Three-dimensional textures of Ryugu samples and their implications for the evolution of aqueous alteration in the Ryugu parent body

1,2,3Akira Tsuchiyama et al. (>10)
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2024.03.032]
1Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga 525-8577, Japan
2Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, CAS, Guangzhou 510640, China
3CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China
Copyright Elsevier

Samples collected from the surface/subsurface of C-type asteroid 162,173 Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission were nondestructively analyzed in three dimensions (3D). Seventy-three small particles (approximately 10–180 µm in size) were observed using X-ray nanotomography, with an effective spatial resolution of approximately 200 nm. Detailed descriptions of these samples in terms of mineralogy, petrology, and variations among particles were reported. The 57 most common particles consisted of a phyllosilicate matrix containing mineral grains, mainly magnetite, pyrrhotite, dolomite and apatite. The remaining particles were mostly monomineralic particles (pyrrhotite, dolomite, breunnerite, apatite, and Mg-Na phosphate) with two unique particles (calcite in a Al2Si2O5(OH)4 matrix, and CaCO3, phyllosilicate, and tochilinite-chronstedtite inclusions in a carbonaceous material matrix). The results confirmed that the samples correspond to Ivuna-type carbonaceous chondrites (CI chondrites) or related materials. Many small inclusions of voids and carbonaceous materials were detected in pyrrhotite, dolomite, breunnerite, and apatite. However, no fluid inclusions were observed, except for those in pyrrhotite that have already been reported. Magnetite exhibited a wide variety of morphologies, from irregular shapes (spherulites, framboids, plaquettes, and whiskers) to euhedral shapes (equants, rods, and cubes), along with transitional shapes. In contrast, the other minerals exhibit predominantly euhedral shapes (pyrrhotite: pseudo-hexagonal plates, dolomite: flattened rhombohedrons, breunnerite: largely flattened rhombohedrons, and apatite: hexagonal prisms) or aggregates of faceted crystals, except for Mg-Na phosphate. The matrices were heterogeneous with variable phyllosilicate particle sizes, Mg/Fe ratios, density (1.7 ± 0.2 g/cm3), nanoporosities (36 ± 9 %), and abundances of nanograins of Fe(-Ni) sulfides. The macroporosity of the particles was estimated as 12 ± 4 %.

The observed textural relationships among the minerals suggest a precipitation sequence of: magnetite (spherulite → plaquette/framboid → rod/equant) → pyrrhotite (pentlandite → pyrrhotite) → apatite → dolomite → breunnerite → coarse phyllosilicates. Fe-bearing olivine (or low-Ca pyroxene) might have precipitated later than dolomite, indicating a high Mg activity in the aqueous solution. This precipitation sequence corresponds to a transition from irregular crystal forms (as seen in some magnetite) to regular forms of euhedral crystals (observed in some magnetite and other minerals). Based on the precipitation sequence and mineral morphologies, together with previously reported observations, a model for aqueous alteration in the Ryugu parent body was proposed as follows: CO2-H2O ice, amorphous silicates (GEMS-like material), and some minerals (mostly metal, sulfides, and anhydrous silicates) accumulated to form the parent body of Ryugu. Amorphous silicates and Fe-Ni metal quickly dissolved into the melted ice to form a highly supersaturated aqueous solution. Poorly-crystalized phyllosilicate and spherulitic magnetite precipitated first, followed by plaquette/framboidal magnetites with decreasing degree of supersaturation due to precipitation. Pseudo-hexagonal pyrrhotite plates were formed by dissolution and reprecipitation under relatively low supersaturation. Subsequently, apatite, dolomite, and breunnerite precipitated in this order in response to decreasing supersaturation.

Experimental investigation of first-row transition elements partitioning between olivine and silicate melt: Implications for lunar basalt formation

1,2Jie-Jun Jing,3,4Ben-Xun Su,5Jasper Berndt,2Hideharu Kuwahara,1Wim van Westrenen
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (inPress) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2024.03.028]
1Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2Geodynamics Research Center, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan
3Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing, China
4University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
5Institut für Mineralogie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Correnstraße 24, D48149 Münster, Germany
Copyright Elsevier

Fifteen experiments at 1 atm pressure and 1400 °C have been conducted to determine partition coefficients between olivine and silicate melt (
) of the first-row transition elements (FRTEs, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn), Ga and Ge in the system FeO-CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 (FCMAS). Bulk iron contents are varied between 0 and 10 wt% FeO, and oxygen fugacity ranges from 2 log units below the iron-wüstite buffer (IW-2) to 2 log units above the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer (QFM + 2), covering a range of igneous processes involving olivine in terrestrial and lunar conditions. Results show that multi-valent Fe and V are redox-sensitive and more incompatible at oxidizing conditions, consistent with previous studies. The moderately volatile elements (Cu, Zn, Ga and Ge) become more volatile at reducing conditions. No correlation between partition coefficients and oxygen fugacity is observed for other multi-valent (Ti, Cr, Mn) and for homo-valent elements (Sc, Co and Ni). Mostshow no sensitivity to bulk system iron contents, but
is significantly higher in our experiments compared toderived from olivine-melt inclusion pairs in lunar samples with much higher FeO contents.
values are nearly constant at a range of oxygen fugacities above the IW buffer, but abruptly decrease when the system is very reducing (below the IW buffer). As a result,
ratios that are constant (∼0.3) at or above the IW buffer increase significantly (0.72–0.99) at IW-2. Using the newly derived partition coefficients, we re-assess two aspects of lunar basalt generation. First, we conclude that the Cr-rich nature of the olivines in lunar basalts compared to terrestrial basalts must be attributed to the Cr-nature of cumulate mantle source of lunar basalts, linked to the early crystallization of Cr-poor minerals olivine and orthopyroxene in the lunar magma ocean resulting in a shallow Cr-rich cumulates. Second, the higher Co/Ni ratios in olivine in high-titanium lunar basalts compared to olivine in low-titanium lunar basalts suggest the former were formed at more reducing conditions (below the IW buffer).