^1,2Alan E. Rubin, ³John P. Breen, ¹Junko Isa, ⁴Sean Tutorow
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12797]
¹Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095–1567, USA
²Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095–1567, USA
³Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095–1567, USA
⁴eegooblago meteorites, Greeley, Colorado 80634, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

NWA 10214 is an LL3-6 breccia containing ~8 vol% clasts including LL5, LL6, and shocked-darkened LL fragments as well as matrix-rich Clast 6 (a new kind of chondrite). This clast is a dark-colored, subrounded, 6.1 × 7.0 mm inclusion, consisting of 60 vol% fine-grained matrix, 32 vol% coarse silicate grains, and 8 vol% coarse opaque grains. The large chondrules and chondrule fragments are mainly Type IB; one small chondrule is Type IIA. Also present are one 450 × 600 μm spinel-pyroxene-olivine CAI and one 85 × 110 μm AOI. Clast 6 possesses a unique set of properties. (1) It resembles carbonaceous chondrites in having relatively abundant matrix, CAIs, and AOIs; the clast’s matrix composition is close to that in CV3 Vigarano. (2) It resembles type-3 OC in its olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositional distributions, and in the Fe/Mn ratio of ferroan olivine grains. Its mean chondrule size is within 1σ of that of H chondrites. The O-isotopic compositions of the chondrules are in the ordinary- and R-chondrite ranges. (3) It resembles type-3 enstatite chondrites in the minor element concentrations in low-Ca pyroxene grains and in having a high low-Ca pyroxene/olivine ratio in chondrules. Clast 6 is a new variety of type-3 OC, somewhat more reduced than H chondrites or chondritic clasts in the Netschaevo IIE iron; the clast formed in a nebular region where aerodynamic radial drift processes deposited a high abundance of matrix material and CAIs. A chunk of this chondrite was ejected from its parent asteroid and later impacted the LL body at low relative velocity.

¹Geoffrey H. Howarth, ²Arya Udry
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12799]
¹Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
²Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Olivine-phyric shergottites represent primitive basaltic to picritic rocks, spanning a large range of Mg# and olivine abundances. As primitive olivine-bearing magmas are commonly representative of their mantle source on Earth, understanding the petrology and evolution of olivine-phyric shergottites is critical in our understanding of Martian mantle compositions. We present data for the olivine-phyric shergottite Northwest Africa (NWA) 10170 to constrain the petrology with specific implications for magma plumbing-system dynamics. The calculated oxygen fugacity and bulk-rock REE concentrations (based on modal abundance) are consistent with a geochemically intermediate classification for NWA 10170, and overall similarity with NWA 6234. In addition, we present trace element data using laser ablation ICP-MS for coarse-grained olivine cores, and compare these data with terrestrial and Martian data sets. The olivines in NWA 10170 contain cores with compositions of Fo77 that evolve to rims with composition of Fo58, and are characterized by cores with low Ni contents (400–600 ppm). Nickel is compatible in olivine and such low Ni content for olivine cores in NWA 10170 suggests either early-stage fractionation and loss of olivine from the magma in a staging chamber at depth, or that Martian magmas have lower Ni than terrestrial magmas. We suggest that both are true in this case. Therefore, the magma does not represent a primary mantle melt, but rather has undergone 10–15% fractionation in a staging chamber prior to extrusion/intrusion at the surface of Mars. This further implies that careful evaluation of not only the Mg# but also the trace element concentrations of olivine needs to be conducted to evaluate pristine mantle melts versus those that have fractionated olivine (±pyroxene and oxide minerals) in staging chambers.