Cite as: T. Kohout et al. Mineralogy, reflectance spectra, and physical properties of the Chelyabinsk LL5 chondrite -Insight into shock induced changes in asteroid regoliths. Icarus 228, 78-85, 2014, T. Kohout et al. Insight into shock-induced changes in asteroid regoliths. Icarus.
AbstractThe mineralogy and physical properties of Chelyabinsk meteorites (fall, February 15, 2013) are presented. Three types of meteorite material are present, described as the light-colored, dark-colored, and impact-melt lithologies. All are of LL5 composition with the impact-melt lithology being close to whole-rock melt and the dark-colored lithology being shock-darkened due to partial melting of iron metal and sulfides. This enables us to study the effect of increasing shock on material with identical composition and origin. Based on the magnetic susceptibility, the Chelyabinsk meteorites are richer in metallic iron as compared to other LL chondrites. The measured bulk and grain densities and the porosity closely resemble other LL chondrites. Shock darkening does not have a significant effect on the material physical properties, but causes a decrease of reflectance and decrease in silicate absorption bands in the reflectance spectra. This is similar to the space weathering effects observed on asteroids. However, compared to space weathered materials, there is a negligible to minor slope change observed in impact-melt and shock-darkened meteorite spectra. Thus, it is possible that some dark asteroids with invisible silicate absorption bands may be composed of relatively fresh shock-darkened chondritic material.
Please cite this article as: Heinonen, Jussi S., Luttinen, Arto V., Riley, Teal R., Michallik, Radoslaw M., Mixed pyroxenite-peridotite sources for mafic and ultramafic dikes from the Antarctic segment of the Karoo continental flood basalt province, LITHOS (2013), doi: 10.1016/j.lithos.2013.05.015 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Copiapite is a mineral of iron- and sulphate-rich acidic environments and has a general formula AFe3+4 (SO4)6(OH)2(H2O)20, where A = Fe2+, 2/3Fe3+, 2/3Al3+, Mg, Zn. The structure is built by infinite tetrahedral-octahedral chains and isolated octahedrally coordinated A sites. Our synthetic and natural copiapite samples can be divided into two large groups based on the orientation of the structural fragments. One group comprises copiapite phases where A = Al3+, Fe2+ or Fe3+ and we designate it as the structural type AL. The other group consists of copiapite with A = Mg2+, Zn2+ or Ni2+ and this is the structural type MG. The solid-solution series between Fe3+ and Al3+ copiapite is continuous. The series between Mg2+-Al3+, Mg2+-Fe3+ and Mg2+-Al3+-Fe3+ copiapite are not continuous; the samples with intermediate compositions contain two copiapite phases, one of the type AL and one of the type MG. The series between Mg2+ and Zn2+ copiapite is continuous only at 25°C. At 75°C, the Zn-rich portion of this systemcrystallizes a copiapite-like phase whose structure may be a superstructure of copiapite. The series between Al-Fe2+ and Mg-Fe2+ copiapite are not continuous and show complex behaviour of the intermediate compositions.
The occurrence of high-aluminum orthopyroxene megacrysts (HAOMs) in several massif-type Proterozoic anorthosite complexes has been used as evidence of their polybaric crystallization. Here, we report such petrographic and geochemical (XRF and EMPA) evidence from HAOMs discovered in the 1.64 Ga Ahvenisto rapakivi granite-massif-type anorthosite complex in southeastern Finland. Two different types of HAOMs were recognized: type 1 HAOMs are individual, euhedralto-subhedral crystals, and up to 15 cm in diameter, and type 2 HAOMs occur in pegmatitic pockets closely associated with megacrystic (up to 30 cm long) plagioclase. The type 1 megacrysts in particular are surrounded by complex corona structures composed of plagioclase, low-Al orthopyroxene, iddingsite (after olivine), and sulfides. Orthopyroxene crystallization pressure estimates based on an Al-in-Opx geobarometer reveal a three-stage compositional evolution in both textural HAOM types. The Al content decreases significantly from the core regions of the HAOM (4.4-7.6 wt% Al 2 O 3), through the rims (1.3-3.6 wt%), into the host rock (0.5-1.5 wt%). Enstatite compositions overlap, but are generally higher in the cores (En~6 0-70) and rims (En~5 0-70) of the HAOMs than in the host rock (En~4 5-60) orthopyroxenes. The highest recorded Al abundances in the HAOM cores correspond to crystallization pressures of up to ~ 1.1 GPa (~ 34 km depth), whereas the HAOM rims have crystallized at lower pressures (max. ~ 0.5 GPa, 20 km depth). The highest pressure estimates for the host rock orthopyroxene were ~ 0.2 GPa (< 7 km depth). These observations confirm the polybaric magmatic evolution of the Ahvenisto anorthosites and suggest that the entire 1.65-1.55 Ga Fennoscandian rapakivi suite was emplaced at a relatively shallow level (< 7 km depth) in the upper crust. Global comparison to similar rock types reveals remarkable similarities in the petrogenetic processes controlling HAOM composition and evolution of anorthosite parental magmas.
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