Iron XANES measurements of carbonates and phyllosilicates in CM chondrites: A record of redox conditions during aqueous alteration

1,2Elizabeth Bailey,2Myriam Telus,3Phoebe J. Lam,4Samuel M. Webb
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.70001]
1Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
3Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
4Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Multiple generations of calcite and dolomite precipitated in CM chondrites during ice melting events that led to episodes of liquid water. Models and laboratory analysis have suggested a long-term transition from oxidizing to reducing conditions during aqueous alteration on the CM parent body. We found that synchrotron X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) can detect relative differences in the oxidation state of trace iron within these carbonates. In CM chondrites, previous work interpreted Mn abundance in calcite as an indicator of relatively early or late formation, and dolomite is understood to form relatively late. In the CM1 chondrite Meteorite Hills 01070, XANES maps reveal that Mn-poor calcite contains more oxidized iron relative to Mn-rich calcite. While these measurements of carbonates support increasing iron reduction with progressive aqueous alteration in MET 01070, comparison among different CM chondrites suggests a complex picture of redox evolution. In addition to carbonates, we performed XANES measurements of the phyllosilicate-rich matrix of Allan Hills 83,100. Pre-edge centroid analysis indicates that this CM1/2 has an oxidation state similar to typical CM2 chondrites. While additional measurements are warranted to confirm the full span of redox trends in CM carbonates, our data do not support a correlation between redox state and petrologic type.

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