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    The Rewari meteorite
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    Abstract:
    Summary The meteorite was an oriented polyhedron, which broke up into at least two parts after entry into the Earth's atmosphere. It has undergone some degree of terrestrial weathering. A cut surface of the meteorite shows light-grey interior with sporadic rusty-brown patches and a distinct brown alteration zone close to the fusion crust. Weathering has resulted in preferential replacement of NiFe by limonite, and veining of minerals by goethite. Rewari is an equilibrated chondrite with rare ghosts of chondrules and at least one lithic fragment. Composition of olivine, as indicated by microprobe analysis is Fa 23 , which agrees well with bulk wet chemical analysis; that indicated by d 130 is Fa 18–20 . From the outer surface inwards, four petrographic zones can be distinguished in the meteorite: a skin, about 0.01 mm thick, a troilite-poor zone slightly thicker than the skin, a troilite-rich ‘soaking zone’, about 0.5–0.6 mm thick, and a relatively coarse-grained interior. These are described in detail. The interior of the meteorite is composed of relatively coarse-grained crystalline silicates with disseminated metallic minerals including plessitic and zoned inter-growths of kamacite and taenite. The matrix shows a high degree of integration with the chondrules. The coarse texture and zonation of taenite may be the result of protracted heat treatment responsible for recrystallization. The constituent grains show considerable shock effects such as fracturing, comminution, veins of shock-melted pseudotachylite, pressure twinning, and undulose extinction. Chemical composition (mean of two wet chemical analysis) of the meteorite is: metallic Fe 7.475, Ni 0.975, Co 0.045; as sulphide Fe 3.200, Ni 0.090, Co < 0.01; SiO 2 38.060, TiO 2 0.10, Al 2 O 3 2.34, Fe 2 O 3 0.175, Cr 2 O 3 0.485, FeO 13.950, MnO 0.210, NiO trace, CaO 1.875, MgO 26.265, Na 2 O 0.89, K 2 O 0.115, P 2 O 5 0.285, H 2 O− 0.295, H 2 O+ 0.81, CO 2 trace, S (total) 1.890, C (total) 0.19 per cent. The chemistry, mineralogy, and texture show that the Rewari meteorite is an L6 chondrite. Compared to average L-group chondrite it has a higher content of MgO and lower of SiO 2 , a little lower oxidation state, and tends to be enriched in siderophilic elements.
    Keywords:
    Troilite
    Kamacite
    Chondrule
    Shock metamorphism
    Lithic fragment
    Abstract— The Leedey, Oklahoma, meteorite shower fell on 1943 November 25, following a fireball which was visible across much of southwestern Oklahoma and northcentral Texas. The shower produced 24 stones with a total mass of ∼51.5 kg. The stones formed a strewnfield ∼18 km in length in the same direction as the observed path of the meteor (N50°W). Leedey is classified as an L6(S3) ordinary chondrite. We report bulk major element chemical analyses from four separate laboratories. Leedey contains an unusual 6 by 8 mm composite Fe,Ni‐FeS grain, which is composed of a 3 mm kamacite grain adjacent to a 5 mm troilite grain. A 50–100 μm rim of high‐Ni (45–55 wt%) taenite (tetrataenite) occurs at the boundary between kamacite and troilite. A single, zoned pyrophanite grain is observed at the boundary between the inclusion troilite and host silicates. An origin as a foreign particle incorporated after metamorphism or during impact melting appears unlikely. This particle likely formed by a complex set of processes, including melting in the nebula, parent body metamorphism and reheating by later shock, mirroring the history of the host chondrite.
    Troilite
    Kamacite
    Parent body
    Shock metamorphism
    Ordinary chondrite
    Allende meteorite
    Iron meteorite
    Abstract— Chondrule D8n in LL3.0 Semarkona is a porphyritic olivine (PO) chondrule, 1300 times 1900 μm in size, with a complicated thermal history. The oldest recognizable portion of D8n is a moderately high‐FeO, PO chondrule that is modeled as having become enmeshed in a dust ball containing a small, intact, low‐FeO porphyritic chondrule and fine‐grained material consisting of forsterite, kamacite, troilite, and possibly reduced C. The final chondrule melting event may have been a heat pulse that preferentially melted the low‐FeO material and produced a low‐FeO, opaque‐rich, exterior region, 45–140 μm in thickness, around the original chondrule. At one end of the exterior region, a kamacite‐ and troilite‐rich lump 960 μm in length formed. During the final melting event, the coarse, moderately ferroan olivine phenocrysts within the original chondrule appear to have been partly resorbed (These relict phenocrysts have the highest concentrations of FeO, MnO, and Cr 2 O 3 —7.5, 0.20, and 0.61 wt%, respectively—in D8n.). Narrow olivine overgrowths crystallized around the phenocrysts following final chondrule melting; their compositions seem to reflect mixing between melt derived from the exterior region and the resorbed margins of the phenocrysts. During the melting event, FeO in the relict phenocrysts was reduced, producing numerous small blebs of Ni‐poor metallic Fe along preexisting curvilinear fractures. The reduced olivine flanking the trails of metal blebs has lower FeO than the phenocrysts but virtually identical MnO and Cr 2 O 3 contents. Subsequent parent‐body aqueous alteration in the exterior region of the chondrule formed pentlandite and abundant magnetite.
    Chondrule
    Phenocryst
    Porphyritic
    Kamacite
    Troilite
    Forsterite
    Pentlandite
    Summary The meteorite was an oriented polyhedron, which broke up into at least two parts after entry into the Earth's atmosphere. It has undergone some degree of terrestrial weathering. A cut surface of the meteorite shows light-grey interior with sporadic rusty-brown patches and a distinct brown alteration zone close to the fusion crust. Weathering has resulted in preferential replacement of NiFe by limonite, and veining of minerals by goethite. Rewari is an equilibrated chondrite with rare ghosts of chondrules and at least one lithic fragment. Composition of olivine, as indicated by microprobe analysis is Fa 23 , which agrees well with bulk wet chemical analysis; that indicated by d 130 is Fa 18–20 . From the outer surface inwards, four petrographic zones can be distinguished in the meteorite: a skin, about 0.01 mm thick, a troilite-poor zone slightly thicker than the skin, a troilite-rich ‘soaking zone’, about 0.5–0.6 mm thick, and a relatively coarse-grained interior. These are described in detail. The interior of the meteorite is composed of relatively coarse-grained crystalline silicates with disseminated metallic minerals including plessitic and zoned inter-growths of kamacite and taenite. The matrix shows a high degree of integration with the chondrules. The coarse texture and zonation of taenite may be the result of protracted heat treatment responsible for recrystallization. The constituent grains show considerable shock effects such as fracturing, comminution, veins of shock-melted pseudotachylite, pressure twinning, and undulose extinction. Chemical composition (mean of two wet chemical analysis) of the meteorite is: metallic Fe 7.475, Ni 0.975, Co 0.045; as sulphide Fe 3.200, Ni 0.090, Co < 0.01; SiO 2 38.060, TiO 2 0.10, Al 2 O 3 2.34, Fe 2 O 3 0.175, Cr 2 O 3 0.485, FeO 13.950, MnO 0.210, NiO trace, CaO 1.875, MgO 26.265, Na 2 O 0.89, K 2 O 0.115, P 2 O 5 0.285, H 2 O− 0.295, H 2 O+ 0.81, CO 2 trace, S (total) 1.890, C (total) 0.19 per cent. The chemistry, mineralogy, and texture show that the Rewari meteorite is an L6 chondrite. Compared to average L-group chondrite it has a higher content of MgO and lower of SiO 2 , a little lower oxidation state, and tends to be enriched in siderophilic elements.
    Troilite
    Kamacite
    Chondrule
    Shock metamorphism
    Lithic fragment
    Abstract We investigated the matrix mineralogy in primitive EH 3 chondrites Sahara 97072, ALH 84170, and LAR 06252 with transmission electron microscopy; measured the trace and major element compositions of Sahara 97072 matrix and ferromagnesian chondrules with laser‐ablation, inductively coupled, plasma mass spectrometry ( LA ‐ ICPMS ); and analyzed the bulk composition of Sahara 97072 with LA ‐ ICPMS , solution ICPMS , and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The fine‐grained matrix of EH 3 chondrites is unlike that in other chondrite groups, consisting primarily of enstatite, cristobalite, troilite, and kamacite with a notable absence of olivine. Matrix and pyroxene‐rich chondrule compositions differ from one another and are distinct from the bulk meteorite. Refractory lithophile elements are enriched by a factor of 1.5–3 in chondrules relative to matrix, whereas the matrix is enriched in moderately volatile elements. The compositional relation between the chondrules and matrix is reminiscent of the difference between EH 3 pyroxene‐rich chondrules and EH 3 Si‐rich, highly sulfidized chondrules. Similar refractory element ratios between the matrix and the pyroxene‐rich chondrules suggest the fine‐grained material primarily consists of the shattered, sulfidized remains of the formerly pyroxene‐rich chondrules with the minor addition of metal clasts. The matrix, chondrule, and metal‐sulfide nodule compositions are probably complementary, suggesting all the components of the EH 3 chondrites came from the same nebular reservoir.
    Chondrule
    Troilite
    Pyroxene
    Enstatite
    Kamacite
    Lithophile
    Trace element
    Matrix (chemical analysis)
    Citations (16)
    Abstract— Metal‐troilite textures are examined in metamorphosed and impact‐affected ordinary chondrites to examine the response of these phases to rapid changes in temperature. Complexly intergrown metal‐troilite textures are shown to form in response to three different impact‐related processes. (1) During impacts, immiscible melt emulsions form in response to spatially focused heating. (2) Immediately after impact events, re‐equilibration of heterogeneously distributed heat promotes metamorphism adjacent to zones of maximum impact heating. Where temperatures exceed ∼850 ° C, this post‐impact metamorphism results in melting of conjoined metal‐troilite grains in chondrites that were previously equilibrated through radiogenic metamorphism. When the resulting Fe‐Ni‐S melt domains crystallize, a finely intergrown mixture of troilite and metal forms, which can be zoned with kamacite‐rich margins and taenite‐rich cores. (3) At lower temperatures, post‐impact metamorphism can also cause liberation of sulfur from troilite, which migrates into adjacent Fe‐Ni metal, allowing formation of troilite and occasionally copper within the metal during cooling. Because impact events cause heating within a small volume, post‐impact metamorphism is a short duration event (days to years) compared with radiogenic metamorphism (>10 6 years). The fast kinetics of metal‐sulfide reactions allows widespread textural changes in conjoined metal‐troilite grains during post‐impact metamorphism, whereas the slow rate of silicate reactions causes these to be either unaffected or only partially annealed, except in the largest impact events. Utilizing this knowledge, information can be gleaned as to whether a given meteorite has suffered a post‐impact thermal overprint, and some constraints can be placed on the temperatures reached and duration of heating.
    Troilite
    Kamacite
    Shock metamorphism
    Iron meteorite
    Radiogenic nuclide