The formation of the Widmanstätten structure in meteorites

Abstract— We have evaluated various mechanisms proposed for the formation of the Widmanstätten pattern in iron meteorites and propose a new mechanism for low P meteoritic metal. These mechanisms can also be used to explain how the metallic microstructures developed in chondrites and stony‐iron meteorites. The Widmanstätten pattern in high P iron meteorites forms when meteorites enter the three‐phase field α + γ + Ph via cooling from the γ + Ph field. The Widmanstätten pattern in low P iron meteorites forms either at a temperature below the (α + γ)/(α + γ + Ph) boundary or by the decomposition of martensite below the martensite start temperature. The reaction γ → α + γ, which is normally assumed to control the formation of the Widmanstätten pattern, is not applicable to the metal in meteorites. The formation of the Widmanstätten pattern in the vast majority of low P iron meteorites (which belong to chemical groups IAB‐IIICD, IIIAB, and IVA) is controlled by mechanisms involving the formation of martensite α₂. We propose that the Widmanstätten structure in these meteorites forms by the reaction γ → α₂ + γ → α + γ, in which α₂ decomposes to the equilibrium α and γ phases during the cooling process. To determine the cooling rate of an individual iron meteorite, the appropriate formation mechanism for the Widmanstätten pattern must first be established. Depending on the Ni and P content of the meteorite, the kamacite nucleation temperature can be determined from either the (γ + Ph)/(α + γ + Ph) boundary, the (α + γ)/(α + γ + Ph) boundary, or the M_s temperature. With the introduction of these three mechanisms and the specific phase boundaries and the temperatures where transformations occur, it is no longer necessary to invoke arbitrary amounts of under‐cooling in the calculation of the cooling rate. We conclude that martensite decomposition via the reactions γ → α₂ → α + γ and γ → α₂ + γ → α + γ are responsible for the formation of plessite in irons and the metal phases of mesosiderites, chondrites, and pallasites. The hexahedrites (low P members of chemical group IIAB) formed by the massive transformation through the reaction γ → α_m → α at relatively high temperature in the two‐phase α + γ region of the Fe‐Ni‐P phase diagram near the α/(α + γ) phase boundary.     

A comment to: “The manufacture and origin of the Tutankhamun meteoritic iron dagger” by Matsui et al.

Matsui et al. (2022) performed X-ray fluorescence RF analyses of Tutankhamun's dagger and its hilt. Although the approach is indeed interesting, this work has many shortcomings. The absence of reference to standard specimens impairs both absolute values and error estimates, especially in chemical mapping. A Widmanstätten pattern at a scale of 1 mm cannot be revealed by chemical mapping with a step of 0.9 mm and spots exceeding significantly the 1 mm size. The presence of Ca on the hilt is probably an artifact as it can be observed on the blade and other objects as well. Finally, since the hilt and the blade may not be from the same origin, we have no clue about the origin of the dagger blade.     

Analysis of a prehistoric Egyptian iron bead with implications for the use and perception of meteorite iron in ancient Egypt

Tube‐shaped beads excavated from grave pits at the prehistoric Gerzeh cemetery, approximately 3300 BCE, represent the earliest known use of iron in Egypt. Using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and micro X‐ray microcomputer tomography, we show that microstructural and chemical analysis of a Gerzeh iron bead is consistent with a cold‐worked iron meteorite. Thin fragments of parallel bands of taenite within a meteoritic Widmanstätten pattern are present, with structural distortion caused by cold‐working. The metal fragments retain their original chemistry of approximately 30 wt% nickel. The bulk of the bead is highly oxidized, with only approximately 2.4% of the total bead volume remaining as metal. Our results show that the first known example of the use of iron in Egypt was produced from a meteorite, its celestial origin having implications for both the perception of meteorite iron by ancient Egyptians and the development of metallurgical knowledge in the Nile Valley.     

THE DERRICK PEAK,ANTARCTICA, IRON METEORITES

Sixteen iron meteorite specimens, Derrick Peak A78001 through DRPA78016, were recovered from the slopes of Derrick Peak, Antarctica, in 1978. Recovery from a relatively small area combined with their strikingly similar appearances suggest they represent a single fall. The metallographic structure of the two specimens that have been cut is dominated by regions of swathing kamacite enclosing coarse schreibersite and schreibersite-troilite inclusions. Patches of coarsest octahedrite Widmanstätten structure are interspersed. Specimens DRPA78008 and DRPA78009 have been analyzed: 6.64, 6.59 wt % Ni; 0.51, 0.46 wt % Co; 0.35, 0.34 wt % P. The specimens are coarsest octahedrites of chemical group IIB.     

MINERALOGY OF THE BOCAIUVA IRON METEORITE: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

The Bocaiuva iron contains 10 to 15% by volume of silicate inclusions which are surrounded by kamacite (6.5 wt % Ni). The metal shows a Widmanstätten pattern in metal areas devoid of silicates; taenite evolved in plessite fields. The silicate inclusions occur as nodules, and as irregular or chain-like aggregates in which olivine may be rounded or faceted. The magnesian silicates (forsterite, enstatite, diopside) are similar in composition to those of the group IAB irons, whereas the interstitial plagioclase is much more calcic (An 50) than that usually found. Iron sulfide occurs as pyrrhotite and contains 1–2 wt% Cu. Chromite and euhedral magnetite are accessory phases always associated with pyrrhotite. Some patches of pyrrhotite enclose rounded chromite and small plagioclase crystals displaying compositions different from those of the ground mass of the inclusions. Schreibersite shows a compositional variability. This preliminary study underlines the unusual nature of Ms iron and raises several questions concerning the genetic relations between silicates, sulfide and metal, and the thermal history of the whole material.     

Portales Valley: A meteoritic sample of the brecciated and metal-veined floor of an impact crater on an H-chondrite asteroid

Abstract— A shower of meteorite fragments fell at ～0730 h local time on 1998 June 13 near the town of Portales, New Mexico. Thus far, 51 pieces of the Portales Valley (H6) meteorite have been recovered. This meteorite has an unusually large number of metallic veins. Some of these veins are also unusually thick, having widths on the order of centimeters. These wide veins have fine Widmanstätten structure, which is the first time it has been seen in an ordinary chondrite. This structure indicates the metallic veins and the host chondrite cooled slowly. These veins appear to have been produced by shock-metamorphic processes, which we infer produced a >20 km diameter impact crater on an H-chondrite planetesimal.     

Shock effects in the Willamette ungrouped iron meteorite

A slab of the Willamette ungrouped iron contains elongated troilite nodules (up to ~2 × 10 cm) that were crushed and penetrated by wedges of crushed metal during a major impact event. What makes this sample unique is the contrast between the large amount of shock damage and the very small (~1%) amounts of shock melting in the large troilite nodules. The postshock temperature was low, probably ?960 °C. The Widmanstätten pattern has been largely obscured by an episode of postshock annealing that caused recrystallization of the kamacite. The shock and thermal history of Willamette includes (1) initial crystallization and formation of multicentimeter‐size troilite nodules from trapped melt, (2) impact‐induced melting of metal‐sulfide assemblages to form lobate taenite masses a few hundred micrometers in size, (3) impact‐crushing of the nodules and jamming of metal wedges into them, (4) simultaneous crushing of metal grains adjacent to sulfide throughout the meteorite, (5) postshock annealing causing minor recrystallization of metal and troilite, and (6) a late‐stage shock event (and additional annealing) producing Neumann lines in the kamacite.     

The effects of impacts on the cooling rates of iron meteorites

Iron meteorites provide a record of the thermal evolution of their parent bodies, with cooling rates inferred from the structures observed in the Widmanstätten pattern. Traditional planetesimal thermal models suggest that meteorite samples derived from the same iron core would have identical cooling rates, possibly providing constraints on the sizes and structures of their parent bodies. However, some meteorite groups exhibit a range of cooling rates or point to uncomfortably small parent bodies whose survival is difficult to reconcile with dynamical models. Together, these suggest that some meteorites are indicating a more complicated origin. To date, thermal models have largely ignored the effects that impacts would have on the thermal evolution of the iron meteorite parent bodies. Here we report numerical simulations investigating the effects that impacts at different times have on cooling rates of cores of differentiated planetesimals. We find that impacts that occur when the core is near or above its solidus, but the mantle has largely crystallized can expose iron near the surface of the body, leading to rapid and nonuniform cooling. The time period when a planetesimal can be affected in this way can range between 20 and 70 Myr after formation for a typical 100 km radius planetesimal. Collisions during this time would have been common, and thus played an important role in shaping the properties of iron meteorites.     

Ulasitai: A new iron meteorite likely paired with Armanty (IIIE)

Abstract— The Ulasitai iron was recently found about 130 km southeast to the find site of the Armanty (Xinjiang, IIIE) meteorite. It is a coarse octahedrite with a kamacite bandwidth of 1.2 ± 0.2 (0.9–1.8) mm. Plessite is abundant, as is taenite, kamacite, cohenite, and schreibersite with various microstructures. Schreibersite is Ni‐rich (30.5–55.5 wt%) in plessite or coexisting with troilite and daubreelite, in comparison with the coarse laths (20.6–21.2 wt%) between the Widmanstätten pattern plates. The correlation between the center Ni content and the half bandwidth of taenite suggest a cooling rate of ?20 °C/Myr based on simulations. The petrography and mineral chemistry of Ulasitai are similar to Armanty. The bulk samples of Ulasitai were measured, together with Armanty, Nandan (IIICD), and Mundrabilla (IIICD), by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP‐AES) and mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS). The results agree with literature data of the same meteorites, and our analyses of four samples of Armanty (L1, L12, L16, L17) confirm a homogeneous composition (Wasson et al. 1988). The bulk composition of Ulasitai is identical to that of Armanty, both plotting within the IIIE field. We classify Ulasitai as a new IIIE iron and suggest that it pairs with Armanty.     

The Ar‐Ar age and petrology of Miller Range 05029: Evidence for a large impact in the very early solar system

Abstract– Miller Range (MIL) 05029 is a slowly cooled melt rock with metal/sulfide depletion and an Ar‐Ar age of 4517 ± 11 Ma. Oxygen isotopes and mineral composition indicate that it is an L chondrite impact melt, and a well‐equilibrated igneous rock texture with a lack of clasts favors a melt pool over a melt dike as its probable depositional setting. A metallographic cooling rate of approximately 14 °C Ma^?1 indicates that the impact occurred at least approximately 20 Ma before the Ar‐Ar closure age of 4517 Ma, possibly even shortly after accretion of its parent body. A metal grain with a Widmanstätten‐like pattern further substantiates slow cooling. The formation age of MIL 05029 is at least as old as the Ar‐Ar age of unshocked L and H chondrites, indicating that endogenous metamorphism on the parent asteroid was still ongoing at the time of impact. Its metallographic cooling rate of approximately 14 °C Ma^?1 is similar to that typical for L6 chondrites, suggesting a collisional event on the L chondrite asteroid that produced impact melt at a minimum depth of 5–12 km. The inferred minimum crater diameter of 25–60 km may have shattered the 100–200 km diameter L chondrite asteroid. Therefore, MIL 05029 could record the timing and petrogenetic setting for the observed lack of correlation of cooling rates with metamorphic grades in many L chondrites.     

Mass‐dependent fractionation of nickel isotopes in meteoritic metal

Abstract— We measured nickel isotopes via multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC‐ICPMS) in the bulk metal from 36 meteorites, including chondrites, pallasites, and irons (magmatic and non‐magmatic). The Ni isotopes in these meteorites are mass fractionated; the fractionation spans an overall range of ～0.4‰ amu^?1. The ranges of Ni isotopic compositions (relative to the SRM 986 Ni isotopic standard) in metal from iron meteorites (～0.0 to ～0.3‰ amu^?1) and chondrites (～0.0 to ～0.2‰ amu^?1) are similar, whereas the range in pallasite metal (～–0.1 to 0.0‰ amu^?1) appears distinct. The fractionation of Ni isotopes within a suite of fourteen IIIAB irons (～0.0 to ～0.3‰ amu^?1) spans the entire range measured in all magmatic irons. However, the degree of Ni isotopic fractionation in these samples does not correlate with their Ni content, suggesting that core crystallization did not fractionate Ni isotopes in a systematic way. We also measured the Ni and Fe isotopes in adjacent kamacite and taenite from the Toluca IAB iron meteorite. Nickel isotopes show clearly resolvable fractionation between these two phases; kamacite is heavier relative to taenite by ～0.4‰ amu^?1. In contrast, the Fe isotopes do not show a resolvable fractionation between kamacite and taenite. The observed isotopic compositions of kamacite and taenite can be understood in terms of kinetic fractionation due to diffusion of Ni during cooling of the Fe‐Ni alloy and the development of the Widmanstätten pattern.     

Ordinary chondrite metallography: Part 1. Fe‐Ni taenite cooling experiments

Abstract— Cooling rate experiments were performed on P‐free Fe‐Ni alloys that are compositionally similar to ordinary chondrite metal to study the taenite ? taenite + kamacite reaction. The role of taenite grain boundaries and the effect of adding Co and S to Fe‐Ni alloys were investigated. In P‐free alloys, kamacite nucleates at taenite/taenite grain boundaries, taenite triple junctions, and taenite grain corners. Grain boundary diffusion enables growth of kamacite grain boundary precipitates into one of the parent taenite grains. Likely, grain boundary nucleation and grain boundary diffusion are the applicable mechanisms for the development of the microstructure of much of the metal in ordinary chondrites. No intragranular (matrix) kamacite precipitates are observed in P‐free Fe‐Ni alloys. The absence of intragranular kamacite indicates that P‐free, monocrystalline taenite particles will transform to martensite upon cooling. This transformation process could explain the metallography of zoneless plessite particles observed in H and L chondrites. In P‐bearing Fe‐Ni alloys and iron meteorites, kamacite precipitates can nucleate both on taenite grain boundaries and intragranularly as Widmanstätten kamacite plates. Therefore, P‐free chondritic metal and P‐bearing iron meteorite/pallasite metal are controlled by different chemical systems and different types of taenite transformation processes.     

Mbosi: An anomalous iron with unique silicate inclusions

Abstract— The Mbosi iron meteorite contains millimeter size silicate inclusions. Mbosi is an ungrouped iron meteorite with a Ge/Ga ratio >10, which is an anomalous property shared with the five-member IIF iron group, the Eagle Station pallasites and four other ungrouped irons. Neither the IIF group nor the four other ungrouped irons are known to have silicate inclusions. Chips from three Mbosi inclusions were studied, but most of the work concentrated on a whole 3.1 mm circular inclusion. This inclusion consists of a mantle and a central core of different mineralogies. The mantle is partially devitrified quartz-normative glass, consisting of microscopic crystallites of two pyroxenes and plagioclase, which are crystalline enough to give an x-ray powder diffraction pattern but not coarse enough to permit analyses of individual minerals. The core consists of silica. The bulk composition does not match any known meteorite type, although there is a similarity in mode of occurrence to quartz-normative silicate inclusions in some HE irons. Mbosi silicate appears to be unique. The bulk rare earth element (REE) pattern of the mantle is flat at ? 7×C1; the core is depleted in REE but shows a small positive Eu anomaly. The O-isotope composition of bulk silicate lies on a unit slope mixing line (parallel and close to the C3 mixing line) that includes the Eagle Station pallasites and the iron Bocaiuva (related to the IIF irons); all of these share the property of having Ge/Ga ratios >10. It is concluded that Mbosi silicate represents a silica-bearing source rock that was melted and injected into metal. Melting occurred early in the history of the parent body because the metal now shows a normal Widmanstätten structure with only minor distortion that was caused when the parent body broke up and released meteorites into interplanetary space. The cause of Ge/Ga ratios being >10 in these irons is unknown. The fact that silicates in Mbosi, Bocaiuva (related to IIF irons) and the Eagle Station trio of pallasites, all characterized by a Ge/Ga ratio >10, lie on a unit slope mixing line in the O-isotope diagram suggests that their origins are closely related. The C3 chondrites appear to be likely precursors for silicates in Mbosi, Bocaiuva and the Eagle Station pallasites.     

Oral Histories in Meteoritics and Planetary Science – XVII: Joseph Goldstein

Abstract– In this interview, Joseph Goldstein ( Fig. 1 ) recounts how he became interested in meteorites during his graduate studies working with Robert Ogilvie at MIT. By matching the Ni profiles observed across taenite fields in the Widmanstätten structure of iron meteorites with profiles he computed numerically he was able to determine cooling rates as the meteorites cooled through 650–400 °C. Upon graduating, he worked with a team of meteorite researchers led by Lou Walter at Goddard Space Flight Center where for 4 years he attempted to understand metallographic structures by reproducing them in the laboratory. Preferring an academic environment, Joe accepted a faculty position in the rapidly expanding metallurgy department at Lehigh University where he was responsible for their new electron microprobe. He soon became involved in studying the metal from lunar soils and identifying the metallic component from its characteristic iron and nickel compositions. Over the next two decades he refined these studies of Ni diffusion in iron meteorites, particularly the effect of phosphorus in the process, which resulted in superior Fe‐Ni‐P phase diagrams and improved cooling rates for the iron meteorites. After a period as vice president for research at Lehigh, in 1993 he moved to the University of Massachusetts to serve as dean of engineering, but during these administrative appointments Joe produced a steady stream of scientific results. Joe has served as Councilor, Treasurer, Vice President, and President of the Meteoritical Society. He received the Leonard Medal in 2005, the Sorby Award in 1999, and the Dumcumb Award for in 2008.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Joseph Goldstein.     

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 ).     

The Gove relict iron meteorite from Arnhem Land,Northern Territory,Australia

On February 24, 1979, a deeply oxidized mass of iron meteorite was excavated from bauxite at an open cut mine on the Gove Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia. The meteorite, measuring 0.75–1 m in diameter and of unknown total weight, was found at coordinates 12°15.8′S, 136°50.3′E. On removal from the ground, the meteorite is reported to have disintegrated rapidly. A preliminary analysis at the mine laboratory reportedly gave 8.5 wt% Ni. A modern analysis of oxidized material gave Ni = 32.9, Co = 3.67 (both mg g^?1), Cr = 168, Cu = 195, Ga = 22.5, Ge = <70, As = 4.16, W = 1.35, Ir = 10.5, Pt = 21.2, Au = 0.672 (all μg g^?1), Sb = <150, and Re = 844 (both ng g^?1). Competent fragments of oxidized material retain a fine to medium Widmanstätten pattern with an apparent average bandwidth of 0.5 mm (range 0.2–0.9 mm in plane section). Primary mineralogy includes rare γ–taenite and daubréelite, and secondary minerals produced by weathering include awaruite (with up to 78.5 wt% Ni) and an, as yet, unnamed Cu‐Cr‐bearing sulfide with the ideal formula CuCrS₂ that is hitherto unknown in nature. Deep weathering has masked many of the features of the meteorite; however, the analysis normalized to the analyses of fresh iron meteorites favors chemical group IIIAB. The terrestrial age of the meteorite is unknown, although it is likely to be in the Neogene (2.5–23 Ma), which is widely accepted as the major period of bauxite formation in the Northern Territory of Australia. Gove is the second authenticated relict meteorite found in Australia.     

Oral Histories in Meteoritics and Planetary Science – XV: John Wood

Abstract– John Wood ( Fig. 1 ) was trained in Geology at Virginia Tech and M.I.T. To fulfill a minor subject requirement at M.I.T., he studied astronomy at Harvard, taking courses with Fred Whipple and others. Disappointed at how little was known in the 1950s about the origin of the earth, he seized an opportunity to study a set of thin sections of stony meteorites, on the understanding that these might shed light on the topic. This study became his Ph.D. thesis. He recognized that chondrites form a metamorphic sequence, and that idea proved surprisingly hard to sell. After brief service in the Army and a year at Cambridge University, John served for 3 years as a research associate with Ed Anders at the University of Chicago. He then returned to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he spent the remainder of his career. At Chicago, he investigated the formation of the Widmanstätten structure, and found that the process informs us of the cooling rates of iron meteorites. Back in Cambridge, he collaborated with W. R. Van Schmus on a chondrite classification that incorporates metamorphic grade, and published on metal grains in chondrites, before becoming absorbed by preparations for the return of lunar samples by the Apollo astronauts. His group’s work on Apollo samples helped to establish the character of the lunar crust, and the need for a magma ocean to form it. Wood served as President of the Meteoritical Society in 1971–72 and received the Leonard Medal in 1978.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint John Wood.     

Diffusion‐driven kinetic isotope effect of Fe and Ni during formation of the Widmanstätten pattern

Abstract— Iron meteorites show resolvable Fe and Ni isotopic fractionation between taenite and kamacite. For Toluca (IAB), the isotopic fractionations between the two phases are around +0.1‰/amu for Fe and ?0.4‰/amu for Ni. These variations may be due to i) equilibrium fractionation, ii) differences in the diffusivities of the different isotopes, or iii) a combination of both processes. A computer algorithm was developed in order to follow the growth of kamacite out of taenite during the formation of the Widmanstätten pattern as well as calculate the fractionation of Fe and Ni isotopes for a set of cooling rates ranging from 25 to 500 °C/Myr. Using a relative difference in diffusion coefficients of adjacent isotopes of 4‰/amu for Fe and Ni (β = 0.25), the observations made in Toluca can be reproduced for a cooling rate of 50 °C/Myr. This value agrees with earlier cooling rate estimates based on Ni concentration profiles. This supports the idea that the fractionation measured for Fe and Ni in iron meteorites is driven by differences in diffusivities of isotopes. It also supports the validity of the value of 0.25 adopted for β for diffusion of Fe and Ni in Fe‐Ni alloy in the temperature range of 400–700 °C.     

Watson: A new link in the HE iron chain

Abstract— Watson, which was found in 1972 in South Australia, contains the largest single silicate rock mass seen in any known iron meteorite. A comprehensive study has been completed on this unusual meteorite: petrography, metallography, analyses of the silicate inclusion (whole rock chemical analysis, INAA, RNAA, noble gases, and oxygen isotope analysis) and mineral compositions (by electron microprobe and ion microprobe). The whole rock has a composition of an H-chondrite minus the normal H-group metal and troilite content. The oxygen isotope composition is that of the silicates in the HE iron meteorites and lies along an oxygen isotope fractionation line with the H-group chondrites. Trace elements in the metal confirm Watson is a new HE iron. Whole rock Watson silicate shows an enrichment in K and P (each ～2X H-chondrites). The silicate inclusion has a highly equilibrated igneous (peridotite-like) texture with olivine largely poikilitic within low-Ca pyroxene: olivine (Fa₂₀), opx (Fs₁₇Wo₃), capx (Fs₉Wo₄₁) (with very fine exsolution lamellae), antiperthite feldspar (An_1–Or₅) with <1 μm exsolution lamellae (An_1–3Or_>40), shocked feldspar with altered stoichiometry, minor whitlockite (also a poorly characterized interstitial phosphate-rich phase) and chromite, and only traces of metal and troilite. The individual silicate minerals have normal chondritic REE patterns, but whitlockite has a remarkable REE pattern. It is very enriched in light REE (La is 720X C1, and Lu is 90X C1, as opposed to usual chonditic values of ～300X and 100–150X, respectively) with a negative Eu anomaly. The enrichment of whole rock K is expressed both in an unusually high mean modal Or content of the feldspar, Or₁₃, and in the presence of antiperthite. Whole rock trace element data for the silicate mass support the petrography. Watson silicate was an H-chondrite engulfed by metal and melted at > 1550 °C. A flat refractory lithophile and flat REE pattern (at ～1x average H-chondrites) indicate that melting took place in a relatively closed system. Immiscible metal and sulfide were occluded into the surrounding metal host. Below 1100 °C, the average cooling rate is estimated to have been ～1000 °C/Ma; Widmanstätten structure formed, any igneous zoning in the silicates was equilibrated, and feldspar and pyroxene exsolution took place. Cooling to below 300 °C was completed by 3.5 Ga B. P. At 8 Ma, a shock event took place causing some severe metal deformation and forming local melt pockets of schreibersite/metal. This event likely caused the release of Watson into interplanetary space. The time of this event, 8Ma, corresponds to the peak frequency of exposure ages of the H-chondrites. This further confirms the link between HE irons and the H-chondrites, a relationship already indicated by their common oxygen isotope source. Watson metal structures are very similar to those in Kodaikanal. Watson, Kodaikanal and Netschaëvo form the young group of HE meteorites (ages 3.7 ± 0.2 Ga). They appear to represent steps in a chain of events that must have taken place repeatedly on the HE parent body or bodies from which they came: chondrite engulfed in metal (Netschaëvo); chondrite melted within metal (Watson); and finally melted silicate undergoing strong fractionation with the fractionated material emplaced as globules within metal (Kodaikanal). Watson fills an important gap in understanding the sequence of events that took place in the evolution of the IIE-H parent body(ies). This association of H-chondrite with HE metal suggests a surface, or near surface process-a suggestion made by several other researchers.     

East-west faults due to planetary contraction

Contraction, expansion and despinning have been common in the past evolution of Solar System bodies. These processes deform the lithosphere until it breaks along faults. Their characteristic tectonic patterns have thus been sought for on all planets and large satellites with an ancient surface. While the search for despinning tectonics has not been conclusive, there is good observational evidence on several bodies for the global faulting pattern associated with contraction or expansion, though the pattern is seldom isotropic as predicted. The cause of the non-random orientation of the faults has been attributed either to regional stresses or to the combined action of contraction/expansion with another deformation (despinning, tidal deformation, reorientation). Another cause of the mismatch may be the neglect of the lithospheric thinning at the equator or at the poles due either to latitudinal variation in solar insolation or to localized tidal dissipation. Using thin elastic shells with variable thickness, I show that the equatorial thinning of the lithosphere transforms the homogeneous and isotropic fault pattern caused by contraction/expansion into a pattern of faults striking east-west, preferably formed in the equatorial region. By contrast, lithospheric thickness variations only weakly affect the despinning faulting pattern consisting of equatorial strike-slip faults and polar normal faults. If contraction is added to despinning, the despinning pattern first shifts to thrust faults striking north-south and then to thrust faults striking east-west. If the lithosphere is thinner at the poles, the tectonic pattern caused by contraction/expansion consists of faults striking north/south. I start by predicting the main characteristics of the stress pattern with symmetry arguments. I further prove that the solutions for contraction and despinning are dual if the inverse elastic thickness is limited to harmonic degree two, making it easy to determine fault orientation for combined contraction and despinning. I give two methods for solving the equations of elasticity, one numerical and the other semi-analytical. The latter method yields explicit formulas for stresses as expansions in Legendre polynomials about the solution for constant shell thickness. Though I only discuss the cases of a lithosphere thinner at the equator or at the poles, the method is applicable for any latitudinal variation of the lithospheric thickness. On Iapetus, contraction or expansion on a lithosphere thinner at the equator explains the location and orientation of the equatorial ridge. On Mercury, the combination of contraction and despinning makes possible the existence of zonal provinces of thrust faults differing in orientation (north-south or east-west), which may be relevant to the orientation of lobate scarps.