Shock metamorphism of ordinary chondrites from Grove Mountains, Antarctica

Shock effects of 93 Grove Mountains (GRV) ordinary chondrites were studied in this work, including fracture, various types of extinction, and recrystallization of silicates observed under optical microscopy. Shock-induced veins and pockets show various microtextures, decomposition and phase transformation of minerals. The confirmed high-pressure polymorphs of silicates are ringwoodite, majorite, pyroxene glass and maskelynite. Based on the shock effects and assemblages of high-pressure minerals, shock stages of all of 93 GRV chondrites were classified. In comparison with literature, the Grove Mountains meteorites have a higher fraction (23 out of 93) of heavily shocked samples (S4-S5). Most of the heavily shocked meteorites are L group (22 out of 23), except for one H chondrite. The distinct shock metamorphism between H and L groups may indicate different surface properties of their parent bodies. In addition, there is relationship between petrologic types and shock stages, with most heavily shocked samples observed in equilibrated ordinary chondrites (especially Type 5 and 6).     

Meteorites from Grove Mountains, Antarctica:An overview

Thirty-two meteorites were collected in Grove Mountains area, Antarctica, by the 15th and 16th Chinese Antarctic Research Expeditions (CHINARE). Petrography and mineral chemistry of these meteorites are reviewed, among which there are one Martian lherzolite, one eucrite, one ungrouped iron meteorite, and six unequili-brated and twenty-three equilibrated ordinary chondrites. An equilibrated ordinary chondrite GRV 98004 ( H5 ) has an unusually low cosmic-ray exposure age. Meteorite concentrating processes in Grove Mountains area are discussed. In addition, future studies on Grove Mountains (GRV) meteorites are proposed.     

Petrography and Mineral Chemistry of 4 Carbonaceous Chondrites from the Grove Mountains, Antarctica

Petrography and mineral chemistry of four carbonaceous chondrites (GRV 020017, GRV 020025, GRV 021579, GRV 022459) collected from the Grove Mountains (GRV), Antarctica, were reported here. All four chondrites are unequilibrated, as indicated by well shaped chondrules and the chemical variations of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene. The modal abundance ratio of matrix/chondrule are 2(GRV 020017), 2.8(GRV 020025), 1.2(GRV 021579), 1(GRV 022459). GRV 022459 has the largest chondrules(0.6-2.0mm). A total of 30 Ca-Al-rich inclusions were found in the four meteorites. Most inclusions were highly altered, with abundant phyllosilicates in the inclusions of GRV 020017 and GRV 020025. On the base of petrography and mineral chemistry, these chondrites are classified as CM2 (GRV 020017 and 020025), CO3 (GRV 021579) and CV3 (GRV 022459).     

Subdivision of petrologic type of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites from Antarctica

We report results of petrologic and mineralogical studies of 25 unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (19 Chinese Antarctic meteorites) using electron microprobe, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) techniques. With increasing degree of thermal metamorphism, chemical zoning of olivine was erased; plessite was transformed into intergrowths of coarser-grained kamacite and Ni-rich metal; Cr exsolved from ferroan olivine, produced needle-like crystals and coarsened into equant chromite grains; and feldspar crystallized during devitrification of glass and recrystallization of matrix. These features can help to identify different metamorphic grades. Based on the scheme by Sears et al (1982), we subdivided type 3 Chinese Antarctic ordinary chondrites into petrologic type 3.3 to 4 (3 type 3.3, 3 type 3.4, 1 type 3.5, 2 type 3.6, 2 type 3.7, 5 type 3.8, 3 type 4). This classification scheme is a quite effective way to subdivide Antarctic meteorites. Additionally, we propose to revise the chemical groups of GRV 020032 and GRV 020104 to L and H, respectively.     

Exposure ages and radiogenic ages of ureilite(GRV 024516) and ordinary chondrite(GRV 024517) from Antarctica

The GRV 024516 and GRV 024517 meteorite samples collected from Grove Montains,Antactica are ureilite and H5 ordinary chondrite,respectively.Based on the study of mineralogy-petrology,the cosmic-ray exposure ages and gas retention ages of these two meteorites were determinated and calculated.Their cosmic-ray exposure ages are 33.3 Ma,51.7 Ma,and gas retention ages are 1936.8 Ma and 3720 Ma,respectively.The ureilite contains diamond,graphite and amorphous C,which are mainly carrier of noble gases indicating obviously shock metamorphism effects,which induced 40Ar partial loss.The H5 chondrite indicates thermal metamorphism of parent body,its gas retention age fall the range between 3220 Ma and 4510 Ma of the least shocked H5 chondrites     

Petrology of ureilites from Grove Mountains, Antarctica：Constraints on the origins

Ureilites are a common group of achondrites with a high abundance of carbon. They probably have a genetic relationship with chondrites, hence provide an insight into origin and evolution of terrestrial planets. A new meteorite-rich region, Grove Mountains (GRV), was found by the Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition, with discovery of 9834 meteorites. Of 2433 meteorites classified, 9 ureilites have been identified. In this paper, we report petrography of 6 of these ureilites. Four ureilites contain graphite and exhibit triangle conjunction and common reduced margins of olivine. GRV 052382 probably experienced heavy shock metamorphism followed by fast cooling, as indicated by mosaic texture or fine-grained granular texture of olivine. GRV 022931 was highly reduced of these ureilites, with olivine as isolated grains in abundant carbonaceous matrix. All 9 ureilites are monomict, and are classified into subtype II (with medium FeO content, Fa15-18) and subtype I (with high FeO content, Fa>18) based on compositions of the cores of olivine. The diverse mineral compositions and petrography of these ureilites suggest that they are not paired and reveal a multi-event history of the parent body. Partial melting of the parent body produced carbon-rich magma, followed by crystallization of graphite and silicates. Later, graphite was partially inverted to diamond by shock events. Reburial of the shocked debris experienced various degree of thermal metamorphism. Finally, these rocks were excavated from the parent asteroid and ejected into Earth-cross orbit by another impact event.     

GRV 051523： A new eucrite

Grove Mountains (GRV) 051523 is a newly identified eucrite, consisting mainly of coarse-grained pyroxene (62.9 vol%) and plagioclase (34.2 vol%), with less abundant opaque minerals (2.7 vol%), minor silica and tiny FeO-rich olivine (Fa75). Coarse-grained pyroxenes show exsolution of augite lamellae in pigeonite or vice versa. Width of most exsolution lamellae in pyroxenes is 1-3 μm. Opaque minerals are mainly chromite, ilmenite and sulfides. The meteorite was heavily shocked, as indicated by breccias and melt veins. Coarse-grained pyroxenes commonly contain abundant tiny or needle-like chromite inclusions with orientation, probably due to heavy shock events. Pyroxenes in various petrographic occurrences exhibit highly homogeneous compositions, indicating that GRV 051523 experienced intense thermal metamorphism in the parent asteroid 4 Vesta. GRV 051523 is classified as Type 5-6. This new eucrite will have additional constraints on chemical composition, magmatic differentiation, multi-stage shock and thermal history of Vesta.     

Classification of Grove Mountains meteorites and its significance

Meteorites are the extraterrestrial rocks, which provide insights into the origin and evolution of the solar system. During the past half century, a great number of meteorites has been discovered on the Antarctic Ice Sheet, confirming that the Antarctica is the most important meteorite concentration area on the earth. Since the first four Antarctic meteorites were found in Grove Mountains in 1998, a total of 9834 meteorites have been collected by four subsequent expeditions. It opens a new field of meteorite study in China, and also accumulates a great deal of scientific samples for China. Recently, classification of Grove Mountains meteorites has been carried out for 6 years, and made following progresses: (1) 2433 meteorites, which include many special meteorites, e.g. Martian meteorites, ureilites and carbonaceous chondrites, have been classified. (2) the Antarctic meteorite curation and the sample sharing system are set up preliminarily. (3) the classification procedure, the management of meteorite samples, and the application procedure for the Antarctic meteorites are completed after the systematic classification during these years. (4) young generation researchers on meteorite are trained through the cooperation of many universities and institutes on meteorite classification.     

Chemical compositions and cassfication of Grove Mountains （GRV） 98003 and other Chinese iron meteorites

Concentrations of Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Ga, Ge, As, Sb, W, Re, Ir, Pt and Au of two ungrouped iron meteorites, Grove Mountains （GRV） 98003 from Antarctica and Ujimqin, were measured using instrumental neutron activation analysis. According to the bulk chemistry, GRV 98003 is classified as a member of ⅠAB group, and Ujimqin as a unique one of ⅠAB iron meteorite complex. The elemental abundance pattern and correlation between elements （e. g. Ni-Au, Co-Au, As-Au, W- Au, Cu-Au, Sb-Au） of GRV 98003 are similar with those of NAW 468 （ⅠAB）, but significantly depleted in refractory siderophile elements （ Re, It） and moderate volatile elements （Ca, Ge） relative to the latter. In addition, we reclassify Nantan （ⅢCD） as a member of ⅠAB main group （MG） and Yongning （ⅠA） as a unique iron meteorite related with IAB iron meteorite complex.     

Progress in study of Chinese Antarctic Meteorites

This paper reviews and summarizes the Chinese Antarctica meteorite search, classification and research. During the past four antarctic explorations, a total of 9834 meteorites were collected in the Grove Mountains region. Among them, 2431 meteorites were classified by the end of 2008. So far, 684 meteorites have been officially published in the Meteoritical Bulletin, Meteoritical Society, including 2 martian meteorites, 2 eucrites, 6 ureilites, 5 mesosiderites, 1 pallasite, 1 iron and 10 carbonaceous chondrites. Comprehensive studies were carried out on a number of these rare type meteorites. In addition, we propose to continue the meteorite searching project in Grove Mountains and other regions in Antarctica. We also suggest several key topics of the future researches on the Chinese Antarctic meteorites.     

The digital mapping of satellite images under no ground control and the distribution of landform, blue ice and meteorites in the Grove Mountains, Antarctica

The colorful satellite image maps with the scale of 1∶100　000 were made by processing the parameters-on-satellite under the condition of no data of field surveying. The purpose is to ensure the smooth performance of the choice of expedition route, navigation and research task before the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) first made researches on the Grove Mountains. Moreover, on the basis of the visual interpretation of the satellite image, we preliminarily analyze and discuss the relief and landform, blue ice and meteorite distribution characteristics in the Grove Mountains. Key words　Grove Mountains, parameters-on-satellite, satellite image, digital mapping, blue ice, meteorites distribution.     

Geochemistry of the Martian Meteorite GRV 99027

GRV 90027 is a Martian lherzolitic shergottites (L-S) containing poikilitic, non-poikilitic, and melted pocket components. GRV 99027 is mainly composed of olive (55 vol%) and pyroxene (37.5 vol%), with minor maskelynite (6 vol%) and chromite (1.5 vol%), and trace whitelockite and troilite, ect. In this paper, the mineralogy and petrology of GRV 99027 are reported; in addition, the geochemical characteristics of the REEs and H isotopes in the GRV 99027 are also further investigated. The ΣREE in GRV 99027 is relatively low; HREEs are enriched in olivine and pyroxene grains; LREEs are enriched in plagioclase with a high positive Eu anomaly. High ΣREE value is found in rare mineral whitlockite (less than 0.2 vol%), LREE≈HREE, and whitlockite has a negative Eu anomaly. The REE distribution patterns of the whole -rock of GRV 99027 is similar to but different from that of other L-S Martian meteorites, indicating that they came from different location of Mars. GRV 99027 has a high δD value. Different water-bearing minerals give different contribution for δD value. The δD of phosphates generally does not correlate with water content, and δD has a weak negative correlation with water content. GRV 99027 can be classified as an L-S Martian meteorite based on mineralogical assemblage patterns, REE distribution patterns, and hydrogen isotope. The isotope data of Sr, Nd, Pb, Os and REE from other L-S Martian meteorites were collected to discuss the formation history of the GRV 99027. Similar to other L-S Martian meteorites, GRV 99027 originated from part of Mar's mantle; during one strong impact event about 4M years ago, the meteorites were ejected from deep mantle into space, and traveled for a different duration in space (indicated by different cosmic exposure time), and captured by the Earth later in different time, ultimately falling on the Antarctica as L-S Martian meteorites.     

Preliminary study on the erratic exposure ages of Grove Mountains, East Antarctica

The first study of erratic boulder exposure ages in the Grove Mountains,interior Antarctica,indicates the two erratic boulders(060131-1 and 060131-2,collected from a typical nunataks,Zakharoff Ridge in the Grove Mountains) have 10Be minimum exposure ages of 1.24±0.11 Ma,1.37±0.12 Ma,and 26Al ages of 0.90±0.12 Ma,0.44±0.04 Ma,respectively.Meanwhile,another erratic boulder sample 060131-4,coming from vicinal ice surface,has 10Be and 26Al minimum exposure ages of 0.47±0.3 Ma and 0.44±0.04 Ma,respectively.The e...     

The establishment of GPS network in Grove Mountains, East Antarctica

1 Introduction The Grove Mountains is located at Princess Elizabeth land in East Antarctica, about 400 km from Zhongshan station and 160 km east of the Mawson Escarpment, consists of a scattered group of mountains and nunataks. The range extends73°-76°E…     

Preliminary study on the spore-pollen assemblages found in the Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in Grove Mountains, east Antarctica and its climatic implications

Glaciogene sedimentary rocks have been found in modem tills of the Grove Mountains, east Antarctica during the 1998 - 1999 Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition （CHNARE）. Based on the lithilogic and sedimentary features, these sedimentary rocks are correlated with Cenozoic sedimentary strata of the Pagodroma Group in the neighboring Prince Charles Mountains and the Sorsdal Formation in VestFold Hills. Sedimentary clasts contain sparsely Late Tertiary spores and pollens, including ： Toroisporis （ Lygodiaceae）, Osmunda, Granulatisporites （ Pteridaceae？） , Polypodiaceae, Podocarpus , Araucariaceae, Artemisia , Rhus , Nothofagidites , Proteacidites （Proteaceae） , Quercus , Fraxinoipollenites （ Oleaceae ） , Oleoidearumpollenites（ Oleaceae ）, Operculumpollis, and Tricolpopollenites. Most of the pollen and spores contained in these samples originate from local sources according to the conditions of their preservations as well as correlations with the microfossil assemblages found in the neighboring areas. The majority of the pollen assemblages, as represented by Podocarpus and Nothofagus, belong to the Weddellian biogeocenose, however some exotic components from the old sedimentary basement rocks may have been included during erosion of the proximal ice sheet. If the source areas of glaciogenic sedimentary rocks that bear the pollen and spores are assumed to be local, or in the up glacier areas, the pollen assemblages in these samples might represent an inland flora during a warmer period of the ice-sheet evolutionary history. The finding of the Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae in the pollen assemblages implies that they may belong to late Tertiary （most probably Pliocene）. The absence of diatoms in the samples analyzed may indicate that there are no Cenozoic marine strata in the interior of the east Antarctica beyond the Grove Mountains. The significances of the finding of the Nothofagus in these pollen assemblages are discussed on the basis of current knowledge about the age, distribution and ecological conditions of this kind of fossils found in Sirius Group or other strata outcropped in Antarctica. As a preliminary conclusion, we think that the existence of the Cenozoic glaciogenenic rocks and their pollen assemblages present new evidence for a large scale glacial retreat history in Grove Mountains of east Antarctica, and thus support a dynamic East Antarctic Ice Sheet （EAIS）. This is consistent with the interpretations of Webb et al. （1984）.     

Metamorphism and microstructure of seasonal snow: Single layer tracking in Western Tianshan,China

Snowpack is a combination of several snow layers. Accordingly, snowpack natural metamorphism is composed of several stages. The aim of this study is to investigate the natural snow metamorphism at the snow layer unit. The field investigation was conducted at the Tianshan Station for Snow Cover and Avalanche Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences(43°16' N, 84°24' E, and 1,776 m a.s.l.), during the winter of 2010-2011. A complete metamorphic procedure and the corresponding microstructure of a target snow layer were tracked. The results indicate that: the ideal and complete metamorphic process and the corresponding predominant snow grain shape have 5 stages: 1) unstable kinetic metamorphism near the surface; 2) unstable kinetic metamorphism under pressure; 3) stable kinetic metamorphism; 4) equilibrium metamorphism; 5) wet snow metamorphism. Snow grain size sharply decreased in the surface stage, and then changed to continuously increase. Rapid increase of grain size occurred in the stable kinetic metamorphism and wet snow metamorphism stage. The characteristic length was introduced to represent the real sizes of depth hoar crystals. The snow grain circularity ratio had a variation of "rapid increase–slow decrease–slow increase", and the snow aggregations continuously increased with time. Snow density grew stepwise and remained steady from the stable kinetic to the equilibrium metamorphism stage. The differences in metamorphism extent and stages among snow layers, led to the characteristic layered structure of snowpack.     

DYNAMIC CHANGES OF INORGANIC NITROGEN AND ASTAXANTHIN ACCUMULATION IN HAEMATOCOCCUS PLUVIALIS

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＯｖｅｒｔｈｅｐａｓｔｄｅｃａｄｅ ,Ｈａｅｍａｔｏｃｏｃｃｕｓｐｌｕｖｉａｌｉｓｈａｓｂｅｅｎａｓｕｂｊｅｃｔｏｆｎｕｍｅｒｏｕｓｉｎｖｅｓｔｉｇａｔｉｏｎｓｂｅ ｃａｕｓｅｉｔｓｃｏｎｓｐｉｃｕｏｕｓｒｅｄｃｏｌｏｒｐｏｉｎｔｓｔｏｉｔｓｐｏｓｓｉｂｉｌｉｔｙａｓａｈｏｐｅｆｕｌｒｅｇｅｎｅｒａｔｉｖｅｂｉｏｒｅｓｏｕｒｃｅｏｆａｓｔａｘａｎ ｔｈｉｎ .Ｅｘｔｅｎｓｉｖｅｓｔｕｄｙｏｆｃｕｌｔｕｒｅｆａｃｔｏｒｓ (ｓｕｃｈａｓｔｅｍｐｅｒａｔｕｒｅ,ｉｌｌｕｍｉｎａｔｉｏ…     

勒氏笛鲷Lutjanus russelli Bleeker的年龄和生长研究

采用胸鳍覆盖处的体表鳞片为研究勒笛绸年龄的鉴定材料，判断年轮的依据是以环片切割现象为主，结合环片排列的疏密现象。鳞径（Ｒ）与体长（Ｌ）的关系为Ｌ＝１９．８１５９＋６３．３６９６Ｒ。用ＶｏｎＢｅｒｔａｌａｎｆｆｙ生长方程可表达体长、体重与年龄的关系为Ｌ＝４６９．８［１－ｅ－０．２４２５（ｔ＋０．３７６２）］、Ｗｔ＝３３６６．６［１－ｅ－０．２４２　５（ｔ＋０．３７６　２）］３，生长拐点ｔｒ＝４．１５ａ。作为渔业管理对策，勒氏笛鲷捕捞年龄应定在４龄以上，人工养殖年限以２～３龄最好。     

Determination of Ca,K, Mg and Fe in four fish species by FAAS

A method for determining calcium(Ca),potassium(K),magnesium(Mg) and iron(Fe) in four fish species was optimized and validated.It included microwave mineralization of the samples and subsequent quantification by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy(FAAS) with Zeeman-effect background correction.Using HNO3(65%) and H2O2(33%) as extraction solutions,the optimal conditions of extraction were established as follows:0.5 g of sample mass;microwave time program of 300 W/5 min and 600 W/5 min.The method was free of matrix interferences.The linear correlation coefficients were ≥0.9991,the recovery percentage of analytes was from 99.31% to 103.70% and the RSD(relative standard deviation) was lower than 2.06%.The detection limits obtained were 32.3,43.2,14.0 and 68.6 ng mL-1 for Ca,K,Mg and Fe in FAAS respectively.It is shown that the method is rapid,simple,sensitive and accurate.The method was applied to the studies of digestibility and measurement of these nutrients in samples of fish collected from Norway,Japan and China.     

宝鸡黄土中的风化壳

根据野外调查,在宝鸡黄土中确定了五个时期的风化壳,它们分别为第1～5层古土壤与其下的风化黄土构成。根据X-射线衍射得知,这些风化壳为水云母和绿泥石等构成的粘土型风化壳。CaCO_3淀积深度和Fe_2O_3、Al_2O_3迁移特征表明第1和3～5层古土壤与其下黄土构成的风化壳发育时处于酸性风化阶段,当时年平均降水量在900mm以上;第2层古土壤与其下风化黄土构成的风化壳发育时处于中性风化阶段,当时年平均降水量为800mm左右。