Thermal histories of angrite meteorites: Trace element partitioning among silicate minerals in Angra dos Reis,Lewis Cliff 86010, and experimental analogs

Abstract— We measured rare earth element (REE) abundances in selected silicate phases in the angrites Angra dos Reis (AdoR) and Lewis Cliff (LEW) 86010 in order to further clarify the thermal history of AdoR. We also carried out a preliminary experimental study designed to examine apparent REE partitioning between silicates (fassaite, olivine, kirschsteinite, and melt) in synthetic analogs of angrites under disequilibrium conditions at liquidus temperatures. Silicates in AdoR are homogeneous with respect to major, minor, and trace elements, which is consistent with the interpretation that AdoR underwent extensive subsolidus equilibration. REE distributions in olivine and kirschsteinite in AdoR are similar to those in LEW 86010 and are consistent with the formation of kirschsteinite by exsolution from olivine during cooling and/or annealing. There is no evidence for a disequilibrium trace element signature that could have been inherited from rapid cooling at liquidus temperatures. This is supported by our petrographic observations of the occurrence of kirschsteinite within olivine aggregates in AdoR. Olivine/kirschsteinite pairs in AdoR record closure temperatures around 600–650 °C.     

Petrogenesis of D'Orbigny-like angrite meteorites and the role of spinel in the angrite source

Angrite meteorites are samples of early planetesimal magmatic rocks, distinguished from more typical “basaltic eucrites” by compositions that are silica undersaturated, relatively oxidized, and with high CaO/Al₂O₃. The latter is not expected from nebular, chondritic materials that might form a primitive mantle, such as a source enriched in refractory inclusions with fixed CaO/Al₂O₃ (e.g., CV chondrite). Here we present results of “reversal” crystallization experiments for two possible parental angrite compositions (approximating the D'Orbigny meteorite) to investigate the role of spinel as a sink for Al₂O₃. This mineral has previously been produced with angritic melts during “forward” melting of CV chondrite and may be abundant in the angrite source. At oxidizing conditions, we confirm that spinel is a liquidus phase and that angritic magmas form near the olivine-anorthite-spinel-liquid peritectic. A stability gap separates Al-rich liquidus spinels and lower temperature spinels, the latter of which are similar to those in basaltic eucrites. Al-rich spinel is likely more abundant in the angritic source than other Fe-rich core-forming components such as metal or sulfide, and a CV chondrite-like composition generates most features of angrite magmas by fractionation of observed olivine and liquidus spinel. Direct CaO excess, via carbonate addition, is therefore limited. In this model, discrepancies remain for Li, Sc, Cr(-Al), and Ba, which may record local accretion conditions or early processing. The possible role of spinel as a sink for ²⁶Al may have strong influence on the thermal evolution of the angrite parent body.     

Evolution of the angrite parent body: Implications of metamorphic coronas in NWA 3164

Northwest Africa 3164 is a coarse‐grained angrite that shows reaction coronas, a unique character among achondrites. Olivine (Fo₅₇; 1.2 wt% CaO), fassaitic clinopyroxene, anorthite, and spinel account for 46–47, 28–29, 8–13, and 4–8 vol%, respectively; kamacite is an accessory phase. The spinel grains in contact with clinopyroxene are bounded by discontinuous 20 μm thick coronas of anorthite and olivine, indicating the reaction Cpx + Spl → Ol + An (R1). In addition, irregular coronas of clinopyroxene and spinel developed around the primary anorthite in contact with primary olivine, during the reaction Ol + An → Cpx + Spl (R2). R2 also generated clinopyroxene and spinel films between the secondary olivine and anorthite coronas produced during R1, implying that R1 preceded R2. Both are metamorphic reactions that developed in the solid state. Finally, the coronas are cross cut by μm‐thick veinlets due to a late shock. A mass‐balance study shows that R2 is almost the reverse of R1. The P–T metamorphic evolution of the rock, modeled by calculating a P–T isochemical diagram, indicates an equilibrium T of 940 ± 120 °C at P < 0.9 GPa for the initial assemblage, followed by an increase of T up to approximately 1000–1200 °C during reaction R1 and a subsequent cooling during R2. Several causes are envisaged to account for this metamorphic evolution. Contact metamorphism due to a hot magmatic intrusion in the angrite parent body is favored, as similar metamorphic coronas are well known in metamorphic terrestrial rocks. In addition to differentiation and magmatism, there is now evidence for metamorphism in the angrite parent body, which would have been a large asteroid or a planetary‐sized body.     

Mineralogy,petrology, chronology,and exposure history of the Chelyabinsk meteorite and parent body

Three masses of the Chelyabinsk meteorite have been studied with a wide range of analytical techniques to understand the mineralogical variation and thermal history of the Chelyabinsk parent body. The samples exhibit little to no postentry oxidation via Mössbauer and Raman spectroscopy indicating their fresh character, but despite the rapid collection and care of handling some low levels of terrestrial contamination did nonetheless result. Detailed studies show three distinct lithologies, indicative of a genomict breccia. A light‐colored lithology is LL5 material that has experienced thermal metamorphism and subsequent shock at levels near S4. The second lithology is a shock‐darkened LL5 material in which the darkening is caused by melt and metal‐troilite veins along grain boundaries. The third lithology is an impact melt breccia that formed at high temperatures (~1600 °C), and it experienced rapid cooling and degassing of S₂ gas. Portions of light and dark lithologies from Chel‐101, and the impact melt breccias (Chel‐102 and Chel‐103) were prepared and analyzed for Rb‐Sr, Sm‐Nd, and Ar‐Ar dating. When combined with results from other studies and chronometers, at least eight impact events (e.g., ~4.53 Ga, ~4.45 Ga, ~3.73 Ga, ~2.81 Ga, ~1.46 Ga, ~852 Ma, ~312 Ma, and ~27 Ma) are clearly identified for Chelyabinsk, indicating a complex history of impacts and heating events. Finally, noble gases yield young cosmic ray exposure ages, near 1 Ma. These young ages, together with the absence of measurable cosmogenic derived Sm and Cr, indicate that Chelyabinsk may have been derived from a recent breakup event on an NEO of LL chondrite composition.     

Lead and Mg isotopic age constraints on the evolution of the HED parent body

The large collection of howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite (HED) meteorites allows us to study the initial magmatic differentiation of a planetesimal. We report Pb‐Pb ages of the unequilibrated North West Africa (NWA) 4215 and Dhofar 700 diogenite meteorites and their mass‐independent ²⁶Mg isotope compositions (²⁶Mg*) to better understand the timing of differentiation and crystallization of their source reservoir(s). NWA 4215 defines a Pb‐Pb age of 4484.5 ± 7.9 Myr and has a ²⁶Mg* excess of +2.3 ± 1.6 ppm whereas Dhofar 700 has a Pb‐Pb age of 4546.4 ± 4.7 Myr and a ²⁶Mg* excess of +25.5 ± 1.9 ppm. We interpret the young age of NWA 4215 as a thermal overprint, but the age of Dhofar 700 is interpreted to represent a primary crystallization age. Combining our new data with published Mg isotope and trace element data suggests that approximately half of the diogenites for which such data are available crystallized within the first 1–2 Myr of our solar system, consistent with a short‐lived, early‐formed magma ocean undergoing convective cooling. The other half of the diogenites, including both NWA 4215 and Dhofar 700, are best explained by their crystallization in slowly cooled isolated magma chambers lasting over at least ~20 Myr.     

Comparison of the LEW88516 and ALHA77005 martian meteorites: Similar but distinct

Abstract By mineral and bulk compositions, the Lewis Cliff (LEW) 88516 meteorite is quite similar to the ALHA77005 martian meteorite. These two meteorites are not paired because their mineral compositions are distinct, they were found 500 km apart in ice fields with different sources for meteorites, and their terrestrial residence ages are different. Minerals in LEW88516 include: olivine, pyroxenes (low- and high-Ca), and maskelynite (after plagioclase); and the minor minerals chromite, whitlockite, ilmenite, and pyrrhotite. Mineral grains in LEW88516 range up to a few mm. Texturally, the meteorite is complex, with regions of olivine and chromite poikilitically enclosed in pyroxene, regions of interstitial basaltic texture, and glass-rich (shock) veinlets. Olivine compositions range from Fo₆₄ to Fo₇₀, (avg. Fo₆₇), more ferroan and with more variation than in ALHA77005 (Fo₆₉ to Fo₇₃). Pyroxene compositions fall between En₇₇Wo₄ and En₆₅Wo₁₅ and in clusters near En₆₃Wo₉ and En₅₃Wo₃₃, on average more magnesian and with more variation than in ALHA77005. Shock features in LEW88516 range from weak deformation through complete melting. Bulk chemical analyses by modal recombination of electron microprobe analyses, instrumental neutron activation, and radiochemical neutron activation confirm that LEW88516 is more closely related to ALHA77005 than to other known martian meteorites. Key element abundance ratios are typical of martian meteorites, as is its non-chondritic rare earth pattern. Differences between the chemical compositions of LEW88516 and ALHA77005 are consistent with slight differences in the proportions of their constituent minerals and not from fundamental petrogenetic differences. Noble gas abundances in LEW88516, like those in ALHA77005, show modest excesses of ⁴⁰Ar and ¹²⁹Xe from trapped (shock-implanted) gas. As with other ALHA77005 and the shergottite martian meteorites (except EETA79001), noble gas isotope abundances in LEW88516 are consistent with exposure to cosmic rays for 2.5–3 Ma. The absence of substantial effects of shielding from cosmic rays suggest LEW88516 spent this time as an object no larger than a few cm in diameter.     

Asteroid 6 Hebe: The probable parent body of the H-type ordinary chondrites and the IIE iron meteorites

Abstract— The S(IV)-type asteroid 6 Hebe is identified as the probable parent body of the H-type ordinary chondrites and of the IIE iron meteorites. The ordinary chondrites are the most common type of meteorites falling to Earth; but prior to the present study, no large mainbelt source bodies have been confirmed. Hebe is located adjacent to both the v₆ and 3:1 resonances and has been previously suggested as a major potential source of the terrestrial meteorite flux. Hebe exhibits subtle rotational spectral variations, indicating the presence of some compositional variations across its surface. The silicate portion of the surface assemblage of Hebe is consistent (both in overall average and in its range of variation) with the silicate components in the suite of H-type chondrites. The high albedo of Hebe rules out a lunar-style space weathering process to produce the weakened absorption features and reddish spectral slope in the S-type spectrum of Hebe. Linear unmixing models show that a typical Ni-Fe metal spectrum is consistent with the component that modifies an H-chondrite spectrum to produce the S-type spectrum of Hebe. On the basis of the association between the H chondrites and the HE iron meteorites, our model suggests that large impacts onto the relatively metal-rich H-chondrite target produced melt bodies (sheets or pods) that differentiated to form thin, laterally extensive near-surface layers of Ni-Fe metal. Fragments of the upper silicate portions of these melt bodies are apparently represented by some of the igneous inclusions in H-chondrite breccias. Alternately, masses of metal could have been deposited on the surface of Hebe by the impact of a core or core fragment from a differentiated parent body of H-chondrite composition. Subsequent impacts preferentially eroded and depleted the overlying silicate and regolith components, exposing and maintaining large masses of metal at the optical surface of Hebe. In this interpretation, the nonmagmatic IIE iron meteorites are samples of the Ni-Fe metal masses on the surface of Hebe, whereas the H chondrites are samples from between and/or beneath the metal masses.     

Elemental,isotopic, and structural changes in Tagish Lake insoluble organic matter produced by parent body processes

Here, we present the results of a multitechnique study of the bulk properties of insoluble organic material (IOM) from the Tagish Lake meteorite, including four lithologies that have undergone different degrees of aqueous alteration. The IOM C contents of all four lithologies are very uniform and comprise about half the bulk C and N contents of the lithologies. However, the bulk IOM elemental and isotopic compositions vary significantly. In particular, there is a correlated decrease in bulk IOM H/C ratios and δD values with increasing degree of alteration—the IOM in the least altered lithology is intermediate between CM and CR IOM, while that in the more altered lithologies resembles the very aromatic IOM in mildly metamorphosed CV and CO chondrites, and heated CMs. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, C X‐ray absorption near‐edge (XANES), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirm and quantitate this transformation from CR‐like, relatively aliphatic IOM functional group chemistry to a highly aromatic one. The transformation is almost certainly thermally driven, and probably occurred under hydrothermal conditions. The lack of a paramagnetic shift in ¹³C NMR spectra and 1s‐σ* exciton in the C‐XANES spectra, both typically seen in metamorphosed chondrites, shows that the temperatures were lower and/or the timescales were shorter than experienced by even the least metamorphosed type 3 chondrites. Two endmember models were considered to quantitatively account for the changes in IOM functional group chemistry, but the one in which the transformations involved quantitative conversion of aliphatic material to aromatic material was the more successful. It seems likely that similar processes were involved in producing the diversity of IOM compositions and functional group chemistries among CR, CM, and CI chondrites. If correct, CRs experienced the lowest temperatures, while CM and CI chondrites experienced similar more elevated temperatures. This ordering is inconsistent with alteration temperatures based on mineralogy and O isotopes.     

A petrologic study of the IAB iron meteorites: Constraints on the formation of the IAB‐Winonaite parent body

Abstract— We studied 26 IAB iron meteorites containing silicate‐bearing inclusions to better constrain the many diverse hypotheses for the formation of this complex group. These meteorites contain inclusions that fall broadly into five types: (1) sulfide‐rich, composed primarily of troilite and containing abundant embedded silicates; (2) nonchondritic, silicate‐rich, comprised of basaltic, troctolitic, and peridotitic mineralogies; (3) angular, chondritic silicate‐rich, the most common type, with approximately chondritic mineralogy and most closely resembling the winonaites in composition and texture; (4) rounded, often graphite‐rich assemblages that sometimes contain silicates; and (5) phosphate‐bearing inclusions with phosphates generally found in contact with the metallic host. Similarities in mineralogy and mineral and O‐isotopic compositions suggest that IAB iron and winonaite meteorites are from the same parent body. We propose a hypothesis for the origin of IAB iron meteorites that combines some aspects of previous formation models for these meteorites. We suggest that the precursor parent body was chondritic, although unlike any known chondrite group. Metamorphism, partial melting, and incomplete differentiation (i.e., incomplete separation of melt from residue) produced metallic, sulfide‐rich and silicate partial melts (portions of which may have crystallized prior to the mixing event), as well as metamorphosed chondritic materials and residues. Catastrophic impact breakup and reassembly of the debris while near the peak temperature mixed materials from various depths into the re‐accreted parent body. Thus, molten metal from depth was mixed with near‐surface silicate rock, resulting in the formation of silicate‐rich IAB iron and winonaite meteorites. Results of smoothed particle hydrodynamic model calculations support the feasibility of such a mixing mechanism. Not all of the metal melt bodies were mixed with silicate materials during this impact and reaccretion event, and these are now represented by silicate‐free IAB iron meteorites. Ages of silicate inclusions and winonaites of 4.40‐4.54 Ga indicate this entire process occurred early in solar system history.     

Petrological,petrofabric, and oxygen isotopic study of five ungrouped meteorites related to brachinites

Northwest Africa (NWA) 6112, Miller Range (MIL) 090206 (plus its pairs: MIL 090340 and MIL 090405), and Divnoe are olivine‐rich ungrouped achondrites. We investigated and compared their petrography, mineralogy, and olivine fabrics. We additionally measured the oxygen isotopic compositions of NWA 6112. They show similar petrography, mineralogy, and oxygen isotopic compositions and we concluded that these five meteorites are brachinite clan meteorites. We found that NWA 6112 and Divnoe had a c axis concentration pattern of olivine fabrics using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). NWA 6112 and Divnoe are suggested to have been exposed to magmatic melt flows during their crystallization on their parent body. On the other hand, the three MIL meteorites have b axis concentration patterns of olivine fabrics. This indicates that the three MIL meteorites may be cumulates where compaction of olivine grains was dominant. Alternatively, they formed as residues and were exposed to olivine compaction. The presence of two different olivine fabric patterns implies that the parent body(s) of brachinite clan meteorites experienced diverse igneous processes.     

Zinc isotopic composition of iron meteorites: Absence of isotopic anomalies and origin of the volatile element depletion

High‐precision Zn isotopic compositions measured by MC‐ICP‐MS are documented for 32 iron meteorites from various fractionally crystallized and silicate‐bearing groups. The δ⁶⁶Zn values range from ?0.59‰ up to +5.61‰ with most samples being slightly enriched in the heavier isotopes compared with carbonaceous chondrites (0 < δ⁶⁶Zn < 0.5). The δ⁶⁶Zn versus δ⁶⁸Zn plot of all samples defines a common linear fractionation line, which supports the hypothesis that Zn was derived from a single reservoir or from multiple reservoirs linked by mass‐dependent fractionation processes. Our data for Redfields fall on a mass fractionation line and therefore refute a previous claim of it having an anomalous isotopic composition due to nonmixing of nucleosynthetic products. The negative correlation between δ⁶⁶Zn and the Zn concentration of IAB and IIE is consistent with mass‐dependent isotopic fractionation due to evaporation with preferential loss of lighter isotopes in the vapor phase. Data for the Zn concentrations and isotopic compositions of two IVA samples demonstrate that volatile depletion in the IVA parent body is not likely the result of evaporation. This is important evidence that favors the incomplete condensation origin for the volatile depletion of the IVA parent body.     

Thermal and impact histories of reheated group IVA,IVB, and ungrouped iron meteorites and their parent asteroids

Abstract– The microstructures of six reheated iron meteorites—two IVA irons, Maria Elena (1935), Fuzzy Creek; one IVB iron, Ternera; and three ungrouped irons, Hammond, Babb’s Mill (Blake’s Iron), and Babb’s Mill (Troost’s Iron)—were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, electron‐probe microanalysis, and electron backscatter diffraction techniques to determine their thermal and shock history and that of their parent asteroids. Maria Elena and Hammond were heated below approximately 700–750 °C, so that kamacite was recrystallized and taenite was exsolved in kamacite and was spheroidized in plessite. Both meteorites retained a record of the original Widmanstätten pattern. The other four, which show no trace of their original microstructure, were heated above 600–700 °C and recrystallized to form 10–20 μm wide homogeneous taenite grains. On cooling, kamacite formed on taenite grain boundaries with their close‐packed planes aligned. Formation of homogeneous 20 μm wide taenite grains with diverse orientations would have required as long as approximately 800 yr at 600 °C or approximately 1 h at 1300 °C. All six irons contain approximately 5–10 μm wide taenite grains with internal microprecipitates of kamacite and nanometer‐scale M‐shaped Ni profiles that reach approximately 40% Ni indicating cooling over 100–10,000 yr. Un‐decomposed high‐Ni martensite (α₂) in taenite—the first occurrence in irons—appears to be a characteristic of strongly reheated irons. From our studies and published work, we identified four progressive stages of shock and reheating in IVA irons using these criteria: cloudy taenite, M‐shaped Ni profiles in taenite, Neumann twin lamellae, martensite, shock‐hatched kamacite, recrystallization, microprecipitates of taenite, and shock‐melted troilite. Maria Elena and Fuzzy Creek represent stages 3 and 4, respectively. Although not all reheated irons contain evidence for shock, it was probably the main cause of reheating. Cooling over years rather than hours precludes shock during the impacts that exposed the irons to cosmic rays. If the reheated irons that we studied are representative, the IVA irons may have been shocked soon after they cooled below 200 °C at 4.5 Gyr in an impact that created a rubblepile asteroid with fragments from diverse depths. The primary cooling rates of the IVA irons and the proposed early history are remarkably consistent with the Pb‐Pb ages of troilite inclusions in two IVA irons including the oldest known differentiated meteorite ( Blichert‐Toft et al. 2010 ).     

Noble gases in fossil micrometeorites and meteorites from 470 Myr old sediments from southern Sweden,and new evidence for the L‐chondrite parent body breakup event

Abstract— We present noble gas analyses of sediment‐dispersed extraterrestrial chromite grains recovered from ?470 Myr old sediments from two quarries (Hällekis and Thorsberg) and of relict chromites in a coeval fossil meteorite from the Gullhögen quarry, all located in southern Sweden. Both the sediment‐dispersed grains and the meteorite Gullhögen 001 were generated in the L‐chondrite parent body breakup about 470 Myr ago, which was also the event responsible for the abundant fossil meteorites previously found in the Thorsberg quarry. Trapped solar noble gases in the sediment‐dispersed chromite grains have partly been retained during ?470 Myr of terrestrial residence and despite harsh chemical treatment in the laboratory. This shows that chromite is highly retentive for solar noble gases. The solar noble gases imply that a sizeable fraction of the sediment‐dispersed chromite grains are micrometeorites or fragments thereof rather than remnants of larger meteorites. The grains in the oldest sediment beds were rapidly delivered to Earth likely by direct injection into an orbital resonance in the inner asteroid belt, whereas grains in younger sediments arrived by orbital decay due to Poynting‐Robertson (P‐R) drag. The fossil meteorite Gullhögen 001 has a low cosmic‐ray exposure age of ?0.9 Myr, based on new He and Ne production rates in chromite determined experimentally. This age is comparable to the ages of the fossil meteorites from Thorsberg, providing additional evidence for very rapid transfer times of material after the L‐chondrite parent body breakup.     

Geochemical and petrographic studies of oldhamite,diopside, and roedderite in enstatite meteorites

Abstract— In Qingzhen (EH3), oldhamite contains numerous types of inclusions and intergrows with other phases; but in equilibrated enstatite chondrites and aubrites, it usually occurs as individual grains. I suggest that oldhamite in unequilibrated enstatite chondrites (UECs) crystallized from a melt, probably during chondrule formation. Subsequent thermal metamorphism on the parent bodies further modified the oldhamite occurrences in enstatite chondrites. This suggestion is consistent with the results of melting experiments on UECs and aubrites and with the volatile element enrichments in this mineral. I analyzed minor and trace element abundances in diopside from two aubrites. These data and petrographic observations suggest that diopside formed by igneous crystallization. I report the first known occurrence of roedderite in an aubrite and its major, minor, and trace element concentrations. This mineral is rich in alkalis but is depleted in siderophile and refractory lithophile elements. A negative Sm anomaly was noted in albite from equilibrated enstatite chondrites and aubrites.     

Constraints on the cooling history of the H‐chondrite parent body from phosphate and chondrule Pb‐isotopic dates from Estacado

Abstract— To constrain the metamorphic history of the H‐chondrite parent body, we dated phosphates and chondrules from four H6 chondritic meteorites using U‐Pb systematics. Reconnaissance analyses revealed that only Estacado had a sufficiently high ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio suitable for our purposes. The Pb‐Pb isochron date for Estacado phosphates is measured to be 4492 ± 15 Ma. The internal residue‐second leachate isochron for Estacado chondrules yielded the chondrule date of 4546 ± 18 Ma. An alternative age estimate for Estacado chondrules of 4527.6 ± 6.3 Ma is obtained from an isochron including two chondrules, two magnetically separated fractions, and four bulk chondrite analyses. This isochron date might represent the age of termination of Pb diffusion from the chondrules to the matrix. From these dates and previously established closure temperatures for Pb diffusion in phosphates and chondrules, we estimate an average cooling rate for Estacado between 5.5 ± 3.2 Myr/°C and 8.3 ± 5.0 Myr/°C. Using previously published results for Ste. Marguerite (H4) and Richardton (H5), our data reveal that the cooling rates of H chondrites decrease markedly with increasing metamorphic grade, in agreement with the predictions of the “onion‐shell” asteroid model. Several issues, however, need to be addressed before confirming this model for the H‐chondrite parent body: the discrepancies between peak metamorphic temperatures established by various mineral thermometers need to be resolved, diffusion and other mechanisms of element migration in polycrystalline solids must be better understood, and dating techniques should be further improved.     

Populations of nanodiamond grains in meteorites from the data on isotopic composition and content of nitrogen

The present study has shown that the dependence of the isotopic composition of nitrogen on the N/C ratio, revealed from the data for bulk samples of meteoritic nanodiamond, can be obtained within the framework of the following model of the composition of populations of nanodiamond grains: (a) initial nanodiamond, i.e., the nanodiamond in the protoplanetary cloud before the accretion of the meteorite parent bodies, was composed mainly of grains of two populations (denoted as C_N and C_F), the ratio of which changed in meteorites depending on the degree of hydrothermal metamorphism; (b) only the grains of one of these populations (C_N) contain volume-bound nitrogen with δ¹⁵N = ?350‰; (c) the grains of both populations contain surface-bound nitrogen (δ¹⁵N ≡ 0). The calculations revealed the following properties of population grains in this model. (1) The grains of the C_N and C_F populations are most likely the same in isotopic composition of carbon and heterogeneous in distribution of its isotopes: the central part of grains is enriched with the δ¹²C isotope relative to the remainder of the grain. While the value of δ¹³C is ?37.3 ± 1.1‰ for carbon in the central part, it is ?32.8 ± 1.5‰ for the whole volume of the grains. (2) The noble gases of the HL component, specifically Xe-HL, are anomalous in isotopic composition and are most likely contained in the third population of nanodiamond grains (denoted as C_HL), the mass fraction of which is negligible relative to that for other grain populations. Only the grains of the C_HL population have an undoubtedly presolar origin, while the grains of the other nanodiamond populations could have formed at the early stages of the evolution of the protoplanetary cloud material before the accretion of the meteoritic parent bodies.     

Constraints on the structure of the martian interior determined from the chemical and isotopic systematics of SNC meteorites

Abstract— The crystallization ages of martian (SNC) meteorites give evidence that martian volcanism has continued until recent times‐perhaps until the present. These meteorites also indicate that the mantle source regions of this volcanism are modestly to extremely depleted by terrestrial standards. These 2 observations produce a conundrum. How is it that such depleted source regions have produced basaltic magma for such a long time? This contribution attempts to quantify the radiogenic heat production in 2 distinct martian mantle source regions: those of the shergottites and nakhlites. Compared to the depleted upper mantle of the Earth (MORB), the nakhlite source region is depleted by about a factor of 2, and the shergottite source region is depleted by a factor of 6. According to current geophysical models, the nakhlite source contains the minimum amount of radioactive heat production to sustain whole‐mantle convection and basalt generation over geologic time. A corollary of this conclusion is that the shergottite source contains much too little radioactivity to produce recent (<200 Ma) basalts. A model martian interior with a deep nakhlite mantle that is insulated by a shallow shergottite mantle may allow basalt production from both source regions if the divide between the nakhlite‐shergottite mantles acts as a thermal boundary layer. Similarities between lunar and martian isotopic reservoirs indicate that the Moon and Mars may have experienced similar styles of differentiation.     

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.     

Scandium and chromium in the strontium filament in the Homunculus of η Carinae

We continue a systematic study of chemical abundances of the strontium filament found in the ejecta of η Carinae. To this end we interpret the emission spectrum of Sc  ii and Cr  ii using multilevel non-local thermodynamic equilibrium models. Since the atomic data for these ions were previously unavailable, we carry out ab initio calculations of radiative transition rates and electron impact excitation rate coefficients. The observed spectrum is consistent with an electron density of the order of 10⁷ cm⁻³ and a temperature between 6000 and 7000 K, conditions previously determined from [Ni  ii ], [Ti  ii ] and [Sr  ii ] diagnostics. The observed spectrum indicates an abundance of Sc relative to Ni more than 40 times the solar value, while the Cr/Ni abundance ratio is roughly solar. Various scenarios of depletion and dust destruction are suggested to explain such abnormal abundances.