ages of meteorites: Clues to parent-body thermal histories

Whereas most radiometric chronometers give formation ages of individual meteorites >4.5 Ga ago, the K–Ar chronometer rarely gives times of meteorite formation. Instead, K–Ar ages obtained by the ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar technique span the entire age of the solar system and typically measure the diverse thermal histories of meteorites or their parent objects, as produced by internal parent body metamorphism or impact heating. This paper briefly explains the Ar–Ar dating technique. It then reviews Ar–Ar ages of several different types of meteorites, representing at least 16 different parent bodies, and discusses the likely thermal histories these ages represent. Ar–Ar ages of ordinary (H, L, and LL) chondrites, R chondrites, and enstatite meteorites yield cooling times following internal parent body metamorphism extending over ∼200 Ma after parent body formation, consistent with parent bodies of ∼100 km diameter. For a suite of H-chondrites, Ar–Ar and U–Pb ages anti-correlate with the degree of metamorphism, consistent with increasing metamorphic temperatures and longer cooling times at greater depths within the parent body. In contrast, acapulcoites–lodranites, although metamorphosed to higher temperatures than chondrites, give Ar–Ar ages which cluster tightly at ∼4.51 Ga. Ar–Ar ages of silicate from IAB iron meteorites give a continual distribution across ∼4.53–4.32 Ga, whereas silicate from IIE iron meteorites give Ar–Ar ages of either ∼4.5 Ga or ∼3.7 Ga. Both of these parent bodies suffered early, intense collisional heating and mixing. Comparison of Ar–Ar and I–Xe ages for silicate from three other iron meteorites also suggests very early collisional heating and mixing. Most mesosiderites show Ar–Ar ages of ∼3.9 Ga, and their significantly sloped age spectra and Ar diffusion properties, as well as Ni diffusion profiles in metal, indicate very deep burial after collisional mixing and cooling at a very slow rate of ∼0.2 °C/Ma. Ar–Ar ages of a large number of brecciated eucrites range over ∼3.4–4.1 Ga, similar to ages of many lunar highland rocks. These ages on both bodies were reset by large impact heating events, possibly initiated by movements of the giant planets. Many impact-heated chondrites show impact-reset Ar–Ar ages of either >3.5 Ga or <1.0 Ga, and generally only chondrites show these younger ages. The younger ages may represent orbital evolution times in the asteroid belt prior to ejection into Earth-crossing orbits. Among martian meteorites, Ar–Ar ages of nakhlites are similar to ages obtained from other radiometric chronometers, but apparent Ar–Ar ages of younger shergottites are almost always older than igneous crystallization ages, because of the presence of excess (parentless) ⁴⁰Ar. This excess ⁴⁰Ar derives from shock-implanted martian atmosphere or from radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar inherited from the melt. Differences between meteorite ages obtained from other chronometers (e.g., I–Xe and U–Pb) and the oldest measured Ar–Ar ages are consistent with previous suggestions that the ⁴⁰K decay parameters in common use are incorrect and that the K–Ar age of a 4500 Ma meteorite should be possibly increased, but by no more than ∼20 Ma.     

陨石氧同位素组成及其地学意义

介绍了各类陨石氧同位素组成的特点,对陨石氧同位素组成的主要成因观点进行了评述,结合地球的原始物质组成,讨论了陨石氧同位素组成的地球科学意义。     

Acapulcoite-lodranite meteorites: Ultramafic asteroidal partial melt residues

Acapulcoites (most ancient Hf-W ages are 4,563.1?±?0.8 Ma), lodranites (most ancient Hf-W ages are 4,562.6?±?0.9 Ma) and rocks transitional between them are ancient residues of different degrees of partial melting of a chondritic source lithology (e.g., as indicated by the occurrence of relict chondrules in 9 acapulcoites), although the precise chondrite type is unknown. Acapulcoites are relatively fine- grained (～150–230?μm) rocks with equigranular, achondritic textures and consist of olivine, orthopyroxene, Ca-rich clinopyroxene, plagioclase, metallic Fe,Ni, troilite, chromite and phosphates. Lodranites are coarser grained (540–700?μm), with similar equigranular, recrystallized textures, mineral compositions and contents, although some are significantly depleted in eutectic Fe,Ni-FeS and plagioclase- clinopyroxene partial melts. The acapulcoite-lodranite clan is most readily distinguished from other groups of primitive achondrites (e.g., winoanites/IAB irons) by oxygen isotopic compositions, although more than 50% of meteorites classified as acapulcoites currently lack supporting oxygen isotopic data. The heat source for melting of acapulcoites-lodranites was internal to the parent body, most likely ²⁶Al, although some authors suggest it was shock melting. Acapulcoites experienced lower temperatures of ～980–1170?°C and lower degrees of partial melting (～1–4?vol.%) and lodranites higher temperatures of ～1150–1200?°C and higher degrees (～5?≥?10?vol.%) of partial melting. Hand-specimen and thin section observations indicate movement of Fe,Ni-FeS, basaltic, and phosphate melts in veins over micrometer to centimeter distances. Mineralogical, chemical and isotopic properties, Cosmic Ray Exposure (CRE) ages which cluster around 4–6 Ma and the occurrence of some meteorites consisting of both acapulcoite and lodranite material, indicate that these meteorites come from one parent body and were most likely ejected in one impact event. Whereas the precise parent asteroid of these meteorites is unknown, there is general agreement that it was an S-type object. There is nearly total agreement that the acapulcoite-lodranite parent body was <～100?km in radius and, based on the precise Pb–Pb age for Acapulco of 4555.9?±?0.6 Ma, combined with the Hf/W and U/Pb records and cooling rates deduced from mineralogical and other investigations, that the parent body was fragmented during its cooling which the U/Pb system dates at precisely 4556?±?1 Ma. Hf-W chronometry suggests that the parent body of the acapulcoites-lodranites and, in fact, the parent bodies of all “primitive achondrites” accreted slightly later than those of the differentiated achondrites and, thus, had lower contents of ²⁶Al, the heat producing radionuclide largely responsible for heating of both primitive and differentiated achondrites. Thus, the acapulcoite-lodranite parent body never experienced the high degrees of melting responsible for the formation of the differentiated meteorites, but arrested its melting history at relatively low degrees of ～15?vol.%.     

The behavior of actinides,phosphorus, and rare earth elements during chondrite metamorphism

New data on the U, Pu, and P distributions in less metamorphosed H-chondrites (type 3–5), coupled with literature results, permit a provisional picture to be assembled of the chemistry of these elements and for the rare earth elements in ordinary chondrites and the changes brought about by chondritic metamorphism. Preferential associations of phosphates with metals and/or sulndes in all chondrites strongly indicate an “initially” siderophile or conceivably chalcophile character for P in ordinary chondrite precursor materials with phosphate subsequently formed by oxidation. This oxidation occurred prior to or during chondritic metal-silicate fractionation. Uranium is initially concentrated in chondrule glass at ~ 100 ppb levels with phosphates (primarily merrillite) in H-3 chondrites being essentially U-free (<20 ppb). As chondrule glass devitrified during metamorphism, U migrated into phosphates reaching ~ 50 ppb in Nadiabondi (H-5) merrillite and 200–300 ppb in merrillite from equilibrated chondrites but “froze out” before total concentration in phosphates occurred. Relative ²⁴⁴Pu fission track densities in the outer 5 μm of olivine and pyroxene grains in contact with merrillite and with chondrule mesostasis in Bremervörde (H-3) give Pu(mesostasis)/Pu(merrillite) <0.01, implying total concentration of Pu in phosphates. Similarly, no detectable Pu (<0.1 ppb) was found in chondrule mesostasis in Tieschitz and Sharps; whereas, direct measurements of tracks in phosphates in H-3 chondrites are consistent with high (?10 ppb) Pu concentrations. Thus, a strong Pu-P correlation is indicated for ordinary chondrites. There is variable Pu/U fractionation in all chondritic phosphates reaching an extreme degree in the unequilibrated chondrites; therefore, the Pu/U ratio in phosphates appears relatively useless for relative meteorite chronology. Literature data indicate that the REE are located in chondrules in unequilibrated chondrites, most likely in glass; thus there may also be strong Pu/Nd fractionation within these meteorites. Like U, the REE migrate into phosphates during metamorphism but, unlike U, appear to be quantitatively concentrated in phosphates in equilibrated chondrites. Thus relative ages, based on Pu/Nd, may be possible for equilibrated chondrites, but the same chronological conclusions are probably obtainable from Pu concentrations in phosphates, i.e., on the Pu/P ratio. However, Pu/P chronology is possible only for ordinary chondrites; so there appears to be no universal reference element to cancel the effects of Pu chemical fractionation in all meteorites. Available data are consistent with — but certainly do not prove-that variations in Pu/P represent age differences, but if these age differences do not exist, then it is conceivable that the solar system ${}^{244}\text{Pu}{}^{238}\text{U}$ ratio, important for cosmochronology, is still lower than the presently accepted value of 0.007.     

Extensive impact melting on the H-chondrite parent asteroid during the cataclysmic bombardment of the early solar system: Evidence from the achondritic meteorite Dar al Gani 896

DaG 896 is an olivine-rich microporphyritic rock of komatiitic composition. Both the olivine composition (Fa_17.5±2.1, [Mn/Mg] = 0.0061) and the bulk oxygen isotopic composition (δ17O = +2.55, δ18O = +3.50) indicate that DaG 896 is a sample of the H-chondrite parent body. The bulk chemistry shows an H-chondritic distribution of lithophile elements, whereas chalcophile and siderophile elements are strongly depleted, indicating formation through whole-rock melting (or nearly so) of H-chondrite material, nearly complete loss of the metal plus sulfide component, and crystallization without significant igneous fractionation. Superheated, severely shocked chondritic relics (∼10 vol%), typically in the form of corroded lithic fragments <100 μm in size intimately distributed within the igneous lithology, indicate that melting was triggered by a highly energetic impact, which possibly induced shock pressures of ∼80-100 GPa. The relatively young 3.704 ± 0.035 Ga 40Ar-39Ar crystallization age is consistent with the impact melting origin, as magmatism in the asteroid belt was active only in the first hundred million years of solar system history.Based on textural data and thermodynamic crystallization modelling, we infer that DaG 896 crystallized from a liquidus temperature of ∼1630°C under relatively slow cooling rates (∼10°C h⁻¹) to ∼1300°C, before quenching. The two-stage cooling history indicates that a reasonable formation environment might be a dike intruding cooler basement below a crater floor. Metal-silicate fractionation may have been accomplished, at least at the centimeter-scale of the studied meteorite sample, through differential acceleration of immiscible liquids of different density during the intense flow regimes associated with the excavation and modification stages of the cratering mechanism. Alternatively, DaG 896 may represent a surface sample of a differentiated melt body at the floor of an impact crater, as gravitational settling appears to be an effective process at the surface of a chondritic parent asteroid: for metal particles 1 to 10 mm in size, typically observed in partially differentiated impact melt rocks, Stokes’ Law indicates a settling velocity >1 m h ⁻¹ during the first few hours of crystallization on asteroidal bodies of >25 km radius.The ∼3.7 Ga age of DaG 896 nearly overlaps with the slightly older resetting ages of H-chondrites (all impact melts) available from the literature, indicating that the H-chondrite parent asteroid underwent extensive impact melting at the enduring of the cataclysmic bombardment of the early solar system. Such an age overlap may also indicate early disruption of the initial H-chondrite parent asteroid.The close similarity between the bulk composition and degassing age of DaG 896 and silicate inclusions in IIE iron meteorites is further evidence in support of a common origin by impact melting and metal-silicate segregation on the H-chondrite parent asteroid. Our new high-precision oxygen isotopic measurements of H-chondrites (Δ17O = 0.77 ± 0.04) should be extended to IIEs to verify this possible petrogenetic link.     

Iron meteorites: Crystallization,thermal history,parent bodies,and origin

We review the crystallization of the iron meteorite chemical groups, the thermal history of the irons as revealed by the metallographic cooling rates, the ages of the iron meteorites and their relationships with other meteorite types, and the formation of the iron meteorite parent bodies. Within most iron meteorite groups, chemical trends are broadly consistent with fractional crystallization, implying that each group formed from a single molten metallic pool or core. However, these pools or cores differed considerably in their S concentrations, which affect partition coefficients and crystallization conditions significantly. The silicate-bearing iron meteorite groups, IAB and IIE, have textures and poorly defined elemental trends suggesting that impacts mixed molten metal and silicates and that neither group formed from a single isolated metallic melt. Advances in the understanding of the generation of the Widmanstätten pattern, and especially the importance of P during the nucleation and growth of kamacite, have led to improved measurements of the cooling rates of iron meteorites. Typical cooling rates from fractionally crystallized iron meteorite groups at 500–700 °C are about 100–10,000 °C/Myr, with total cooling times of 10 Myr or less. The measured cooling rates vary from 60 to 300 °C/Myr for the IIIAB group and 100–6600 °C/Myr for the IVA group. The wide range of cooling rates for IVA irons and their inverse correlation with bulk Ni concentration show that they crystallized and cooled not in a mantled core but in a large metallic body of radius 150±50 km with scarcely any silicate insulation. This body may have formed in a grazing protoplanetary impact. The fractionally crystallized groups, according to Hf–W isotopic systematics, are derived originally from bodies that accreted and melted to form cores early in the history of the solar system, <1 Myr after CAI formation. The ungrouped irons likely come from at least 50 distinct parent bodies that formed in analogous ways to the fractionally crystallized groups. Contrary to traditional views about their origin, iron meteorites may have been derived originally from bodies as large as 1000 km or more in size. Most iron meteorites come directly or indirectly from bodies that accreted before the chondrites, possibly at 1–2 AU rather than in the asteroid belt. Many of these bodies may have been disrupted by impacts soon after they formed and their fragments were scattered into the asteroid belt by protoplanets.     

Tracing the evolution and distribution of F and Cl in plutonic systems from volatile-bearing minerals: a case study from the Liujiawa pluton (Dabie orogen, China)

Fluorine and chlorine play an important role in magmatic differentiation, hydrothermal alteration, and related mineralization processes, but tracing their evolution in magmatic and especially plutonic systems is not an easy task. The F and Cl in melts can be estimated from F and Cl concentrations in minerals, provided that partitioning between minerals and melts are constrained. Based on available partitioning models between mineral/melt, mineral/fluid, and melt/fluid, a set of equations has been derived to determine F and Cl concentrations in melts from the compositions of amphibole, biotite, and apatite. The new calculation procedure has been applied to a plutonic system, the Liujiawa pluton, eastern Dabie orogen (China). Cl and F concentrations in amphiboles, biotites, and apatites from different rock types (gabbronorite, two-pyroxene diorite, clinopyroxene diorite, and hornblende gabbro) have been determined by electron microprobe. Most amphiboles show a negative correlation between log(Cl/OH) and Mg-number and a positive correlation between log(F/OH) and A-site occupation. Biotites from the gabbronorite and two-pyroxene diorite show a slight positive correlation between log(Cl/OH) and Mg, which is however not the case for the clinopyroxene diorite. Apatites from all the samples are rich in F and show negative correlations between Cl and F concentrations. In our case study, we demonstrate that the Cl concentration in melt remains approximately constant at 1,000–2,000?ppm over the major crystallization interval, but decreases strongly at near solidus temperatures as a result of fluid exsolution. The F concentration in melt remains nearly constant at ca. 2,000–3,000?ppm at high temperatures as well as near solidus conditions, indicating that it is not largely affected by fluid exsolution because of its strongly preferred incorporation into melt. Interestingly, the evolution of Cl and F concentrations in melt with magmatic differentiation is similar to that determined in volcanic systems, suggesting that the evolution of Cl and F in melts during crystallization and late magmatic stages at depth (plutonic systems) is similar to that observed in volcanic systems during decompression and degassing.     

A possible Al-Ti-augite high-pressure cumulate from the Glenelg inlier,NW Scotland

Aluminous clinopyroxenite is described from an exposure in the Eastern Lewisian metamorphic complex at Glenelg in NW Scotland. One specimen (S527) has exsolution lamellae of Ca-rich garnet in an omphacitic host, while another specimen (S526) contains Ca-Tschermakitic augite and green hercynitic spinel with reaction rims of garnet. Garnet exsolution is attributed to cooling to about 600°C at eclogite-stabilizing pressure, and is shown to depend on the Ca + Na content of the pyroxene. Pyroxene stoichiometry is questioned. Originally the pyroxenite was probably a high-pressure cumulate which crystallized and cooled within an eclogite-facies environment. Alternatively, it may have formed during an early phase of very high-grade metamorphism.     

Experimental exsolution textures in the system bornite-chalcopyrite: Genetic implications concerning natural ores

Textural interpretation of ore-mineral assemblages, such as bornite-chalcopyrite (bn-cpy) intergrowths, should be based on definite experimentation. Appropriate exsolution and coarsening experiments were performed using sealed, evacuated, silicaglass tubes; synthetic bn-cpy solid solutions were annealed between 100° and 350°C for times of 20 min to 10 weeks. Early-formed textures develop through nucleation and growth and depend on the initial degree of supersaturation and the metal diffusivities. Final textures, due to additional growth and coarsening, are very sensitive to temperature and may serve as geothermometers. Mutual boundary textures which form above 250°C can originate by: (1) simultaneous precipitation; (2) exsolution during slow cooling from above the solvus; and (3) metamorphism to temperatures above about 250°C. Widmanstätten textures are not compatible with slow cooling, but indicate: (1) low-temperature replacement of bn; or (2) exsolution of cpy lamellae from anomalous bn heated to around 200°–250°C during mild metamorphism.     

碰撞作用与类地行星起源探讨

类地行星挥发性元素普遍亏损很可能是由于太阳星云早期剧烈的太阳活动引起的。当气体、尘粒、挥发性元素和水被驱赶出内太阳系时，只有米级到公里级的物质保存下来并堆积成星子，最终吸积星子形成类地行星。我们认为类地行星的初始物质主要是已分异的星子和一些未分异的球粒陨石质星子或不同类型的陨石母体，最靠近太阳形成的星子具有最低的ＦｅＯ／（ＦｅＯ＋ＭｇＯ）值，水星是在靠近太阳的高度还原条件下吸积成分类似ＥＨ球粒陨石的星子形成的。地球的初始物质为分异的铁陨石及Ｈ群球粒陨石。随着距太阳距离增大及温度降低，陨石形成的部位大致为：ＥＨ、ＥＬ－ＩＡＢ－ＳＮＣ（辉玻无球粒陨石、辉橄无球粒陨石、纯橄无球粒陨石）－Ｅｕｃ（钙长辉长无球粒陨石）－Ｈ、Ｌ、ＬＬ－ＣＶ、ＣＭ、ＣＯ－Ｃｌ－彗星。物体之间、星子之间及行星与星子之间的碰撞对太阳系的形成和演化起着重要的作用。     

Asteroidal processes recorded by polyphase deformation in a harzburgitic diogenite NWA 5480

Expectations regarding structural deformation of asteroidal meteorites have typically revolved around impact-induced shock metamorphism or the gravity-driven axial compression of cumulates at the base of magma chambers. Recent structural analyses, however, of several olivine-rich diogenites (harzburgites) reveal solid-state plastic deformation not attributable to either scenario and propose dynamic mantle movements in the parent body, assumed to be Vesta. In this study we examine the microstructures of pyroxene and olivine in the olivine-rich diogenite NWA 5480. Coarse-grained, poikilitic texture, exsolution lamellae and plastic deformation attest to polyphase deformation and a re-heating event, followed by relatively slow cooling. Observations suggest that impact events alone are insufficient to generate and sustain the thermal and deformation conditions required to achieve all of the observed features. The proposed dynamic mantle movements in the Vestan interior may offer a means of heat transport to the system to provide a thermal environment inducive to slow cooling as well as generate the incremental stress fields required for the polyphase plastic deformation observed in the olivine.     

The role of H2O in rapid emplacement and crystallization of granite pegmatites: resolving the paradox of large crystals in highly undercooled melts

Granite pegmatite sheets in the continental crust are characterized by very large crystals. There has been a shift in viewing pegmatites as products of very slow cooling of granite melts to viewing them as products of crystal growth in undercooled liquids. With this shift there has been a renewed debate about the role of H₂O in the petrogenesis of pegmatites. Based on data on nucleation of minerals and new viscosity models for hydrous granite melts, it is argued that H₂O is the essential component in the petrogenesis of granite pegmatites. H₂O is key to reducing the viscosity of granite melts, which enhances their transport within the crust. It also dramatically reduces the glass transition temperature, which permits crystallization of melts at hundreds of degrees below the thermodynamic solidus, which has been demonstrated by fluid inclusion studies and other geothermometers. Published experimental data show that because H₂O drastically reduces the nucleation rates of silicate minerals, the minerals may not be able to nucleate until melt is substantially undercooled. In a rapidly cooling intrusion, nucleation starts at its highly undercooled margins, followed by inward crystal growth towards its slower-cooling, hotter core. Delay in nucleation may be caused by competition for crystallization by several minerals in the near-eutectic melts and by the very different structures of minerals and the highly hydrated melts. Once a mineral nucleates, however, it may grow rapidly to a size that is determined by the distance between the site of nucleation and the point in the magma at which the temperature is approximately that of the mineral’s liquidus, assuming components necessary for mineral growth are available along the growth path. Granite pegmatites are apparently able to retain H₂O during most of their crystallization histories within the confinement of their wall rocks. Pegmatitic texture is a consequence of delayed nucleation and rapid growth at large undercooling, both of which are facilitated by high H₂O (±Li, B, F and P) contents in granite pegmatite melts. Without retention of H₂O the conditions for pegmatitic textural growth may be difficult to achieve. Loss of H₂O due to decompression and venting leads to microcrystalline texture and potentially glass during rapid cooling as seen in rhyolites. In contrast, slow cooling within a large magma chamber promotes continuous exsolution of H₂O from crystallizing magma, growth of equant crystals, and final solidification at the thermodynamic solidus. These are the characteristics of normal granites that distinguish them from pegmatites.     

Volatile elements in chondrites: metamorphism or nebular fractionation?

Three of the most highly metamorphosed meteorites of their respective classes, Shaw (LL7), Karoonda (C5), and Coolidge (C4), were analyzed by radiochemical neutron activation analysis for Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Cd, Cs, Ge, In, Ir, Ni, Os, Pd, Rb, Re, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, U, and Zn. Comparison with data by Lipschutz and coworkers on artificially heated primitive meteorites shows that the natural metamorphism of meteorites cannot have taken place in a system open to volatiles. Shaw, metamorphosed at 1300°C for >10⁶ yr, is less depleted in In, Bi, Ag, Te, Zn, and Tl than Krymka heated at 1000°C for 1 week. Karoonda, metamorphosed at 600°C for many millennia, is less depleted in Bi and Tl than Allende heated at 600°C for 1 week.Data on primordial noble gases also show that the volatile-element patterns of ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites were established by nebular condensation, and changed little if at all during metamorphism. For enstatite chondrites, the evidence is still incomplete, but seems to favor a nebular origin of the volatile pattern.The general constancy of Tl/Rb, Tl/Cs and Tl/U ratios in terrestrial and lunar rocks suggests that loss of volatile metals such as Tl is rare during normal magmatism or metamorphism. Only impact melts show such loss with any frequency.     

On the nature and origin of isolated olivine grains in carbonaceous chondrites

Many carbonaceous chondrites contain discrete olivine fragments that have been considered to be primitive material, i.e. direct condensates from the solar nebula or pre-solar system material. Olivine occurring in chondrules and as isolated grains in C3(0) chondrites has been characterized chemically and petrographically. Type I chondrules contain homogeneous forsterite grains that exhibit a negative correlation between FeO and CaO. Type II chondrules contain zoned fayalite olivines in which FeO is positively correlated with CaO and MnO. The isolated olivines in C3(0) chondrites form two compositional populations identical to olivines in the two types of porphyritic olivine chondrules in the same meteorites. Isolated olivines contain trapped melt inclusions similar in composition to glassy mesostasis between olivines in chondrules. Such glasses can be produced by fractional crystallization of olivine and minor spinel in the parent chondrule melts if plagioclase does not nucleate. The isolated olivine grains are apparently clastic fragments of chondrules. Some similarities between olivines in C3(0), C2, and Cl chondrites may suggest that olivine grains in all these meteorites crystallized from chondrule melts.     

Crystallization of melts, pegmatite intrusion and the Inverian retrogression of the Scourian complex, north-west Scotland

Abstract Partial melting of tonalitic gneisses in the 2.7 Ga Badcallian granulite facies metamorphic episode in the Scourian complex of north-west Scotland produced a suite of granitic to trondhjemitic liquids. On cooling and excavation of the complex, these melts underwent fractional crystallization and the residual liquids eventually became water saturated. Comparison with experimental data suggests that water saturation would have occurred in these melts at around 620–700°C. From the retrograde P–T -time path followed by the complex it is estimated that H₂O-dominated fluids were exsolved from these melts at c. 2.5 Ga. It is proposed that these fluids were the cause of the 2.5 Ga Inverian retrogression of the Scourian complex and that water-saturated melts formed during the crystallization of the leucogneisses were intruded as a suite of pegmatites. The timing of pegmatite intrusion is consistent with this proposition as are the temperature estimates, timing, distribution and nature of the Inverian phase of metamorphism. It is likely that the crystallization of melts is an important process in bringing about hydrous retrogressive metamorphic episodes in a number of other basement terrains, such as West Greenland and Australia.     

Iron meteorites with low Ga and Ge concentrations—composition,structure and genetic relationships

Twenty-one iron meteorites with Ge contents below 1 μg/g, including nine belonging to groups IIIF and IVB, have been analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for the elements Co, Cr, As, Au, Re, Ir and W. Groups IIIF and IVB show positive correlations of Au, As and Co (IIIF only) with published Ni analyses, and negative correlations of Ir, Re, Cr (IVB only) and W (IIIF only) with Ni. On element-Ni plots, the gradients of the least squares lines are similar to those of many other groups, excluding IAB and IIICD. With the inclusion of a new member, Klamath Falls, group IIIF has the widest range of Au, As and Co contents of any group and the steepest gradients on plots of these elements against Ni. It is likely that these trends in groups IIIF and IVB were produced by fractionation of elements between solid and liquid metal, probably during fractional crystallization.It has been suggested that some of the 15 irons with <l μg/g Ge which lie outside the groups might be related. However, the INAA data indicate that no two are as strongly related as two group members. These low-Ge irons and the members of groups IIIF, IVA and IVB tend to have low concentrations of As, Au and P, low $\text{Co}\text{Ni}$ ratios and high Cr contents. The depletion of the more volatile elements probably results from incomplete condensation into the metal from the solar nebula.The structures of low-Ge irons generally reflect fast cooling rates (20–2000 K Myr^?1). When data for all iron meteorites are plotted on a logarithmic graph of cooling rate against Ge concentration and results for related irons are averaged, there is a significant negative correlation. This suggests that metal grains which inefficiently condensed Ge and other volatile elements tended to accrete into small parent bodies.