Fine,nickel-poor Fe-Ni grains in the olivine of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites

Fine (?2 μm), Ni-poor (? 10 mg/g) Fe-Ni grains are common inclusions in the olivine in porphyritic chondrules in unequilibrated ordinary chondrites. The olivine grains appear to be relicts that survived chondrule formation without melting. The most common occurrence of this “dusty” metal is in the core of olivine grains having clear Fe-poor rims and surrounded either by small euhedral clear olivine grains zoned with FeO increasing toward the border of the grains or by large elongated Fe-poor orthopyroxenes oriented parallel to the chondrule surface and enclosing small round olivine grains. Various amounts of Ca, Al-rich glass are always present. The dusty metal is occasionally found in the rims of olivine grains either isolated in the matrix or included in chondrules. A rare occurrence is as bands in highly deformed olivines.This dusty metal appears to be the product of in situ reduction of FeO from the host olivine. Among the possible reductants H₂ or carbonaceous matter (CH₂)_n seem the most likely. Hydrogen may have been implanted by solar-wind or solar-flare irradiation, but this requires that dissipation of nebular gas occurred before the end of the chondrule formation process. Carbonaceous matter may have been implanted by shock. Less likely reductants are nebular CO or C dissolved in the olivine lattice. The large relict olivine grains may be nebular condensates or, more likely, fragments broken off earlier generations of chondrules.