¹Y. Nakamuta,²K. Urata,³Y. Shibata,⁴Y. Kuwahara
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12808]
¹Kyushu University Museum, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
²Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
³Sawara P.O., Japan Post Co., Fukuoka, Japan
⁴Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Published by agreement with John Wiley & Sons

In Lindsley’s thermometry, a revised sequence of calculation of components is proposed for clinopyroxene, in which kosmochlor component is added. Temperatures obtained for the components calculated by the revised method are about 50 °C lower than those obtained for the components calculated by the Lindsley’s original method and agree well with temperatures obtained from orthopyroxenes. Ca-partitioning between clino- and orthopyroxenes is then thought to be equilibrated in types 5 to 7 ordinary chondrites. The temperatures for Tuxtuac (LL5), Dhurmsala (LL6), NWA 2092 (LL6/7), and Dho 011 (LL7) are 767–793°, 818–835°, 872–892°, and 917–936°C, respectively, suggesting that chondrites of higher petrographic types show higher equilibrium temperatures of pyroxenes. The regression equations which relate temperature and Wo and Fs contents in the temperature-contoured pyroxene quadrilateral of 1 atm of Lindsley (1983) are also determined by the least squares method. It is possible to reproduce temperatures with an error less than 20 °C (2SE) using the regression equations.

¹Jeffrey J. Gillis-Davis, ¹Paul G. Lucey, ¹John P. Bradley, ¹Hope A. Ishii, ¹Heather M. Kaluna, ¹¹Anumpam Misra, ²Harold C. Connolly Jr.
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.031]
¹University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
²Department of Geology, School of Earth and the Environment, Rowan University, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA.
Copyright Elsevier

We report findings from a series of laser-simulated space weathering experiments on Allende, a CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. The purpose of these experiments is to understand how spectra of anhydrous C-complex asteroids might vary as a function of micrometeorite bombardment. Four 0.5-gram aliquots of powdered, unpacked Allende meteorite were incrementally laser weathered with 30 mJ pulses while under vacuum. Radiative transfer modeling of the spectra and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) analyses of the samples show lunar-like similarities and differences in response to laser-simulated space weathering. For instance, laser weathered Allende exhibited lunar-like spectral changes. The overall spectra from visible to near infrared (Vis-NIR) redden and darken, and characteristic absorption bands weaken as a function of laser exposure. Unlike lunar weathering, however, the continuum slope between 450-550 nm does not vary monotonically with laser irradiation. Initially, spectra in this region redden with laser irradiation; then, the visible continua become less red and eventually spectrally bluer. STEM analyses of less mature samples confirm submicroscopic iron metal (SMFe) and micron sized sulfides. More mature samples reveal increased dispersal of Fe-Ni sulfides by the laser, which we infer to be the cause for the non-lunar-like changes in spectral behavior. Spectra of laser weathered Allende are a reasonable match to T- or possibly K-type asteroids; though the spectral match with a parent body is not exact. The key take away is, laser weathered Allende looks spectrally different (i.e., darker, and redder or bluer depending on the wavelength region) than its unweathered spectrum. Consequently, connecting meteorites to asteroids using unweathered spectra of meteorites would result in a different parent body than one matched on the basis of weathered spectra. Further, spectra for these laser weathering experiments may provide an explanation for inconsistencies observed in both laboratory (e.g., Hiroi et al., 2003 & Hiroi et al., 2001, Lazzarin et al., 2006 and Moroz et al., 2004 & Moroz et al., 1996 and Shingareva et al., 2004) and telescopic data (Lazzarin et al., 2006, Marchi et al., 2006 and Nesvorný et al., 2005).

¹H.M. Kaluna, ¹H.A. Ishii, ¹J.P. Bradley, ¹J.J. Gillis-Davis, ¹P.G. Lucey
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.028]
¹Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu-HI-96822, USA
Copyright Elsevier

Simulated space weathering experiments on volatile-rich carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) have resulted in contrasting spectral behaviors (e.g. reddening vs bluing). The aim of this work is to investigate the origin of these contrasting trends by simulating space weathering on a subset of minerals found in these meteorites. We use pulsed laser irradiation to simulate micrometeorite impacts on aqueously altered minerals and observe their spectral and physical evolution as a function of irradiation time. Irradiation of the mineral lizardite, a Mg-phyllosilicate, produces a small degree of reddening and darkening, but a pronounced reduction in band depths with increasing irradiation. In comparison, irradiation of an Fe-rich aqueously altered mineral assemblage composed of cronstedtite, pyrite and siderite, produces significant darkening and band depth suppression. The spectral slopes of the Fe-rich assemblage initially redden then become bluer with increasing irradiation time. Post-irradiation analyses of the Fe-rich assemblage using scanning and transmission electron microscopy reveal the presence of micron sized carbon-rich particles that contain notable fractions of nitrogen and oxygen. Radiative transfer modeling of the Fe-rich assemblage suggests that nanometer sized metallic iron (npFe0) particles result in the initial spectral reddening of the samples, but the increasing production of micron sized carbon particles (µpC) results in the subsequent spectral bluing. The presence of npFe0 and the possible catalytic nature of cronstedtite, an Fe-rich phyllosilicate, likely promotes the synthesis of these carbon-rich, organic-like compounds. These experiments indicate that space weathering processes may enable organic synthesis reactions on the surfaces of volatile-rich asteroids. Furthermore, Mg-rich and Fe-rich aqueously altered minerals are dominant at different phases of the aqueous alteration process. Thus, the contrasting spectral slope evolution between the Fe- and Mg-rich samples in these experiments may indicate that space weathering trends of volatile-rich asteroids have a compositional dependency that could be used to determine the aqueous histories of asteroid parent bodies.

¹M. J. Genge
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [DOI: 10.1111/maps.12805]
¹Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Cosmic spherules are unique igneous objects that form by melting due to gas drag heating during atmospheric entry heating. Vesicles are an important component of many cosmic spherules since they suggest their precursors had finite volatile contents. Vesicle abundances in spherules decrease through the series porphyritic, glassy, barred, to cryptocrystalline spherules. Anomalous hollow spherules, with large off-center vesicles occur in both porphyritic and glassy spheres. Numerical simulation of the dynamic behavior of vesicles during atmospheric flight is presented that indicates vesicles rapidly migrate due to deceleration and separate from nonporphyritic particles. Modest rotation rates of tens of radians s−1 are, however, sufficient to impede loss of vesicles and may explain the presence of small solitary vesicles in barred, cryptocrystalline and glassy spherules. Rapid rotation at spin rates of several thousand radians s−1 are required to concentrate vesicles at the rotational axis and leads to rapid growth by coalescence and either separation or retention depending on the orientation of the rotational axis. Complex rapid rotations that concentrate vesicles in the core of particles are proposed as a mechanism for the formation of hollow spherules. High vesicle contents in porphyritic spherules suggest volatile-rich precursors; however, calculation of volatile retention indicates these have lost >99.9% of volatiles to degassing prior to melting. The formation of hollow spherules, by rapid spin, necessarily implies preatmospheric rotations of several thousand radians s−1. These particles are suggested to represent immature dust, recently released from parent bodies, in which rotations have not been slowed by magnetic damping.

¹Joseph I. Goldstein, ²Gary R. Huss, ²Edward R.D. Scott
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.12.027]
¹Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
²Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Copyright Elsevier

Carbon concentrations in kamacite, taenite, and plessite (kamacite-taenite intergrowths) were measured in 18 iron meteorites and 2 mesosiderites using the Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe at the University of Hawai‘i with a 5-7 μm beam and a detection limit of < 1 ppm. Our goal was to investigate the effects of carbon on the microstructure of iron meteorites during cooling and to evaluate how carbon partitions between metal phases and other carbon-bearing minerals (graphite, haxonite, cohenite) in various meteorite groups. Carbon concentrations range from ∼100 to ∼1000 ppm in taenite and plessite in groups IAB, IIICD, and IIIAB, which contain graphite and/or carbides, but only 2-6 ppm in groups IVA, IVB and the ungrouped iron, Tishomingo, which lack graphite and carbides. Carbon contents in kamacite range from ∼2 to ∼10 ppm in most studied meteorites, including IIAB, but higher abundances were found in kamacite from IAB Pitts subgroup meteorites Pitts and Woodbine (12-15 ppm). Our carbon abundances for kamacite are lower than most published ion probe data, indicating that earlier carbon measurements had contamination problems. Grains of taenite and fine-grained plessite in carbon-rich meteorites, which all have normal M-shaped nickel profiles due to slow cooling, have diverse carbon contents and zoning profiles. This is because taenite decomposed by diverse mechanisms over a range of temperatures, when nickel could only diffuse over sub-μm distances. Carbon diffusion through taenite to growing carbides was rapid at the upper end of this temperature range, but was very limited at the lower end of the temperature range. In mesosiderites, carbon increases from 12 ppm in tetrataenite to 40-115 ppm in cloudy taenite as nickel decreases from 50 to 35%. Low carbon levels in tetrataenite may reflect ordering of iron and nickel; higher carbon in cloudy taenite is attributed to metastable bcc phase, possibly martensite, with ∼300 ppm carbon intergrown with tetrataenite. Pearlitic plessite, which only forms in carbon-rich irons, contains much less carbon than martensitic plessite: 10-20 ppm and 300-500, respectively, in IAB irons. Pearlitic plessite consists of μm -scale intergrowths of low-nickel kamacite and tetrataenite, which formed during cooling from ∼450 to 300°C when haxonite was forming. Martensitic plessite decomposed to tetrataenite and metastable high-nickel kamacite at temperatures below 300°C, which depended on nickel content. Carbon accumulated in untransformed taenite when haxonite growth ceased, producing M-shaped carbon profiles. Bulk carbon concentrations inferred from our ion probe data are 3-4 ppm in IVA, IVB, and Tishomingo, which has IVB-like depletions of moderately volatile siderophiles. Published bulk carbon contents of IVA and IVB irons are >10 times higher suggesting contamination problems. Our ion probe analyses and observations of carbide and graphite show that bulk carbon decreases with decreasing germanium and other moderately volatile elements from group IAB, through IIAB and IIIAB, to group IVA and IVB. These trends may have been inherited from fractionated chondritic precursors, or may have been produced by impacts that caused volatile loss, separation of mantle from core material, and relatively rapid cooling of irons poor in volatiles and carbon.

¹Andreas Morlok, ¹Addi Bischoff, ¹Markus Patzek, ²Martin Sohn, ¹Harald Hiesinger
Icarus 284, 431-442 Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.11.030]
¹Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 10, Münster 48149, Germany
²Hochschule Emden/Leer, Constantiaplatz 4, Emden 26723, Germany
Copyright Elsevier

In order to provide spectral ground truth data for remote sensing applications, we have measured mid-infrared spectra (2–18 µm) of three typical, well-defined lithologies from the Chelyabinsk meteorite that fell on February 15, 2013, near the city of Chelyabinsk, southern Urals, Russia. These lithologies are classified as (a) moderately shocked, light lithology, (b) shock-darkened lithology, and (c) impact melt lithology. Analyses were made from bulk material in four size fractions (0–25 µm, 25–63 µm, 63–125 µm, and 125–250 µm), and from additional thin sections.

Characteristic infrared features in the powdered bulk material of the moderately shocked, light lithology, dominated by olivine, pyroxene and feldspathic glass, are a Christiansen feature (CF) between 8.5 and 8.8 µm; a transparency feature (TF) in the finest size fraction at ∼13 µm, and strong reststrahlen bands (RB) at ∼9.1 µm, 9.5 µm, 10.3 µm, 10.8 µm, 11.2–11.3 µm, 12 µm, and between 16 and 17 µm. The ranges of spectral features for the micro-FTIR spots show a wider range than those obtained in diffuse reflectance, but are generally similar.

With increasing influence of impact shock from ‘pristine’ LL5 (or LL6) material (which have a low or moderate degree of shock) to the shock-darkened lithology and the impact melt lithology as endmembers, we observe the fading/disappearing of spectral features. Most prominent is the loss of a ‘twin peak’ feature between 10.8 and 11.3 µm, which turns into a single peak. In addition, in the ‘pure’ impact melt “endmember lithology” features at ∼9.6 µm and ∼9.1 µm are also lost. These losses are most likely correlated with decreasing amounts of crystal structure as the degree of shock melting increases. These changes could connect mid-infrared features with stages for shock metamorphism (Stöffler et al., 1991): Changes up to shock stage S4 would be minor, the shock darkened lithology could represent S5 and the impact melt lithology S6 and higher.

Similarities of the Chelyabinsk spectra to those of other LL chondrites indicate that the findings of this study could be related to this group of meteorites in general.

During the last week of this year, Cosmochemistry Papers will be on Christmas break. Normal service will commence on January, 2nd, after we have recovered.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone and see you in 2017 !

¹Sota Arakawa, ¹Taishi Nakamoto
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 832, L19 Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8205/832/2/L19]
¹Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan

Several pieces of evidence suggest that silicate grains in primitive meteorites are not interstellar grains but condensates formed in the early solar system. Moreover, the size distribution of matrix grains in chondrites implies that these condensates might be formed as nanometer-sized grains. Therefore, we propose a novel scenario for rocky planetesimal formation in which nanometer-sized silicate grains are produced by evaporation and recondensation events in early solar nebula, and rocky planetesimals are formed via aggregation of these nanograins. We reveal that silicate nanograins can grow into rocky planetesimals via direct aggregation without catastrophic fragmentation and serious radial drift, and our results provide a suitable condition for protoplanet formation in our solar system.

^1,2Mathieu Roskosz, ^2,3Boris Laurent, ²Hugues Leroux, ¹Laurent Remusat
The Astrophysical Journal 832, 55 Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/832/1/55]
¹IMPMC, CNRS UMR 7590, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, IRD, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, Paris F-75231, France
²Unité Matériaux et Transformations, Université Lille 1, CNRS UMR 8207, Bâtiment C6, F-59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France
³Present address: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews, Irvine Building, KY16 9AL, Fife, Scotland, UK.

The origin of hydrogen in chondritic components is poorly understood. Their isotopic composition is heavier than the solar nebula gas. In addition, in most meteorites, hydrous silicates are found to be lighter than the coexisting organic matter. Ionizing irradiation recently emerged as an efficient hydrogen fractionating process in organics, but its effect on H-bearing silicates remains essentially unknown. We report the evolution of the D/H of hydrous silicates experimentally irradiated by electrons. Thin films of amorphous silica, amorphous “serpentine,” and pellets of crystalline muscovite were irradiated at 4 and 30 keV. For all samples, irradiation leads to a large hydrogen loss correlated with a moderate deuterium enrichment of the solid residue. The entire data set can be described by a Rayleigh distillation. The calculated fractionation factor is consistent with a kinetically controlled fractionation during the loss of hydrogen. Furthermore, for a given ionizing condition, the deuteration of the silicate residues is much lower than the deuteration measured on irradiated organic macromolecules. These results provide firm evidence of the limitations of ionizing irradiation as a driving mechanism for D-enrichment of silicate materials. The isotopic composition of the silicate dust cannot rise from a protosolar to a chondritic signature during solar irradiations. More importantly, these results imply that irradiation of the disk naturally induces a strong decoupling of the isotopic signatures of coexisting organics and silicates. This decoupling is consistent with the systematic difference observed between the heavy organic matter and the lighter water typically associated with minerals in the matrix of most carbonaceous chondrites.

¹N. G. Rudraswami, ¹M. Shyam Prasad, ^1,2S. Dey, ¹D. Fernandes, ³J. M. C. Plane, ³W. Feng, ⁴S. Taylor, ³J. D. Carrillo-Sánchez
The Astrophysical Journal,831 197 Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/831/2/197]
¹National Institute of Oceanography (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Dona Paula, Goa 403004, India
²Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667, India
³School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
⁴Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-1290, USA

Antarctica micrometeorites (~1200) and cosmic spherules (~5000) from deep sea sediments are studied using electron microscopy to identify Mg-rich olivine grains in order to determine the nature of the particle precursors. Mg-rich olivine (FeO < 5wt%) in micrometeorites suffers insignificant chemical modification during its history and is a well-preserved phase. We examine 420 forsterite grains enclosed in 162 micrometeorites of different types—unmelted, scoriaceous, and porphyritic—in this study. Forsterites in micrometeorites of different types are crystallized during their formation in solar nebula; their closest analogues are chondrule components of CV-type chondrites or volatile rich CM chondrites. The forsteritic olivines are suggested to have originated from a cluster of closely related carbonaceous asteroids that have Mg-rich olivines in the narrow range of CaO (0.1–0.3wt%), Al2O3 (0.0–0.3wt%), MnO (0.0–0.3wt%), and Cr2O3 (0.1–0.7wt%). Numerical simulations carried out with the Chemical Ablation Model (CABMOD) enable us to define the physical conditions of atmospheric entry that preserve the original compositions of the Mg-rich olivines in these particles. The chemical compositions of relict olivines affirm the role of heating at peak temperatures and the cooling rates of the micrometeorites. This modeling approach provides a foundation for understanding the ablation of the particles and the circumstances in which the relict grains tend to survive.