^1,2Lidia Pittarello,^1,3Seann McKibbin,⁴Akira Yamaguchi,^5,6Gang Ji,⁵Dominique Schryvers,⁷Vinciane Debaille,⁷Philippe Claeys
American Mineralogist 104, 1663-1672 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-7001]
¹Analytical, Environmental, and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
²Department of Mineralogy and Petrography, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010 Vienna, Austria.
³Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum, Georg-August Universität, Goldschmidtstraße 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
⁴National Institute of Polar Research, Antarctic Meteorite Research Center, 10-3 Midoricho, Tachikawa, Japan
⁵Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT), University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium
⁶University of Lille, CNRS, INRA, ENSCL, UMR 8207, UMET, Unité Matériaux et Transformations, F-59000 Lille, France.
⁷Laboratoire G-Time (Géochemie: Traçage isotopique, minéralogique et élémentaire), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Copyright: The Mineralogical Society of America

Mesosiderite meteorites consist of a mixture of crustal basaltic or gabbroic material and metal. Their formation process is still debated due to their unexpected combination of crust and core materials, possibly derived from the same planetesimal parent body, and lacking an intervening mantle component. Mesosiderites have experienced an extremely slow cooling rate from ca. 550 °C, as recorded in the metal (0.25–0.5 °C/Ma). Here we present a detailed investigation of exsolution features in pyroxene from the Antarctic mesosiderite Asuka (A) 09545. Geothermobarometry calculations, lattice parameters, lamellae orientation, and the presence of clinoenstatite as the host were used in an attempt to constrain the evolution of pyroxene from 1150 to 570 °C and the formation of two generations of exsolution lamellae. After pigeonite crystallization at ca. 1150 °C, the first exsolution process generated the thick augite lamellae along (100) in the temperature interval 1000–900 °C. By further cooling, a second order of exsolution lamellae formed within augite along (001), consisting of monoclinic low-Ca pyroxene, equilibrated in the temperature range 900–800 °C. The last process, occurring in the 600–500 °C temperature range, was likely the inversion of high to low pigeonite in the host crystal, lacking evidence for nucleation of orthopyroxene.

The formation of two generations of exsolution lamellae, as well as of likely metastable pigeonite, suggest non-equilibrium conditions. Cooling was sufficiently slow to allow the formation of the lamellae, their preservation, and the transition from high to low pigeonite. In addition, the preservation of such fine-grained lamellae limits long-lasting, impact reheating to a peak temperature lower than 570 °C. These features, including the presence of monoclinic low-Ca pyroxene as the host, are reported in only a few mesosiderites. This suggests a possibly different origin and thermal history from most mesosiderites and that the crystallography (i.e., space group) of low-Ca pyroxene could be used as parameter to distinguish mesosiderite populations based on their cooling history.

¹Jessica Flahaut,²Janice L. Bishop,^2,3Simone Silvestro,^4,5Dario Tedesco,⁶Isabelle Daniel,⁷Damien Loizeau
American Mineralogist 104, 1565-1577 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6899]
¹Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (CRPG), UMR7358 CNRS-Université de Lorraine, 15 rue Notre-Dame des Pauvres, 54500 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France. Orcid 0000-0002-0866-8086
²Carl Sagan Center, The SETI Institute, Mountain View, California 94043, U.S.A.
³INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Napoli, Italy
⁴Campania University—Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
⁵Osservatorio Vesuviano—Istituto Nazionale di Geochimica e Vulcanologia, Napoli, Italy
⁶Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Ens de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276, Lab. de Géologie de Lyon, Villeurbanne F-69622, France. Orcid 0000-0002-1448-7919
⁷IAS, CNRS/Université Paris Sud, 91400 Orsay, France
Copyright: The Mineralogical Society of America

The first definitive evidence for continental vents on Mars is the in situ detection of amorphous silica-rich outcrops by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. These outcrops have been tentatively interpreted as the result of either acid sulfate leaching in fumarolic environments or direct precipitation from hot springs. Such environments represent prime targets for upcoming astrobiology missions but remain difficult to identify with certainty, especially from orbit. To contribute to the identification of fumaroles and hot spring deposits on Mars, we surveyed their characteristics at the analog site of the Solfatara volcanic crater in central Italy. Several techniques of mineral identification (VNIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XRD) were used both in the field and in the laboratory on selected samples. The faulted crater walls showed evidence of acid leaching and alteration into the advanced argillic-alunitic facies, with colorful deposits containing alunite, jarosite, and/or hematite. Sublimates containing various Al and Fe hydroxyl-sulfates were observed around the active fumarole vents at 90 °C. One vent at 160 °C was characterized by different sublimates enriched in As and Hb sulfide species. Amorphous silica and alunite assemblages that are diagnostic of silicic alteration were also observed at the Fangaia mud pots inside the crater. A wide range of minerals was identified at the 665 m diameter Solfatara crater that is diagnostic of acid-steam heated alteration of a trachytic, porous bedrock. Importantly, this mineral diversity was captured at each site investigated with at least one of the techniques used, which lends confidence for the recognition of similar environments with the next-generation Mars rovers.