Studies of Brazilian meteorites: III. Origin and history of the Angra dos Reis achondrite

The Angra dos Reis meteorite fell in 1869 and is a unique achondrite. It is an ultramafic igneous rock, pyroxenite, with 93% fassaite pyroxene which has 15.7% Ca-Tschermak's molecule, plus calcic olivine (Fo_53.1; 1.3% CaO), green hercynitic spinel, whitlockite (merrillite), metallic Ni-Fe, troilite, as well as magnesian kirschsteinite (Ks_62.3Mo_37.7), within olivine grains, and celsian (Cs_90.2An_7.7Ab_1.7Or_0.4) which are phases reported in a meteorite for the first time, and plagioclase (An_86.0), baddeleyite, titanian magnetite (TiO₂, 21.9%), and terrestrial hydrous iron oxide which are phases reported for the first time in this meteorite. Petrofabric analysis shows that fassaite has a preferred orientation and lineation which is interpreted as being due to cumulus processes, possibly the effect of post-depositional magmatic current flow or laminar flow of a crystalline mush. The mineral chemistry indicates crystallization from a highly silica-undersaturated melt at low pressure. Since the meteorite formed as a cumulate, pyroxene crystals may have gravitationally settled from a melt which crystallized melilite first. Plagioclase would be unstable in such a highly undersaturated melt, and feldspathoids would be rare or absent due to the very low alkali contents of the melt. The presence of rare grains of plagioclase and celsian may be the result of late-stage crystallization of residual liquids in local segregations. Thus, the Eu anomaly in Angra dos Reis may be the result of pyroxene separation from a melt which crystallized melilite earlier, rather than plagioclase as previously suggested.     

QUANTIFYING SIMILARITY FOR HANDLING INFORMATION IN KNOWLEDGE BASES

When constructing diagnostic systems or using knowledge-based systems,e.g.in analytical chemistry,features of different type and character,represented by numbers,trajectories or linguistic variables suchas intensities or colours,must be considered.To find neighbourhoods or to fill in missing values,thenotion of similarity is of essential importance.The paper presents a new fuzzy-set-theory-based approachto quantifying similarity and provides a system of rules to be implemented into the diagnostic part of theknowledge base to be used.     

Mineralogy,petrology, and trace element geochemistry of the Johnstown meteorite: a brecciated orthopyroxenite with siderophile and REE-rich components

The Johnstown meteorite is a brecciated orthopyroxenite (diogenite) containing coarsegrained centimeter-sized clasts of cumulate origin that have undergone subsolidus recrystallization. The brecciated portion is dominated by subangular fragments of orthopyroxene (Wo_2–3En_72–74Fs_23–25) in a variably comminuted matrix of the same material. Minor and accessory phases include plagioclase (An_82–90Ab_10–18Or_0–1), diopside (Wo_44–45En_46–47Fs_9–10), olivine (Fo_71–72), tridymite, troilite, metallic Ni-Fe (~3% Ni), and chromite (Cm_71–80Hc_1–8Sp_11–19Mt_2–4Uv_1–3).The clastic component is parental to the brecciated matrix which contains no foreign lithic or mineralogic components. Siderophile trace element studies, however, reveal the presence of meteoritic (chondritic) contamination in the brecciated portion using unbrecciated clasts for indigenous values. Rare earth element abundances show a wide range of values for the light REE in different samples, although all samples exhibit a strong negative Eu anomaly, indicative of earlier plagioclase fractionation. Two pairs of adjacent brecciated and unbrecciated samples from different portions of the meteorite show, respectively, the most enriched and the most depleted light REE patterns. The variability in La content is over a factor of 100. However, in each case the REE pattern for the brecciated portion is very similar to that of the unbrecciated portion. These differences are attributed to sampling of variable amounts of residual, REE-enriched, trapped liquid. The most representative REE pattern for the bulk meteorite has an intermediate composition and was obtained from the largest sample. The data presented here indicate that Johnstown is a monomict breccia, in contrast to several other diogenites which may be considered to be polymict on the basis of their mineral compositions and/or clast populations.     

NIOBIAN RUTILE IN AN APOLLO 14 KREEP FRAGMENT

Niobian rutile was found in a KREEP lithic fragment of basaltic texture. The niobian rutile contains 85.3% TiO₂, 7.1% Nb₂O₅, 2.65% Cr₂O₃, 0.70% ZrO₂, 0.61% SiO₂, 0.82% Al₂O₃ 0.61% FeO, 0.52% CaO, 0.22% V₂O₃ in addition to minor amounts of MnO, MgO, and CeO₂. Rare earth elements were not detected, in contrast with lunar niobian rutile of Marvin (1971). Coexisting minerals in the KREEP fragment are major amounts of plagioclase and orthopyroxene, and minor amounts of olivine, ilmenite, augite, barian K-feldspar, whitlockite, troilite, Ni-Fe, zirkelite and chromite     

The Chassigny meteorite: a cumulate dunite with hydrous amphibole-bearing melt inclusions

The Chassigny meteorite is a moderately shocked olivine achondrite or chassignite with features indicative of a cumulate origin with some subsolidus annealing. Chassigny is an iron-rich dunite (Fo₆₈) with minor amounts of Ca-rich and Ca-poor pyroxene, alkalic feldspar, chromite, and melt inclusions in olivine. Accessory phases include chlorapatite, troilite, marcasite, kaersutite amphibole, pentlandite, ilmenite, rutile and baddeleyite. The meteorite experienced shock pressures of ~150–200 kbar as evidenced by planar and irregular fractures in olivine, local recrystallization in pyroxene and reduced birefringence and rare deformation lamallae in feldspar. Kaersutitic amphibole (K_0.05 Na_0.45)_0.50 (Ca_1.71 Na_0.29)_2.00 (Mg_2.73 ‘Fe’_1.19 Ti_0.73 A1_0.23 Cr_0.08 Mn_0.03)_4.99 (Si_6.05Al_1.95)_8.00 O₂₂ (OH, F)₂ containing hydrogen and lesser amounts of fluorine represents the first extraterrestrial occurrence of hydrous amphibole and the first meteoritic amphibole type other than fluorichterite. Kaersutite is found only in melt inclusions.Melt inclusion bulk compositional data suggest crystallization from a low-Ca melt that may have been similar in major element abundances to the silicate portion of LL group chondrites. However, Chassigny has a fractionated pattern for REE and the lack of metallic iron, possible presence of minor Ni in the olivine and Fe³⁺ in the chromites indicates that Chassigny formed under relatively more oxidizing conditions than most other achondrites. Therefore its parental melt could not have been directly derived from a chondritic composition in a simple single-stage process. The iron-rich bulk composition, cumulate texture and abundance as well as alkalic nature of the interstitial feldspar indicate that Chassigny could not have generated eucritic magmas. This places further constraints on its relationship to other meteorites and the parent body from which it is derived. The Brachina meteorite is similar to Chassigny except that it is finer grained, more feldspathic and is unshocked. It extends the fractionation range of this group which now represents two unusual meteorites.