Si‐bearing metal and niningerite in Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites and insights into the diversity of metal on the ureilite parent body

A detailed mineralogical and chemical study of Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites (MS‐20, MS‐165, MS‐168) was performed to shed light on the origin of these lithologies and their sulfide and metal. The Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites (silicates <30 μm grain size) show textural and chemical evidence for severe impact smelting as described for other fine‐grained ureilites. Highly reduced areas in Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites show large (up to ～1 mm) Si‐bearing metal grains (up to ～4.5 wt% Si) and niningerite [Mg_>0.5,(Mn,Fe)_<0.5S] with some similarities to the mineralogy of enstatite (E) chondrites. Overall, metal grains show a large compositional variability in Ni and Si concentrations. Niningerite grains probably formed as a by‐product of smelting via sulfidation. The large Si‐Ni variation in fine‐grained ureilite metal could be the result of variable degrees of reduction during impact smelting, inherited from coarse‐grained ureilite precursors, or a combination of both. Large Si‐bearing metal grains probably formed via coalescence of existing and newly formed metal during impact smelting. Bulk and in situ siderophile trace element abundances indicate three distinct populations of (1) metal crystallized from partial melts in MS‐20, (2) metal resembling bulk chondritic compositions in MS‐165, and (3) residual metal in MS‐168. Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites developed their distinctive mineralogy due to severe reduction during smelting. Despite the presence of E chondrite and ureilite stones in the Almahata Sitta fall, a mixing relation of E chondrites or their constituents and ureilite material in Almahata Sitta can be ruled out based on isotopic, textural, and mineral‐chemical reasons.     

Heterogeneous distributions of amino acids provide evidence of multiple sources within the Almahata Sitta parent body,asteroid 2008 TC3

Abstract– Two new fragments of the Almahata Sitta meteorite and a sample of sand from the related strewn field in the Nubian Desert, Sudan, were analyzed for two to six carbon aliphatic primary amino acids by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with UV‐fluorescence detection and time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐FT/ToF‐MS). The distribution of amino acids in fragment #25, an H5 ordinary chondrite, and fragment #27, a polymict ureilite, were compared with results from the previously analyzed fragment #4, also a polymict ureilite. All three meteorite fragments contain 180–270 parts‐per‐billion (ppb) of amino acids, roughly 1000‐fold lower than the total amino acid abundance of the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite. All of the Almahata Sitta fragments analyzed have amino acid distributions that differ from the Nubian Desert sand, which primarily contains l ‐α‐amino acids. In addition, the meteorites contain several amino acids that were not detected in the sand, indicating that many of the amino acids are extraterrestrial in origin. Despite their petrological differences, meteorite fragments #25 and #27 contain similar amino acid compositions; however, the distribution of amino acids in fragment #27 was distinct from those in fragment #4, even though both are polymict ureilites from the same parent body. Unlike in CM2 and CR2/3 meteorites, there are low relative abundances of α‐amino acids in the Almahata Sitta meteorite fragments, which suggest that Strecker‐type chemistry was not a significant amino acid formation mechanism. Given the high temperatures that asteroid 2008 TC₃ appears to have experienced and lack of evidence for aqueous alteration on the asteroid, it is possible that the extraterrestrial amino acids detected in Almahata Sitta were formed by Fischer‐Tropsch/Haber‐Bosch type gas‐grain reactions at elevated temperatures.     

Thermal and shock history of Almahata Sitta meteorite inferred from structure refinement of pyroxene and Mössbauer spectroscopy of Fe-Ni metal

The crystal structures of orthopyroxene (En_86.3Fs_8.6Wo_5.1, space group Pbca) and pigeonite (En_81.7Fs_8.8Wo_9.5, space group P2₁/c) from the Almahata Sitta ureilite (fragment#051) have been refined to R1 indices of 3.10% and 2.53%, respectively, using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The unit formulas were calculated from electron microprobe analysis, and the occupancies at the M1 and M2 sites were refined for both pyroxenes from the single-crystal diffraction data. The results indicate a rather disordered intracrystalline Fe²⁺-Mg cation distribution over the M1 and M2 sites, with a closure temperature of 726(±55)°C for orthopyroxene and 704(±110)°C for pigeonite, suggesting fast cooling of these pyroxenes. The Mössbauer spectrum of the Fe-Ni metal particles of Almahata Sitta ureilite (fragment#051) is dominated by two overlapping magnetic sextets that are assigned to Fe atoms in Si-bearing kamacite, and arise from two different nearest-neighbor configurations of Fe* (=Fe+Ni) and Si atoms in the bcc structure of kamacite; (8F*, 0Si) and (7Fe*, 1Si). In addition, the spectrum shows weak absorption peaks that are attributed to the presence of small amounts of cohenite [(Fe,Ni)₃C], schreibersite [(Fe,Ni)₃P], and an Fe-oxide/hydroxide phase. The fast cooling of pyroxene to the closure temperature (after equilibration at ~1200°C) and the incorporation of Si in kamacite can be interpreted as due to a shock event that took place on the meteorite parent body, consistent with the proposed formation history of ureilites parent body where a fast cooling has occurred at a later stage of its formation.     

Origin and history of ureilitic material in the solar system: The view from asteroid 2008 TC3 and the Almahata Sitta meteorite

Asteroid 2008 TC₃ (approximately 4 m diameter) was tracked and studied in space for approximately 19 h before it impacted Earth's atmosphere, shattering at 44–36 km altitude. The recovered samples (>680 individual rocks) comprise the meteorite Almahata Sitta (AhS). Approximately 50–70% of these are ureilites (ultramafic achondrites). The rest are chondrites, mainly enstatite, ordinary, and Rumuruti types. The goal of this work is to understand how fragments of so many different types of parent bodies became mixed in the same asteroid. Almahata Sitta has been classified as a polymict ureilite with an anomalously high component of foreign clasts. However, we calculate that the mass of fallen material was ≤0.1% of the pre‐atmospheric mass of the asteroid. Based on published data for the reflectance spectrum of the asteroid and laboratory spectra of the samples, we infer that the lost material was mostly ureilitic. Therefore, 2008 TC₃ probably contained only a few percent nonureilitic materials, similar to other polymict ureilites except less well consolidated. From available data for the AhS meteorite fragments, we conclude that 2008 TC₃ samples essentially the same range of types of ureilitic and nonureilitic materials as other polymict ureilites. We therefore suggest that the immediate parent of 2008 TC₃ was the immediate parent of all ureilitic material sampled on Earth. We trace critical stages in the evolution of that material through solar system history. Based on various types of new modeling and re‐evaluation of published data, we propose the following scenario. (1) The ureilite parent body (UPB) accreted 0.5–0.6 Ma after formation of calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAI), beyond the ice line (outer asteroid belt). Differentiation began approximately 1 Ma after CAI. (2) The UPB was catastrophically disrupted by a major impact approximately 5 Ma after CAI, with selective subsets of the fragments reassembling into daughter bodies. (3) Either the UPB (before breakup), or one of its daughters (after breakup), migrated to the inner belt due to scattering by massive embryos. (4) One daughter (after forming in or migrating to the inner belt) became the parent of 2008 TC₃. It developed a regolith, mostly ≥3.8 Ga ago. Clasts of enstatite, ordinary, and Rumuruti‐type chondrites were implanted by low‐velocity collisions. (5) Recently, the daughter was disrupted. Fragments were injected or drifted into Earth‐crossing orbits. 2008 TC₃ comes from outer layers of regolith, other polymict ureilites from deeper regolith, and main group ureilites from the interior of this body. In contrast to other models that have been proposed, this model invokes a stochastic history to explain the unique diversity of foreign materials in 2008 TC₃ and other polymict ureilites.     

MicroRaman spectroscopy of diamond and graphite in Almahata Sitta and comparison with other ureilites

This work is the first detailed study of carbon phases in the ureilite Almahata Sitta (sample #7). We present microRaman data for diamond and graphite in Almahata Sitta, seven unbrecciated ureilites, and two brecciated ureilites. Diamond in Almahata Sitta was found to be distinct from that in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites, although diamond in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites is indistinguishable. Almahata Sitta diamond shows a peak center range of 1318.5–1330.2 cm^?1 and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) range of 6.6–17.4 cm^?1, representing a shock pressure of at least 60 kbar. The actual peak shock pressure may be higher than this due to postshock annealing, if shock synthesis is the source of ureilite diamonds. Diamond in unbrecciated and brecciated ureilites have peak center wave numbers closer to terrestrial kimberlite diamond, but show a wider range of FWHM than Almahata Sitta. The larger peak shift observed in Almahata Sitta may indicate the presence of lonsdaleite. Alternatively, the lower values in brecciated ureilites may be evidence of an annealing step either following the initial diamond‐generating shock or as a consequence of heating during reconsolidation of the breccia. Graphite in Almahata Sitta shows a G‐band peak center range of 1569.1–1577.1 cm^?1 and a G‐band FWHM range of 24.3–41.6 cm^?1 representing a formation temperature of 990 ± 120 °C. Amorphous carbon was also found. We examine the different theories for diamond formation in ureilites, such as chemical vapor deposition and shock origin from graphite, and explore explanations for the differences between Almahata Sitta and other ureilites.     

Fe‐bearing phases in a ureilite fragment from the asteroid 2008 TC3 (= Almahata Sitta meteorites): A combined Mössbauer spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction study

The iron‐bearing phases in a ureilite fragment (AS#051) from the Almahata Sitta meteorite are studied using Mössbauer spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). AS#051 has a typical ureilite texture of medium‐ to coarse‐grained silicates (olivine, orthopyroxene, and pigeonite) with minor opaques (Fe‐Ni metal, troilite, and graphite). The silicate compositions, determined by EMPA, are homogeneous: olivine (Fo_90.2), orthopyroxene (En_86.3Fs_8.6Wo_5.1), and pigeonite (En_81.6Fs_8.9Wo_9.5), and are similar to those of magnesian ureilites. The modal abundance of mineral phases was determined by Rietveld refinement of the powder XRD data. The Mössbauer spectra at 295 K and 78 K are composed of two sharp well‐defined paramagnetic doublets superimposed on a well‐resolved magnetic sextet and other weak absorption features. The two paramagnetic doublets are assigned to olivine and pyroxene (orthopyroxene and pigeonite), and the ferromagnetic sextet to kamacite (magnetic hyperfine field ≈ 33.2 T), in agreement with the XRD characterization. The Mössbauer results also show the presence of small amounts of troilite (FeS) and cohenite ([Fe,Ni,Co]₃C). Using the Mössbauer data, the relative abundance of each Fe‐bearing phase is determined and compared with the results obtained by XRD.     

A noble gas and cosmogenic radionuclide analysis of two ordinary chondrites from Almahata Sitta

Abstract– We present the results of a noble gas (He, Ne, Ar) and cosmogenic radionuclide (¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl) analysis of two chondritic fragments (#A100, L4 and #25, H5) found in the Almahata Sitta strewn field in Sudan. We confirm their earlier attribution to the same fall as the ureilites dominating the strewn field, based on the following findings: (1) both chondrite samples indicate a preatmospheric radius of approximately 300 g cm^?2, consistent with the preatmospheric size of asteroid 2008 TC₃ that produced the Almahata Sitta strewn field; (2) both have, within error, a ²¹Ne/²⁶Al‐based cosmic ray exposure age of approximately 20 Ma, identical to the reported ages of Almahata Sitta ureilites; (3) both exhibit hints of ureilitic Ar in the trapped component. We discuss a possible earlier irradiation phase for the two fragments of approximately 10–20 Ma, visible only in cosmogenic ³⁸Ar. We also discuss the approximately 3.8 Ga (⁴He) and approximately 4.6 Ga (⁴⁰Ar) gas retention ages, measured in both chondritic fragments. These imply that the two chondrite fragments were incorporated into the ureilite host early in solar system evolution, and that the parent asteroid from which 2008 TC₃ is derived has not experienced a large break‐up event in the last 3.8 Ga.     

Northwest Africa 1500: Plagioclase‐bearing monomict ureilite or ungrouped achondrite?

Abstract— Northwest Africa (NWA) 1500 is an ultramafic meteorite dominated by coarse (?100–500 μm) olivine (95–96%), augite (2–3%), and chromite (0.6–1.6%) in an equilibrated texture. Plagioclase (0.7–1.8%) occurs as poikilitic grains (up to ?3 mm) in vein‐like areas that have concentrations of augite and minor orthopyroxene. Other phases are Cl‐apatite, metal, sulfide, and graphite. Olivine ranges from Fo 65–73, with a strong peak at Fo 68–69. Most grains are reversezoned, and also have ?10–30 μm reduction rims. In terms of its dominant mineralogy and texture, NWA 1500 resembles the majority of monomict ureilites. However, it is more ferroan than known ureilites (Fo ≥75) and other mineral compositional parameters are out of the ureilite range as well. Furthermore, neither apatite nor plagioclase have ever been observed, and chromite is rare in monomict ureilites. Nevertheless, this meteorite may be petrologically related to the rare augite‐bearing ureilites and represent a previously unsampled part of the ureilite parent body (UPB). The Mn/Mg ratio of its olivine and textural features of its pyroxenes are consistent with this interpretation. However, its petrogenesis differs from that of known augite‐bearing ureilites in that: 1) it formed under more oxidized conditions; 2) plagioclase appeared before orthopyroxene in its crystallization sequence; and 3) it equilibrated to significantly lower temperatures (800–1000 °C, from two‐pyroxene and olivine‐chromite thermometry). Formation under more oxidized conditions and the appearance of plagioclase before orthopyroxene could be explained if it formed at a greater depth on the UPB than previously sampled. However, its significantly different thermal history (compared to ureilites) may more plausibly be explained if it formed on a different parent body. This conclusion is consistent with its oxygen isotopic composition, which suggests that it is an ungrouped achondrite. Nevertheless, the parent body of NWA 1500 may have been compositionally and petrologically similar to the UPB, and may have had a similar differentiation history.     

Parent body depth–pressure–temperature relationships and the style of the ureilite anatexis

Abstract– New analyses of mafic silicates from 14 ureilite meteorites further constrain a strong correlation ( Singletary and Grove 2003 ) between olivine‐core Fo ratio and the temperature of equilibration (T_E) recorded by the composition of pigeonite. This correlation may be compared with relationships implied by various postulated combinations of Fo and pressure P in models for ureilite genesis by a putative process of anatectic (depth‐linked, P‐controlled) smelting. In such models, any combination of Fo and P together fixes the temperature of smelting. Agreement between the observed correlation and these models is poor. The anatectic smelting model also carries implausible implications for the depth range at which ureilites of a given composition (Fo) form. Actual ureilites (and polymict ureilite clasts: Downes et al. 2008 ) show a distribution strongly skewed toward the low‐Fo end of the compositional range, with approximately 58% in the range Fo_76–81. In contrast, the P‐controlled smelting model implies that the Fo_76–81 region is a small fraction of the volume of the parent body: not more than 3.2%, in a model consistent with the Fo‐T_E observations; and even ignoring the Fo‐T_E evidence not more than 11% (percentages cited require optimal assumptions concerning the size of the parent body). This region also must occur deep within the body, where no straightforward model would imply a strong bias in the impact‐driven sampling process. The ureilites did not derive preponderantly from one atypical “largest offspring” disruption survivor, because cooling history evidence shows that after the disruption (whose efficiency was increased by gas jetting), all of the known ureilites cooled in bodies that were tiny (mass of order 10^?9) in comparison with the precursor body. The Ca/Al ratio of the ureilite starting matter cannot be 2.5 times chondritic, as has been suggested, unless the part of the body from which ureilites come is at most 50% of the whole body. Published variants of the anatectic, P‐controlled smelting model have the ureilites coming from a region that is >50 vol% of their parent body; and to invoke a larger body would have the drawback of implying that the Fo_76–81 spike represents an even smaller fraction of the parent body’s interior. The ureilites’ moderate depletions in incompatible elements are difficult to reconcile with a fractional fusion model. It is not plausible that melt formed grossly out of equilibrium with the medium‐sized ureilite crystals. The alternative to pressure‐controlled smelting, i.e., a model of gasless or near‐gasless anatexis, has very different implications for the size and evolution of the original parent body. To yield internal pressures prohibitive of smelting in even the shallowest and most ferroan portion of its anatectic mantle, the body would have to be larger than roughly 690 km in diameter. A 400 km body would have approximately 12 vol% of the interior (or 13 vol% of the interior apart from the thermal “skin” that never undergoes anatexis) prone, if both extremely shallow and extremely ferroan, to mild smelting. Gasless anatexis also implies that this large parent body was compositionally, at least in terms of mg, grossly heterogeneous before anatexis, probably (in view of the oxygen isotopic diversity) as a result of mixed accretion.     

Early petrologic processes on the ureilite parent body

Abstract— We present a petrographic and petrologic analysis of 21 olivine‐pigeonite ureilites, along with new experimental results on melt compositions predicted to be in equilibrium with ureilite compositions. We conclude that these ureilites are the residues of a partial melting/smelting event. Textural evidence preserved in olivine and pigeonite record the extent of primary smelting. In pigeonite cores, we observe fine trains of iron metal inclusions that formed by the reduction of olivine to pigeonite and metal during primary smelting. Olivine cores lack metal inclusions but the outer grain boundaries are variably reduced by a late‐stage reduction event. The modal proportion of pigeonite and percentage of olivine affected by late stage reduction are inversely related and provide an estimation of the degree of primary smelting during ureilite petrogenesis. In our sample suite, this correlation holds for 16 of the 21 samples examined. Olivine‐pigeonite‐liquid phase equilibrium constraints are used to obtain temperature estimates for the ureilite samples examined. Inferred smelting temperatures range from ～1150°C to just over 1300°C and span the range of estimates published for ureilites containing two or more pyroxenes. Temperature is also positively correlated with modal percent pigeonite. Smelting temperature is inversely correlated with smelting depth—the hottest olivine‐pigeonite ureilites coming from the shallowest depth in the ureilite parent body. The highest temperature samples also have oxygen isotopic signatures that fall toward the refractory inclusion‐rich end of the carbonaceous chondrite‐anhydrous mineral (CCAM) slope 1 mixing line. These temperature‐depth variations in the ureilite parent body could have been created by a heterogeneous distribution of heat producing elements, which would indicate that isotopic heterogeneities existed in the material from which the ureilite parent body was assembled.     

Cosmic‐ray exposure ages of six chondritic Almahata Sitta fragments

The Almahata Sitta strewn field is dominated by ureilites, but contains a large fraction of chondritic fragments of various types. We analyzed stable isotopes of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and the cosmogenic radionuclides ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ³⁶Cl in six chondritic Almahata Sitta fragments (EL6 breccia, EL6, EL3‐5, CB, LL4/5, R‐like). The cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) ages of five of the six samples have an average of 19.2 ± 3.3 Ma, close to the average of 19.5 ± 2.5 Ma for four ureilites. The cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations in the chondrites indicate a preatmospheric size consistent with Almahata Sitta. This corroborates that Almahata Sitta chondrite samples were part of the same asteroid as the ureilites. However, MS‐179 has a lower CRE age of 11.0 ± 1.4 Ma. Further analysis of short‐lived radionuclides in fragment MS‐179 showed that it fell around the same time, and from an object of similar size as Almahata Sitta, making it almost certain that MS‐179 is an Almahata Sitta fragment. Instead, its low CRE age could be due to gas loss, chemical heterogeneity that may have led to an erroneous ²¹Ne production‐rate, or, perhaps most likely, MS‐179 could represent the true 4π exposure age of Almahata Sitta (or an upper limit thereof), while all other samples analyzed so far experienced exposure on the parent body of similar lengths. Finally, MS‐179 had an extraordinarily high activity of neutron‐capture ³⁶Cl, ~600 dpm kg^?1, the highest activity observed in any meteorite to date, related to a high abundance of the Cl‐bearing mineral lawrencite.     

Magmatic inclusions and felsic clasts in the Dar al Gani 319 polymict ureilite

Abstract— Magmatic inclusions occur in type II ureilite clasts (olivine‐orthopyroxene‐augite assemblages with essentially no carbon) and in a large isolated plagioclase clast in the Dar al Gani (DaG) 319 polymict ureilite. Type I ureilite clasts (olivine‐pigeonite assemblages with carbon), as well as other lithic and mineral clasts in this meteorite, are described in Ikeda et al.(2000). The magmatic inclusions in the type II ureilite clasts consist mainly of magnesian augite and glass. They metastably crystallized euhedral pyroxenes, resulting in feldspar component‐enriched glass. On the other hand, the magmatic inclusions in the large plagioclase clast consist mainly of pyroxene and plagioclase, with a mesostasis. They crystallized with a composition along the cotectic line between the pyroxene and plagioclase liquidus fields. DaG 319 also contains felsic lithic clasts that represent various types of igneous lithologies. These are the rare components not found in the common monomict ureilites. Porphyritic felsic clasts, the main type, contain phenocrysts of plagioclase and pyroxene, and their groundmass consists mainly of plagioclase, pyroxene, and minor phosphate, ilmenite, chromite, and/or glass. Crystallization of these porphyritic clasts took place along the cotectic line between the pyroxene and plagioclase fields. Pilotaxitic felsic clasts crystallized plagioclase laths and minor interstitial pyroxene under metastable conditions, and the mesostasis is extremely enriched in plagioclase component in spite of the ubiquitous crystallization of plagioclase laths in the clasts. We suggest that there are two crystallization trends, pyroxene‐metal and pyroxene‐plagioclase trends, for the magmatic inclusions and felsic lithic clasts in DaG 319. The pyroxene‐metal crystallization trend corresponds to the magmatic inclusions in the type II ureilite clasts and the pilotaxitic felsic clasts, where crystallization took place under reducing and metastable conditions, suppressing precipitation of plagioclase. The pyroxene‐plagioclase crystallization trend corresponds to the magmatic inclusions in the isolated plagioclase clast and the porphyritic felsic clasts. This trend developed under oxidizing conditions in magma chambers within the ureilite parent body. The felsic clasts may have formed mainly from albite component‐rich silicate melts produced by fractional partial melting of chondritic precursors. The common monomict ureilites, type I ureilites, may have formed by the fractional partial melting of alkali‐bearing chondritic precursors. However, type II ureilites may have formed as cumulates from a basaltic melt.     

Petrology of a nonindigenous microgranitic clast in polymict ureilite EET 87720: Evidence for formation of evolved melt on an unknown parent body

EET 87720 is a polymict ureilite breccia known to contain numerous nonindigenous fragments. We have discovered a microgranitic clast in an interior chip of Elephant Moraine (EET) 87720. The clast consists of a granophyre‐like intergrowth of a pure SiO₂ phase (tridymite) and albite, mantling a zoned oligoclase phenocryst. In the intergrowth, the tridymite occurs as thin elongate vermicular blebs within larger albite crystals. The granophyre‐like intergrowth and the oligoclase phenocryst share a common margin, suggesting that the clast was originally part of a larger fragment. An estimate of its bulk composition is equivalent to that of granite (77 wt% SiO₂). Patches of high‐Si K‐bearing glass occur interstitially within the clast; they have high concentrations of SO₃ (11–12 wt%) and contain Cl (0.6 wt%), suggesting that the clast formed on a volatile‐rich parent body perhaps resembling early Mars. The mean oxygen isotope composition of the feldspar and tridymite in the clast is very different from the oxygen isotope compositions of ureilites, and is similar to those of silicate inclusions in IIE and IVA irons. Thus, the clast is not indigenous to the ureilite parent body, but it provides evidence for the formation of evolved melts on an unknown parent body in the early solar system.     

Unmelted cosmic metal particles in the Indian Ocean

Fe‐Ni metal is a common constituent of most meteorites and is an indicator of the thermal history of the respective meteorites, it is a diagnostic tool to distinguish between groups/subgroups of meteorites. In spite of over a million micrometeorites collected from various domains, reports of pure metallic particles among micrometeorites have been extremely rare. We report here the finding of a variety of cosmic metal particles such as kamacite, plessite, taenite, and Fe‐Ni beads from deep‐sea sediments of the Indian Ocean, a majority of which have entered the Earth unaffected by frictional heating during atmospheric entry. Such particles are known as components of meteorites but have never been found as individual entities. Their compositions suggest precursors from a variety of meteorite groups, thus providing an insight into the metal fluxes on the Earth. Some particles have undergone heating and oxidation to different levels during entry developing features similar to I‐type cosmic spherules, suggesting atmospheric processing of individual kamacites/taenite grains as another hitherto unknown source for the I‐type spherules. The particles have undergone postdepositional aqueous alteration transforming finally into the serpentine mineral cronstedtite. Aqueous alteration products of kamacite reflect the local microenvironment, therefore they have the potential to provide information on the composition of water in the solar nebula, on the parent bodies or on surfaces of planetary bodies. Our observations suggest it would take sustained burial in water for tens of thousands of years under cold conditions for kamacites to alter to cronstedtite.     

Isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in ureilitic fragments of the Almahata Sitta meteorite

This study characterizes carbon and nitrogen abundances and isotopic compositions in ureilitic fragments of Almahata Sitta. Ureilites are carbon‐rich (containing up to 7 wt% C) and were formed early in solar system history, thus the origin of carbon in ureilites has significance for the origin of solar system carbon. These samples were collected soon after they fell, so they are among the freshest ureilite samples available and were analyzed using stepped combustion mass spectrometry. They contained 1.2–2.3 wt% carbon; most showed the major carbon release at temperatures of 600–700 °C with peak values of δ¹³C from ?7.3 to +0.4‰, similar to literature values for unbrecciated (“monomict”) ureilites. They also contained a minor low temperature (≤500 °C) component (δ¹³C = ca ?25‰). Bulk nitrogen contents (9.4–27 ppm) resemble those of unbrecciated ureilites, with major releases mostly occurring at 600–750 °C. A significant lower temperature release of nitrogen occurred in all samples. Main release δ¹⁵N values of ?53 to ?94‰ fall within the range reported for diamond separates and acid residues from ureilites, and identify an isotopically primordial nitrogen component. However, they differ from common polymict ureilites which are more nitrogen‐rich and isotopically heavier. Thus, although the parent asteroid 2008TC₃ was undoubtedly a polymict ureilite breccia, this cannot be deduced from an isotopic study of individual ureilite fragments. The combined main release δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values do not overlap the fields for carbonaceous or enstatite chondrites, suggesting that carbon in ureilites was not derived from these sources.     

The Meteoritical Bulletin,No. 96, September 2009

Abstract— The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 96 contains a total of 1590 newly approved meteorite names with their relevant data. These include 12 from specific locations within Africa, 76 from northwest Africa, 9 from the Americas, 13 from Asia, 1 from Australia, 2 from Europe, 950 from Antarctica recovered by the Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE), and 527 from the American Antarctic program (ANSMET). Among these meteorites are 4 falls, Almahata Sitta (Sudan), Sulagiri (India), Ash Creek (United States), and Maribo (Denmark). Almahata Sitta is an anomalous ureilite and is debris from asteroid 2008 TC3 and Maribo is a CM2 chondrite. Other highlights include a lunar meteorite, a CM1 chondrite, and an anomalous IVA iron.     

Incremental melting in the ureilite parent body: Initial composition,melting temperatures,and melt compositions

Ureilites are carbon‐rich ultramafic achondrites that have been heated above the silicate solidus, do not contain plagioclase, and represent the melting residues of an unknown planetesimal (i.e., the ureilite parent body, UPB). Melting residues identical to pigeonite‐olivine ureilites (representing 80% of ureilites) have been produced in batch melting experiments of chondritic materials not depleted in alkali elements relative to the Sun’s photosphere (e.g., CI, H, LL chondrites), but only in a relatively narrow range of temperature (1120 ºC–1180 ºC). However, many ureilites are thought to have formed at higher temperature (1200 ºC–1280 ºC). New experiments, described in this study, show that pigeonite can persist at higher temperature (up to 1280 ºC) when CI and LL chondrites are melted incrementally and while partial melts are progressively extracted. The melt productivity decreases dramatically after the exhaustion of plagioclase with only 5–9 wt% melt being generated between 1120 ºC and 1280 ºC. The relative proportion of pyroxene and olivine in experiments is compared to 12 ureilites, analyzed for this study, together with ureilites described in the literature to constrain the initial Mg/Si ratio of the UPB (0.98–1.05). Experiments are also used to develop a new thermometer based on the partitioning of Cr between olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene that is applicable to all ureilites. The equilibration temperature of ureilites increases with decreasing Al₂O₃ and Wo contents of pyroxene and decreasing bulk REE concentrations. The UPB melted incrementally, at different fO₂, and did not cool significantly (0 ºC–30 ºC) prior to its disruption. It remained isotopically heterogenous, but the initial concentration of major elements (SiO₂, MgO, CaO, Al₂O₃, alkali elements) was similar in the different mantle reservoirs.     

40Ar/39Ar ages of L4, H5, EL6, and feldspathic ureilitic clasts from the Almahata Sitta polymict ureilite (asteroid 2008 TC3)

The Almahata Sitta (AhS) meteorite consists of disaggregated clasts from the impact of the polymict asteroid 2008 TC₃, including ureilitic (70%–80%) and diverse non-ureilitic materials. We determined the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar release patterns for 16 AhS samples (3–1500 μg) taken from three chondritic clasts, AhS 100 (L4), AhS 25 (H5), and MS-D (EL6), as well as a clast of ureilitic trachyandesite MS-MU-011, also known as ALM-A, which is probably a sample of the crust of the ureilite parent body (UPB). Based on our analyses, best estimates of the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (Ma) of the chondritic clasts are 4535 ± 10 (L4), 4537–4555 with a younger age preferred (H5), and 4513 ± 17 (EL6). The ages for the L4 and the H5 clasts are older than the most published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages for L4 and H5 meteorites, respectively. The age for the EL6 clast is typical of older EL6 chondrites. These ages indicate times of argon closure ranging up to 50 Ma after the main constituents of the host breccia, that is, the ureilitic components of AhS, reached the >800°C blocking temperatures of pyroxene and olivine thermometers. We suggest that these ages record the times at which the clasts cooled to the Ar closure temperatures on their respective parent bodies. This interpretation is consistent with the recent proposal that the majority of xenolithic materials in polymict ureilites were implanted into regolith 40–60 Ma after calcium–aluminum-rich inclusion and is consistent with the interpretation that 2008 TC₃ was a polymict ureilite. With allowance for its 10-Ma uncertainty, the 4549-Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of ALM-A is consistent with closure within a few Ma of the time recorded by its Pb/Pb age either on the UPB or as part of a rapidly cooling fragment. Plots of age versus cumulative ³⁹Ar release for 10 of 15 samples with ≥5 heating steps indicate minor losses of ⁴⁰Ar over the last 4.5 Ga. The other five such samples lost some ⁴⁰Ar at estimated times no earlier than 3800–4500 Ma bp . Clustering of ages in the low-temperature data for these five samples suggests that an impact caused localized heating of the AhS progenitor ~2.7 Ga ago. In agreement with the published work, 10 estimates of cosmic-ray exposure ages based on ³⁸Ar concentrations average 17 ± 5 Ma but may include some early irradiation.     

Comment on “Parent body depth‐pressure‐temperature relationships and the style of the ureilite anatexis” by P. H. Warren (MAPS 47:209–227)

Ureilites are carbon‐rich ultramafic (olivine + dominantly low‐Ca pyroxene) achondrites with poorly understood petrogenesis. One major problem concerns the origin of extensive variation in FeO content (olivine core Fo values ranging from approximately 75 to 95) among the individual ureilites. The two main competing hypotheses to explain this variation are: (1) equilibrium smelting, in which ureilite Fo values were established by pressure‐dependent (depth‐linked) carbon redox reactions on the ureilite parent body during partial melting; or (2) nebular inheritance, in which the variation in FeO contents was derived from ureilite precursors and was preserved during partial melting. The paper “Parent body depth‐pressure‐temperature relationships and the style of the ureilite anatexis” by Warren (2012) discusses a series of topics related to ureilite petrogenesis. In each case, an argument is presented within the context of smelting versus nonsmelting models. Collectively, these arguments create the impression that there are many valid arguments against smelting. The purpose of this comment is to point out flaws in some of these arguments, and/or to show that the issues they address are independent of smelting versus nonsmelting models. Both equilibrium smelting and nebular inheritance (simple anatexis) models face challenges in explaining all the properties of ureilites, but both remain viable.     

Alkali‐feldspathic material entrained in Fe,S‐rich veins in a monomict ureilite

Abstract— The Elephant Moraine (EET) 96001 ureilite contains a remarkable diversity of feldspars, which occur as tiny (no more than 60 μm maximum dimension) grains within a few Fe,S‐rich (now weathered to mostly Fe oxide) veins. Molar S: Fe ratio in the veins averages 0.08 ± 0.02. The veins meander and feature large fluctuations in apparent width; they appear to have entered this monomict breccia by a gentle, percolative process, not by violent impact injection. The feldspars are accompanied by a diverse suite of K‐rich (and generally also Ti‐rich) feldspathic glasses, and also major proportions of silica and pyroxene, which is largely fassaitic. A rhönite‐like phase is also found, and, as inclusions in one of the fassaites, a Cr‐poor spinel‐like phase. The feldspars mostly feature remarkably high K/Na compared to feldspars of comparable An from polymict ureilites. The EET 96001 feldspathic component was probably once part of a thin basaltic crust on a ureilite asteroid. The spinel included in one of the fassaites formed at remarkably high f0₂ (apparent oxidation state of iron: ～41 atom% Fe³⁺), suggesting that the parent magma possibly assimilated near‐surface water (however, the Fe³⁺ was not directly measured, and has conceivably been affected by terrestrial weathering; also, there is no assurance that this fassaite originated together with the typical feldspar). We speculate that the feldspathic component was mixed into the dense, Fe,S‐rich vein material, and very soon thereafter the Fe,S‐rich vein material was emplaced adjacent to the EET 96001 host ureilite, at an advanced stage in a chaotic catastrophic disruption and partial reassembly process that affected all ureilites. The high‐K nature of the EET 96001 feldspathic component, including the feldspathic glasses, suggests that fractional fusion may not have been as common during ureilite anatexis as has been inferred from recent studies of clast assemblages in polymict ureilites.