A comparative study of the hydroxy acids from the Murchison, GRA 95229 and LAP 02342 meteorites

The hydroxy acid suites extracted from the Murchison (MN), GRA 95229 (GRA) and LAP 02342 (LAP) meteorites have been investigated for their molecular, chiral and isotopic composition. Substantial amounts of the compounds have been detected in all three meteorites, with a total abundance that is lower than that of the amino acids in the same stones. Overall, their molecular distributions mirror closely that of the corresponding amino acids and most evidently so for the LAP meteorite. A surprising l-lactic acid enantiomeric excess was found present in all three stones, which cannot be easily accounted by terrestrial contamination; all other compounds of the three hydroxy acid suites were found racemic. The branched-chain five carbon and the diastereomer six-carbon hydroxy acids were also studied vis-a-vis the corresponding amino acids and calculated ab initio thermodynamic data, with the comparison allowing the suggestion that meteoritic hydroxyacid at these chain lengths formed under thermodynamic control and, possibly, at a later stage than the corresponding amino acids. ¹³C and D isotopic enrichments were detected for many of the meteoritic hydroxy acids and found to vary between molecular species with trends that also appear to correlate to those of amino acids; the highest δD value (+3450‰) was displayed by GRA 2-OH-2-methylbutyric acid. The data suggest that, while the amino- and hydroxy acids likely relate to common presolar precursor, their final distribution in meteorites was determined to large extent by the overall composition of the environments that saw their formation, with ammonia being the determining factor in their final abundance ratios.     

The composition of carbonaceous chondrite matrix

Matrix compositions of 32 carbonaceous chondrites have been analyzed by an electron microprobe defocussed-beam technique. Except in those chondrites that show evidence of metamorphism, matrices are compositionally similar and have correlation coefficients of +0.96 or greater. Weight per cent Mg/Si in matrices is constant (0.82 ± 0.05) but less than ratios derived from bulk analyses. Matrices in metamorphosed meteorites are Mg-depleted relative to those of other chondrites. Al Rais and Renazzo (anomalous by any classification scheme) have Mg-enriched matrices. Average matrix compositions cluster into chemical subgroups similar to those based on bulk chemical and petrographie criteria [C1, C2, C3(0), C3(V)]. C1 matrices are particularly variable in composition from point to point within the same meteorite, but points within individual breccia clasts appear to be more compositionally uniform. Cl matrices are depleted in Na, S, and Ca relative to solar and C2 matrix values, probably as a result of leaching. Matrix Ca/A1 ratios are highly variable and generally fall below the accepted meteoritic value. The only strong interelement correlation is for Fe, Ni, and S in C2 matrices, suggesting mixing of variable proportions of two components: Mg-rich phyllosilicate and a Ni-bearing chalcophile phase. The amount of magnetite associated with C2 matrix appears to vary systematically with matrix composition. Isotopic, chemical, and mineralogical constraints suggest that matrix, although appreciably altered in some meteorites, is chiefly a solar system condensation product which contains an admixture of unprocessed interstellar dust.     

Ordered mixed-layer structures in the Mighei carbonaceous chondrite matrix

High resolution transmission electron microscopy of the Mighei carbonaceous chondrite matrix has revealed the presence of a new mixed layer structure material. This mixed-layer material consists of an ordered arrangement of serpentine-type (S) and brucite-type (B) layers in the sequence … SBBSBB. … Electron diffraction and imaging techniques show that the basal periodicity is ~ 17 Å. Discrete crystals of SBB-type material are typically curved, of small size (<1 μm) and show structural variations similar to the serpentine group minerals. Mixed-layer material also occurs in association with planar serpentine. Characteristics of SBB-type material are not consistent with known terrestrial mixed-layer clay minerals. Evidence for formation by a condensation event or by subsequent alteration of preexisting material is not yet apparent.     

The mineral chemistry and origin of inclusion matrix and meteorite matrix in the Allende CV3 chondrite

The two textural varieties of olivine-rich Allende inclusions (rimmed and unrimmed olivine aggregates) consist primarily of a porous, fine-grained mafic constituent (inclusion matrix) that differs from the opaque meteorite matrix of CV3 chondrites by being relatively depleted in sulfides, metal grains, and (perhaps) carbonaceous material. Olivine is the most abundant mineral in Allende inclusion matrix; clinopyroxene, nepheline, sodalite, and Ti-Al-pyroxene occur in lesser amounts. Olivine in unrimmed olivine aggregates (Type 1A inclusions) is ferrous and has a narrow compositional range (Fo_50–65). Olivine in rimmed olivine aggregates (Type 1B inclusions) is, on average, more magnesian, with a wider compositional range (Fo_53–96). Olivine grains in the granular rims of Type 1B inclusions are zoned, with magnesian cores (Fo_>80) and ferrous rinds (Fo_<70). Ferrous olivines (Fo_<65) in both varieties of inclusions commonly contain significant amounts of Al₂O₃ (as much as ~0.7 wt%), CaO (as much as ~0.4 wt%), and TiO₂ (as much as ~0.2 wt%), refractory elements that probably occur in submicroscopic inclusions of Ca,Al,Ti-rich glass (rather than in the olivine crystal structure). Defocussed beam analyses of Allende matrix materials demonstrate that: (1) inclusion matrix in Type 1A inclusions is more enriched in olivine and FeO than inclusion matrix in the cores of Type 1B inclusions; (2) opaque matrix materials are depleted in feldspathoids and enriched in sulfides and metal grains relative to inclusion matrix; (3) the bulk compositions of Type 1A and Type 1B inclusions overlap; and (4) excluding sulfides and metal, the bulk compositions of Allende matrix materials cluster in a complementary pattern around the bulk composition of C1 chondrites.Inclusion matrix and meteorite matrix in Allende and other CV3 chondrites are probably relatively primitive nebular material, but a careful evaluation of the equilibrium condensation model suggests that these matrix materials do not consist of crystalline phases that formed under equilibrium conditions in a relatively cool gas of solar composition. Allende inclusion matrix is interpreted as an aggregate of condensates that formed under relatively oxidizing, non-equilibrium conditions from supercooled, supersaturated vapors produced during the vaporization of interstellar dust by aerodynamic drag heating in the solar nebula; CV3 meteorite matrix contains, in addition, a proportion of interstellar material that was heated (but not vaporized) in the nebula. Granular olivine in rimmed olivine aggregates may have formed during the recrystallization and incipient melting of aggregates of inclusion matrix in the nebula. The mineral chemistry of matrix olivine in Allende seems to have been established by three different processes: non-equilibrium vapor → solid condensation; recrystallization and partial melting in the nebula; and $\text{Fe}\text{Mg}$ equilibration (without textural homogenization) in the meteorite parent body.     

Microscopic oxygen isotopic homogeneity/heterogeneity in the matrix of the Vigarano CV3 chondrite

Two-dimensional ¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotopic analysis of the Vigarano matrix was conducted by secondary ion-imaging using a novel two-dimensional ion-imager. Quantitative oxygen-isotope images (isotopographs) of the Vigarano matrix show that ¹⁶O-rich micrograins are scattered within ¹⁶O-poor matrix. This heterogeneous O-isotopic distribution indicates that matrix is composed of different O-isotopic components that formed in different locations and/or at different times. However, the O-isotopic composition of groundmass in the matrix is the same as the bulk isotopic composition of the matrix within ±5‰ uncertainty. The spatial resolution and isotopic precision of our technique should allow submicron-size objects (>0.2 μm) with extreme O-isotopic anomalous characteristics (δ¹⁸O_SMOW ∼250‰) to be detectable in isotopographs. Because the mean grain size of the matrix is ∼0.2 μm, the inability to detect such O-isotopic anomalous objects indicates that isotopically anomalous micrograins (e.g., presolar grains) are extremely rare in the Vigarano matrix and that most objects in the matrix were formed in the solar nebula or in the parent body.     

The primitive matrix components of the unique carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094: a TEM study

The mineralogical and chemical characteristics of the fine-grained matrix (< or = 3 micrometers) of the unique primitive carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094 have been investigated in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). Generally, the fine-grained matrix represents a highly unequilibrated assemblage of an amorphous material, small forsteritic olivines (200-300 nm), low Ca-pyroxenes (300-400 nm), and Fe,Ni-sulfides (100-300 nm). The matrix is basically unaffected by secondary processes. Only minor amounts of serpentine and ferrihydrite, as products of hydrous alteration, are present. Texturally, the amorphous material acts as a groundmass to olivines, pyroxenes, and sulfides, mostly exhibiting rounded or elongated morphologies. Only very few clastic mineral grains have been found. The texture and chemical composition of the amorphous material are consistent with an origin by disequilibrium condensation in either the cooling solar nebula or a circumstellar environment. As such, the amorphous material may be considered as a possible precursor of matrix materials in other types of chondrites. The non-clastic matrix olivines (Fo98-99) and pyroxenes (En97-100) are suggested to have formed either by condensation in the solar nebula under highly oxidizing conditions or by recrystallization from the amorphous material. The formation of these grains by fragmentation of chondrule components is unlikely due to chemical and microstructural reasons. Rapid cooling caused the observed intergrowths of clino/orthoenstatite in the Mg-rich matrix pyroxenes. Although some similarities exist comparing the fine-grained matrix of Acfer 094 with the matrices of the unequilibrated CO3 chondrite ALHA77307 and the unique type 3 chondrite Kakangari, Acfer 094 remains unique. Since it contains the highest measured concentrations of circumstellar SiC and the second highest of diamond (highest is Orgueil), it seems reasonable to suggested that at least parts of the amorphous material in the fine-grained matrix may be of circumstellar origin.     

Chemical and crystallographic study of cronstedtite in the matrix of the Cochabamba (CM2) carbonaceous chondrite

Summary The principal mineral component in the matrix of the Cochabamba carbonaceous chondrite is a phyllosilicate, which is identified as cronstedtite mainly on the basis of its chemical composition. Its approximate idealized formula is given by M₆ Fe _0.7 ³⁺ Al_0.5Si_2.7O₁₀ (OH)₈ with M=Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Mg in somewhat variable amounts. TEM studies reveal the presence of three polytypes, and show a high degree of stacking disorder parallel to (001) with the displacement vector ±b/3 or ±2b . Crumpled amorphous masses in the matrix may contain structural building blocks of phyllosilicates. They, rather than the anhydrous minerals, seem to be the most likely progenitors of cronstedtite. Some constraints on its origin are reviewed. In addition to cronstedtite, observations on some other matrix phases are also reported.

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Chemische und kristallographische Untersuchung von Cronstedtit in der Matrix des kohligen Chondrits (CM2) Cochabamba

Zusammenfassung Der Hauptbestandteil der Matrix im kohligen Chondrit Cochabamba ist ein Schichtsilikat, das hauptsächlich aufgrund seiner chemischen Zusammensetzung als Cronstedtit identifiziert wurde. Die idealisierte Formel entspricht ungefähr M₆Fe _0.7 ⁺³ Al_0.5Si_2.7O₁₀(OH)₈ mit M=Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺ und Mg in wechselnden Mengen. TEM-Untersuchungen zeigen das Vorkommen von drei Modifikationen, sowie einen hohen Grad von Versetzungsfehlern parallel zu (001), mit dem Versetzungsfaktor ±b/3 oder ±2b/3. Deformierte amorphe Aggregate in der Matrix scheinen primitive Bausteine der Schichtsilikate zu sein. Sie (und nicht die wasserfreien Mineralien) dürften das Material darstellen, aus dem Cronstedtit gebildet wurde. Die Bildungsbedingungen von Cronstedtit werden diskutiert. Außerdem wird über Beobachtungen an anderen Matrixmineralien berichtet.

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With 4 Figures     

Thallium and lead in the Allende C3V carbonaceous chondrite. A study of the matrix phase

Tl and Pb isotopic abundances have been measured in various phases from Allende and the distribution and siting of these elements in the matrix phase investigated. Matrix fractions, prepared by sieving, sedimentation, magnetic separation and acid etching, were further characterised by X-ray diffraction and SEM. Tl concentrations range from 1 ppb in coarse grained inclusions to 1560 ppb in the acid-etched carbon residues and from 32 ppb to 194 ppb in the 16 matrix fractions. Pb concentrations which range from 0.1 ppm to 3.1 ppm, are enhanced in magnetic phases and depleted in Allende pentlandite relative to the whole meteorite. The Tl-²⁰⁴Pb abundance diagram is described near the origin by the inclusions and chondrules and extends through sulphide to the non-magnetic and magnetic matrix fractions. Abundances in the finest grained matrix fractions form a linear trend which passes through the origin and the Orgueil and Murchison whole meteorite data. The deviation of magnetic matrix fractions from the above linear trend is probably related to the presence of an intimate association of an awaruite-sulphide-carbon species. 92% of the Tl in the carbon residues, which is released on hydrolysis with HCl, probably resides in an organic host molecule(s) on the macromolecular carbonaceous material, whereas the surface film of organics on the matrix grains shows no apparent enrichment of Tl.Tl and ²⁰⁴Pb abundances revealed an inverse correlation with grain size and a distribution within the grains rather than as a surface layer, is indicated. Constraints placed by the data on the formational environment of the matrix grains are considered. Interstellar shock heating and rapid radiative cooling is a possible mechanism for the establishment of the observed inverse correlation of volatile abundance with grain size. Matrix data do not lend support for a recent redistribution of lead as an explanation for the apparent excess Pb in Allende. The apparent initial Pb isotopic compositions of the matrix fractions are heterogeneous and not attributable to terrestrial contamination. The very magnetic fractions have high abundances of Pb and the least radiogenic apparent initial Pb compositions, whereas the non-magnetic fractions have lower Pb abundances but more radiogenic apparent initial Pb compositions. The data also indicate that use of the predicted Tl-²⁰⁴Pb cosmothermometer, to infer accretion temperatures, is apparently not valid for individual phases of Allende.     

Mineralogical characterization of a unique material having heavy oxygen isotope anomaly in matrix of the primitive carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094

We report the mineral compositions and micro-texture of the isotopically anomalous (δ^17,18O_SMOW ∼ +180‰) Fe-S-Ni-O material recently discovered in matrix of the primitive carbonaceous chondrite Acfer 094 [Sakamoto N., Seto Y., Itoh S., Kuramoto K., Fujino K., Nagashima K., Krot A. N. and Yurimoto H. (2007) Oxygen isotope evidence for remnants of the early solar system primordial water. Science317, 231-233]. Synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies indicate that this material consists of the symplectitically intergrown magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and pentlandite (Fe_5.7Ni_3.3S₈) with magnetite/pentlandite volume ratio of ∼2.3. Magnetite forms column-shaped grains (10-30 nm in diameter and 100-200 nm in length); pentlandite occurs as worm-shaped grains or aggregates of grains 100-300 nm in size between magnetite crystals. Although both the X-ray diffraction and electron energy loss spectra support identification of iron oxide as magnetite, the electron diffraction patterns show that magnetite has a weak 3-fold superstructure, possibly due to ordering of vacancies. We infer that the isotopically anomalous symplectite formed by sulfurization and oxidization of metal grains either in the solar nebula or on an icy planetesimal. The intersite cation distribution of pentlandite suggests that timescale of oxidation was no longer than 1000 years.     

Chromium-bearing olivine in the St. Mesmin chondrite

Olivine phenocrysts in microporphyritic xenoliths in the St. Mesmin chondrite (LL-breccia) show parallel rimward variations of FeO (10 to > -30wt.%), CaO (0·1–0·4%), MnO (0·2–0·8%) and Cr₂O₃ (0·2–0·7%). Aluminum is near background levels and does not vary systematically with iron. Titanium, sodium and nickel are below the limit of detection. Covariation of Fe and Cr in this olivine distinguishes it from the olivines in lunar mare basalts, in which Cr varies inversely with Fe.Transmission electron microscopy of the St. Mesmin olivine suggests that it is free of submicroscopic inclusions and exsolution lamellae and that the chromium present occurs in solid solution in the olivine. Charge balance and ionic radius considerations suggest that it occurs as Cr²⁺, whose effective ionic radius is nearly identical to that of Mn²⁺.The different Fe-Cr relationships observed in the lunar basaltic and St. Mesmin olivines reflect different crystallization sequences. Chromian spinel coprecipitated with olivine in the lunar basalts, reducing the activity of chromium in the melt and leading to the observed anticorrelation of Fe and Cr in olivine (butler, 1972). By contrast, olivine precipitated first in the St. Mesmin microporphyry and was the only solid phase present until more than half of the rock had crystallized. Parallel variation of Fe and Cr reflects crystallization from a melt in which the activity of chromium was increasing.     

The relationship between chondri and matrix of chondrite as indicator of the origin and layering of planets of the solar system

The two-stage evolution of chondrite parent-planets, viz., protoplanet evolution (within giant planets, which are parent planets to chondrite planets) and the planet stage proper (after the loss of giant fluid envelopes by the parent planets) determines the petrological specific features of ordinary chondrites. Relics of protoplanet evolution include splitting of magma into chondri and a diamondiferous matrix fixed in chondrite structure. Chondrites of volcanic (I), subvolcanic (II), and plutonic (III) facies consolidate during the proper planetary stage of evolution of their parent planets. Chondri in chondrites crystallize before the more fluid kamacite matrix, which replaces the chondri and affects a fluid impact upon them. Replacement of chondri with olivine and replacement of matrix kamacite with olivine transforms the matrix into a secondary and substantially olivine-rich substance, which strongly complicates the chondri-matrix relationship, shading its primary magmatic nature.     

A corundum-rich inclusion in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite

A corundum-hibonite inclusion, BB-5, has been found in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite. This is the first reported occurrence of corundum as a major phase in any refractory inclusion, even though this mineral is predicted by thermodynamic calculations to be the first condensate from a cooling gas of solar composition. Ion microprobe measurements of Mg isotopic compositions yield the unexpected result for such an early condensate that ²⁶Mg excesses are small: δ_N²⁶Mg = 7.0 ± 1.6%. for hibonite and 5.0 ± 4.8%. for corundum, despite very large ${}^{27}\text{Al}{}^{24}\text{Mg}$ ratios, 130 and 2.74 × 10⁴, respectively. Within the errors, δ_N²⁶Mg does not vary over this exceedingly large range of ${}^{27}\text{Al}{}^{24}\text{Mg}$ ratios. The extreme temperature required to melt this inclusion makes a liquid origin unlikely, except possibly by hypervelocity impact involving refractory bodies. If, instead, BB-5 is a direct gas-solid condensate, textural evidence implies that corundum formed first and later reacted to produce hibonite. In this model, BB-5's uniform enrichment in ²⁶Mg must be a characteristic of the reservoir from which it condensed. Because severe difficulties are encountered in making such a reservoir by prior decay of ²⁶Al, nebular heterogeneity in magnesium isotopic composition is a preferred explanation.     

Electron petrography of shock-produced veins in the Tenham chondrite

Electron microscopy of the minerals in, and adjacent to the black veins of the Tenham meteorite reveals that the minerals have undergone varying degrees of shock. The orthopyroxenes of the bulk of the meteorite have been transformed to clinopyroxenes in areas adjacent to the veins, and to majorite in the black vein itself. The majorite, which occurs in both equant and dendritic habit, is associated with a glassy phase from which it crystallized, and with a microcrystalline clinopyroxene aggregate produced from the majorite upon the release of pressure. The olivines of the meteorite are also deformed, and some have been transformed to the high pressure spinel polymorph. The spinel has subsequently partially inverted to the -phase polymorph.     

Petrology of the St. Mesmin chondrite

Fifteen samples of clasts and matrix material from the St. Mesmin LL-group chon drite were examined petrogaphically. Their olivines and low-calcium pyroxenes were partially analyzed (for Fe, Ca and Mg) with the electron microprobe. The data confirm and extend the conclusion of Fredriksson et al. (1968) that St. Mesmin is unequilibrated. Though some of its xenolitbs have textures and mineral assemblages appropriate to type 6 and 7 (Dodd, 1972) chondritic material, other materials within it show no evidence of recrystallization. The components of St. Mesmin can be classified by petrologic type according to the system of Van Schmus and Wood (1967); the meteorite as a whole cannot. St. Mesmin is also polymict. Two dark xenoliths in the material studied are fragments of intensely shocked H-group (H-4 ?) chondrites. Two others are fragments of olivine microporphyry which may represent shock-generated magma. Within St. Mesmin and other unequilibrated LL-group chondrites (Fredriksson et al., 1968), the iron contents of olivine and orthopyroxene vary directly with petrologic type. Literature data suggest a similar relationship among the LL-group chondrites, but with many exceptions. In view of the potential importance of this observation for interpretation of the metamorphic history of LL-group chondrites, a detailed restudy and reclassification of these meteorites seems to be in order.     

Radionuclide depth profiles in Dhajala chondrite

Spallation produced radionuclides¹⁰Be,²²Na and²⁶Al and low energy neutron capture radionuclide⁶⁰Co have been measured in several fragments of the Dhajala chondrite, their shielding depth in space having been established by measurement of cosmic ray track density. These data enable us to obtain depth profiles of production rates of these nuclides within the meteoroid body. These profiles are discussed in terms of their dependence on size of the meteoroid and variations of galactic cosmic ray fluxes in time and space. The slowing down density of neutrons of 0.1 neutrons/cm³ sec is determined near the centre of the Dhajala meteoroid based on⁶⁰Co.     

Isotopic characterisation of kerogen-like material in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite

Isotopic data for C, H and N in acid-resistant residues from carbonaceous chondrites show substantial variability during stepwise pyrolysis and/or combustion. After subtraction of contributions due apparently to inorganic C grains, of probably circumstellar origin, considerable isotopic variability remains, attributable to the kerogen-like organic fraction. That variability may be interpreted in terms of three or four distinct components, based on C, H and N isotopes. The relative proportions of those components vary significantly from sample to sample. The different isotopic components are tentatively identified in terms of specific chemical/structural moieties within the kerogen-like material. This combination of chemical, structural and isotopic information suggests a complex history for meteoritic organic matter. At least three components within the organic population as a whole still carry a signature of apparently interstellar Denrichment. Part, at least, of the interstellar carrier consisted of reactive entities, not solely polymers.     

The I-Xe record of alteration in the allende CV chondrite

Complex I-Xe and mineralogical studies have been performed on four heavily-altered Allende fine-grained spinel-rich Ca, Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and four Allende dark inclusions (DIs) showing various degrees of iron-alkali metasomatic alteration. The CAIs are largely composed of Fe-rich spinel, Al-diopside, and secondary nepheline and sodalite. The DIs consist of chondrules and Allende-like matrix composed of lath-shaped fayalitic olivine, nepheline, sodalite, and Ca, Fe-rich pyroxene ± andradite ± FeNi-sulfide nodules. Chondrule phenocrysts are extensively or completely replaced by fayalitic olivine, nepheline, and sodalite; metal nodules are replaced by FeNi-sulfides, andradite and Ca, Fe-rich pyroxenes. The chondrules and matrices are crosscut by Ca, Fe-rich pyroxene ± FeNi-sulfide ± fayalitic olivine veins. DIs are surrounded by continuous Ca-rich rims composed of andradite, wollastonite, kirschsteinite, and Ca, Fe-rich pyroxenes, whereas the outer portions of the inclusions are depleted in Ca.Three CAIs yield well-defined I-Xe isochrons with ages 3.1 ± 0.2, 3.0 ± 0.2 and 3.7 ± 0.2 Ma younger than the Shallowater internal standard (4566 ± 2 Ma). Similar release profiles suggest the same iodine carrier (most probably sodalite) for all four CAIs. The Allende DIs yield I-Xe ages from 0.8 ± 0.3 to 1.9 ± 0.2 Ma older than Shallowater. Based on the petrographic observations, we infer that the DIs experienced at least two-stage alteration. During an early stage of the alteration, which took place in an asteroidal setting, but not in the current location of the DIs, chondrule silicates were replaced by secondary fayalitic olivine, nepheline, and sodalite. Calcium lost from the chondrules was redeposited as Ca, Fe-rich pyroxene veins and Ca, Fe-rich pyroxene ± andradite nodules in the matrix. The second stage of alteration resulted in mobilization of Ca from the DIs and its re-deposition as Ca-rich rims composed of Ca, Fe-rich pyroxenes, andradite, and wollastonite, around the DIs. We interpret I-Xe ages of the DIs as time of their alteration prior incorporation into Allende. The younger I-Xe ages of the fine-grained spinel-rich CAIs may reflect hydrothermal alteration of the Allende host, which could have occurred contemporaneously with the second stage of alteration of the Allende DIs. The lack of evidence for the disturbance of I-Xe system in the Allende DIs may suggest that fluid responsible for the alteration of the Allende CAIs was in equilibrium with the I- and Xe-bearing phases of the DIs.     

Pyroxenes in the Shaw (L-7) chondrite

The Shaw L-group chondrite differs from orthodox type 6 ordinary chondrites in ways which suggest that it experienced unusually high metamorphic temperatures and anatexis. Electron microprobe and single crystal X-ray diffraction data indicate that Shaw contains three pyroxenes: the augite (Fs_11.3Wo_38.2) and calcic orthopyroxene (Fs_19.4WO_4·5) reported by other workers and a second, Ca- and Al-poor orthopyroxene (Fs_16·8Wo_1·2) which we interpret as inverted protobronzite. Comparison of the Shaw assemblage with experimental data suggests that a two-phase (augite-protobronzite) assemblage developed at peak metamorphic temperatures of ~1250–1300°C, that partial reaction of augite and protobronzite produced calcic orthopyroxene and by-product spinel at temperatures approximately 150°C lower and that protobronzite inverted to bronzite free of stacking disorder during subsequent slow cooling. The intracrystalline distribution of Fe and Mg in the Ca-poor bronzite (K_E + 0·07; determined by crystal structure analysis) indicates an equilibration temperature of ~500°C.Shaw differs sufficiently in texture and mineralogy from type 6 ordinary chondrites to justify its assignment to a separate petrologic type: L-7.     

Fine-grained-rim mineralogy of the Cold Bokkeveld CM chondrite

A chrysotile-like phase, cronstedtite, polygonal serpentine, pentlandite, and finely intergrown tochilinite comprise the fine-grained rim (FGR) mineralogy of the Cold Bokkeveld CM chondrite. Transmission electron microscope images combined with compositional data indicate reaction among cronstedtite, the chrysotile-like phase, and polygonal serpentine. The Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratios of the cronstedtite are higher than those reported for the less altered Murchison CM chondrite. Cronstedtite grains exhibit layer separations, particularly at their boundaries.The FGRs surround different chondrule types but have similar bulk compositions and mineralogy. Ca is depleted in the FGRs relative to the bulk CM chondrite. The FGRs display non-uniform thicknesses, especially where they coat embayed chondrule areas, and they exhibit grain-size coarsening outward from the chondrules they enclose. FGR formation in Cold Bokkeveld is most plausibly explained by multiple accretionary episodes during which progressively coarser dust was deposited onto chondrules, presumably in the solar nebula. The compositional and mineralogic data are consistent with aqueous alteration on the parent body.