Update (2012–2017) on lunar meteorites from Oman

This report presents bulk composition data for 10 lunar meteorite stones from Oman for which the names have been approved since June, 2012. On the basis of composition and reported find location, four new meteorites are represented among this group of stones. Data from neutron activation analysis of 371 subsamples of all lunar meteorites from Oman and Saudi Arabia analyzed in this laboratory are presented.     

Petrography and composition of Martian regolith breccia meteorite Northwest Africa 7475

The Northwest Africa (NWA) 7475 meteorite is one of the several stones of paired regolith breccias from Mars based on petrography, oxygen isotope, mineral compositions, and bulk rock compositions. Its inventory of lithic clasts is dominated by vitrophyre impact melts that were emplaced while they were still molten. Other clast types include crystallized impact melt rocks, evolved plutonic rocks, possible basalts, contact metamorphosed rocks, and siltstones. Impact spherules and vitrophyre shards record airborne transport, and accreted dust rims were sintered on most clasts, presumably during residence in an ejecta plume. The clast assemblage records at least three impact events, one that formed an impact melt sheet on Mars ≤4.4 Ga ago, a second that assembled NWA 7475 from impactites associated with the impact melt sheet at 1.7–1.4 Ga, and a third that launched NWA 7475 from Mars ~5 Ma ago. Mildly shocked pyroxene and plagioclase constrain shock metamorphic conditions during launch to >5 and <15 GPa. The mild postshock‐heating that resulted from these shock pressures would have been insufficient to sterilize this water‐bearing lithology during launch. Magnetite, maghemite, and pyrite are likely products of secondary alteration on Mars. Textural relationships suggest that calcium‐carbonate and goethite are probably of terrestrial origin, yet trace element chemistry indicates relatively low terrestrial alteration. Comparison of Mars Odyssey gamma‐ray spectrometer data with the Fe and Th abundances of NWA 7475 points to a provenance in the ancient southern highlands of Mars. Gratteri crater, with an age of ~5 Ma and an apparent diameter of 6.9 km, marks one possible launch site of NWA 7475.     

Test of a model for trace element partition during closed-system solidification of a silicate liquid

Distributions of trace elements during solidification of a basalt are adequately described by the model of Helmkeet al. (1972) for crystallization as a closed system. A hypidiomorphic granular basalt was coarsely crushed to particles < 2 mm in size, was sieved, and materials from nine size fractions were analyzed by neutron activation for REE, Co, Cr, Fe, Hf, Na, Sc, and Ta. Mineral separates from one of the size fractions were also analyzed.Trace-element concentrations of analyzed samples containing statistically significant numbers of mineral grains were matched very well by a mixing model whose end-member components were the analyzed major minerals and mesostasis. Highly accurate modal analyses of the analyzed materials were obtained from the mixing model. Differences in proportions of mesostasis (range 0.57–2%) were shown to be responsible for large differences in trace element concentrations among 0.25–1 g chips from a single hand-specimen of the basalt. Ilmenite in the basalt is badly contaminated with mesostasis.The closed-system model for crystallization yields values for temperature- and composition-averaged distribution coefficients for incompatible elements that are accurate to ? 15 to + 30%, and relative to each other are accurate to a few percent. The model demonstrates why some current practices for estimating values of distribution coefficients or of parent liquid compositions lead to errors of factors of several times.