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At least 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Carbonate Mineralogy of the C1 Clasts in Kaidun Meteorite

The Kaidun meteorite is a polymict microbreccia weighing approximately 850 g that fell in the People's Republic of South Yemen on December 3, 1980. Although the host material is CR chondrite, it is unique in that it contains many clasts of various chondritic and achondritic materials. Chondritic clasts include EH3-5, EL3, C1, C2, CM1, CM2, CV3, and ordinary chondrite-related materials. Achondrites include a high-Ca primitive achondrite, fragments of alkali-rich differentiated materials, and an aubrite-like clasts [1]. In this study, we focused on C1 materials. There is plenty of evidence that aqueous alteration in the carbonaceous chondrite clasts in Kaidun occurred primarily on their parent bodies before accumulation to a Kaidun body/ Therefore, observations of the C1 materials, which are highly aqueously altered, can provide quantitative constraints on the geologic history of their asteroid parent bodies. In addition, although the lack of petrological features can make the classification of C1 material more difficult, recent studies and analysis of new meteorite fall and returned samples continue to emphasize the diversity of C1 materials.

K Ogiya↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mineralogical and Oxygen Isotopic Study of Grossite-Bearing Refractory Inclusions From Reduced CV Chondrites

Grossite (CaAl4O7) is predicted to condense as the third major phase, after corundum and hibonite, from a cooling gas of solar composition. Thus, this refractory phase likely preserves a crucial record of high-temperature conditions in the early solar nebula. However, grossite is relatively rare in CAIs from most carbonaceous chondrite groups, except for CH chondrites. Only six grossite-bearing CAIs were reported and studied from CV chondrites, and most of them were coarse-grained Type A inclusions. Our previous study reported the occurrence of six grossite-bearing, fine-grained Ca-Al-rich inclusions (FGIs) from reduced CV chondrites Efremovka, Thiel Mountains (TIL) 07003, and TIL 07007. Here we present oxygen isotopic data of grossite-bearing FGIs from reduced CV chondrites to determine if any oxygen isotopic heterogeneity occurs within and among these inclusions. This isotopic study was coordinated with a FIB/TEM study to examine the formation and alteration history of grossite-bearing FGIs in the early solar nebula and on the asteroidal parent body.

J. Han↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mineralogical Variation of the C1 Lithologies in the Kaidun Meteorite

The Kaidun meteorite is a polymict microbreccia, characterized by the presence of numerous clasts of various chondritic and achondritic materials. Chondritic clasts are C1, C2, CM1, CM2, CV3, EH3-5, EL3, and ordinary chondrite-related materials [1,2]. There is significant evidence that aqueous alteration in the carbonaceous chondrite clasts in Kaidun occurred primarily in their parent bodies prior to accumulation to the Kaidun body. Thus, the observation of highly aqueously altered materials (C1 clasts) can provide quantitative constraints on the geologic history of the asteroidal parent bodies. Additionally, the lack of petrological features complicates the classification of C1 materials, but recent studies of new meteorite falls and Ryugu samples continue to emphasize the diversity of C1 materials [e.g., 3,4]. Considering the unprecedentedly diverse origin of clasts in Kaidun, it is expected to contain unknown C1 materials, including ungrouped C1, which will further increase the diversity of those materials. Therefore, this study aims to systematically understand C1 materials by comparing Kaidun C1 with known C1s such as CI1, CM1 and CR1. Since textural observations and chemical composition analyses of carbonates, sulfides, and phyllosilicates in C1 materials in Kaidun have not yet been adequately performed, this study focuses mainly on such analyses.

K. Ogiya↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Carbonate Mineralogy of Hydrated Interplanetary Dust Particles

Hydrated interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are a major component of the stratospheric dust population and are widely believed to be derived from asteroidal parent bodies. Recent work has shown that many, if not most, hydrated IDPs represent samples of outer solar system parent bodies, namely Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) [1]. Coordinated analyses of these IDPs provide important constraints on the nature and extent of water:rock interactions in these outer solar system parent bodies.

Lindsay P. Keller↗
NASA NTRS2024

Detectability of Magma-Sediment Alteration Mineralogy Via Multi-Instrument Analysis: Implications for Terrestrial Analogs and the Search for Potentially Habitable Environments on Mars

The detection of magmatically driven hydrothermal systems on Mars has met with limited success. Remote sensing efforts have detected limited exposures, though they are usually isolated occurrences, and do not necessarily represent an in-situ alteration sequence. Some of the best evidence for such a system comes from Mars Exploration Rover Spirit’s investigations of Gusev Crater. Diverse alteration minerals were investigated, including possible detections of amorphous silica and montmorillonite. The question remains whether remote sensing/spectroscopy alone is capable of detecting such an alteration front, or if more detailed in-situ analyses are required. In order to constrain this, we have used Mars relevant instrumentation to investigate a terrestrial analog on the Colorado Plateau where a mafic dike intrudes the Jurassic Curtis Sandstone.

J R Crandall↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

More on the Mineralogical Diversity of the C1 Clasts in Kaidun Meteorite

The Kaidun meteorite, which fell in 1980 in what is now Yemen, is a polymict micro breccia with an extremely rare feature: it contains achondrite materials in addition to chondrite materials. The chondritic materials include various types such as C1, C2, CM1, CM2, CV3, EH3-5, EL3, R, and OC-related materials [e.g., 1].

K Ogiya↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mineralogical Characterization of a Potential Mars-Analog Field Site: Gypsum- and Carbonate-Bearing Formations in the Quebradas Back Country, New Mexico, USA

The Quebradas Back Country field site is located approximately six miles east of Socorro, NM, USA and provides access to Pennsylvanian and Permian age sedimentary formations that record environments ranging from lacustrine to hypersaline supratidal mudflats in deposits of carbonate, sulfate, and clay minerals. These deposits demonstrate a critical climate transition from cold and wet to largely arid conditions, which may parallel the drying of ancient Mars. The Quebradas sulfate and carbonate deposits can provide insight into the formation and weathering of Mars-relevant sulfates and elucidate potential causes for the prevalence of calcium sulfate and paucity of calcium carbonate on Mars. Deciphering the environmental cues held within evaporites is particularly timely now with mounting evidence for sulfate-rich fluids in Jezero crater and the Curiosity rover analyzing the sulfate-bearing unit in Gale crater.

S J Ralston↗