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At least 1,657 records · Page 92
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Atomic environments in iron meteorites using EXAFS

Extended x ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) is observed as a modulation on the high energy side of an x ray absorption edge. It occurs when the photo-ejected electron wave is scattered by neighboring atoms in a solid, and interference occurs between the outgoing and scattered waves. The result is that the absorption spectrum carries a signature that is characteristic of the identity and disposition of scattering atoms around the absorbing atom. Therefore, it may be shown that the Fourier transform of the normalized EXAFS can provide detailed information about the immediate environment of specific atoms in a solid and is ideally suited to the study of cosmic dusts. A study of cosmic dust was initiated using EXAFS and other techniques. The simplest type of cosmic material, namely iron meteorites, was investigated.

Cressey, G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Wanted: Lunar detectives to unravel the mysteries of the Moon! Crime to be solved: Mass extinctions on the Moon by meteorite impact!

The criteria and clues for identifying meteorite contamination are outlined to aid in the quest for more knowledge regarding the evolution of the Moon and the early Earth. The Warren and Wasson seven criteria for establishing the pristine nature of highland rocks are presented. Other topics covered include iron/nickel metals, monomict nature, and lunar glasses. The major conclusion is that pristinity should not be the primary consideration in the study of lunar rocks. The most important criterion to establish is whether or not the lunar sample contains more than one lunar rock type. Even if a sample is non-pristine, as long as only one lunar rock type is present, petrogenetic interpretation can still be carried out.

Neal, Clive R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Search for solar-type nitrogen in the gas-rich Pesyanoe meteorite

An initial study carried out to isolate and characterize solar wind N in the dark portion of the enstatite achondrite Pesyanoe is presented. Nitrogen isotopic data obtained from a stepwise gas release of two grain-size fractions of the gas-rich meteorite are given. It is determined that more than one trapped N component is present and that indigenous N is released above 1000 C with an isotopic signature of delta N-15 = -33 per mil. A heavy N component is detected at 700-800 C, and coincides with a major release of solar-type noble gases. A lower limit of delta N-15 = -6 per mil is defined by the isotopic shifts at this range of temperature for the second element of a two-component mixture, whereas the delta N-15 signature depends on the adopted elemental abundances for a solar-type component. It is pointed out that the timing of solar wind loading of Pesyanoe is only constrained to correspond to the cosmic ray exposure age (less than 60 Ma), although it is generally assumed that this irradiation took place during an early stage.

Murty, S. V. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Distribution of terrestrial age and petrologic type of meteorites from western Libya

A group of 54 meteorites have been recovered from Daraj, Western Libya. After assessment of pairing of samples, using petrologic criteria, C-14 terrestrial ages were obtained on 13 samples selected from 9 different fall events. Eleven of the ages range from 3500 to 7600 years, with only two samples having ages in excess of 10,000 years. The cutoff in ages may be related to the timing of climatic changes in the Hammadah al Hamra.

Jull, A. J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Meteoritic silicon carbide - Pristine material from carbon stars

All five gases in interstellar silicon carbide grains have grossly nonsolar isotopic and elemental abundances that vary with grain size but are strikingly similar to calculated values for the helium-burning shell of low-mass carbon stars. Apparently these grains formed in carbon-star envelopes, and were impregnated with noble gas ions from a stellar wind. Meteoritic SiC provides a detailed record of nuclear and chemical processes in carbon stars.

Lewis, Roy S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Compositions of large metal nodules in mesosiderites - Links to iron meteorite group IIIAB and the origin of mesosiderite subgroups

The compositions of large metal nodules in 12 mesosiderites, ranging from 3 mm to 4 cm in minimum dimensions and from 10 to 200 mg/g in silicate content, were analyzed by neutron activation; also analyzed were two additional samples (Pennyweight Point and Murchison Downs) which were originally designated iron meteorites but were later classified as Mes nodules. It was found that mesosiderites subgroups classified on the basis of metal composition are virtually the same as those based on silicate composition. The general covariation of the silicate and the metal compositional characteristics suggests that these features were established in the same process or in linked processes. A mesosiderite formation model is proposed.

Hassanzadeh, Jamshid↗
NASA NTRS1990

In situ measurement of interstellar silicon carbide in two CM chondrite meteorites

The first in situ observations of isotopically anomalous SiC are reported. The grains were found by X-ray mapping of polished sections of two chondritic meteorites, Cold Bokkeveld and Murchison. Ion microprobe measurements showed C-13 enrichments, delta C-13, from 199 to 2800 per mil, proving that the grains are indigenous. SiC grains are revealed only as isolated matrix particles, ruling out the possibility that SiC grains were brought into the solar system as inclusions in larger grains, which protected them from destruction in the solar nebula. Several of the SiC grains are cracked, suggesting that the etching treatment may result in size distributions biased toward smaller grains.

Alexander, C. M. O'D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Three basaltic earth-approaching asteroids and the source of the basaltic meteorites

Diameters of 1.2, 1.0, and 3.4 km are respectively derived for the earth-approaching asteroids 1983 RD, 1980 PA, and 1985 DO2, whose spectra are virtually identical to that of the basaltic-surfaced large asteroid, Vesta. While probably not fragments of Vesta, the three asteroids may be fragments of one or more Vesta-like parent bodies; it is suggested that they may be fragments of the source body or bodies of the HED meteorites. While these asteroids' regoliths have significant insulating properties, they differ from that of the moon in that lunar-like glasses and agglutinates are largely absent. It is noted that asteroids of this kind may have impacted the earth without leaving the chemical signatures associated with the K-T boundary event.

Cruikshank, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Volatile compounds in shergottite and nakhlite meteorites

Shergottites ALHA77005, EETA79001, and Shergotty, and the nakhlite Nakhla are all found to contain oxidized sulfur (sulfate) of preterrestrial origin, In EETA79001, which is composed of three different lithologies, the degree of sulfur oxidation increased from A to C. Significant bulk carbonate was confirmed in Nakhla and trace carbonate was confirmed for EETA79001, all of which seems to be preterrestrial in origin. Chlorine in shergottites and Nakhla is found to covary with oxidized sulfur, whereas carbonate and sulfate are related inversely. Sulfate and carbonate in shergottites and Nakhla were probably formed by aqueous geochemistry in a highly oxidizing environment sometime near the late-stage histories of the rocks that are now represented as meteorites.

Gooding, James L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Color heterogeneity of the surface of Phobos - Relationships to geologic features and comparison to meteorite analogs

Color ratio images created from multispectral observations of Phobos are analyzed in order to characterize the spectral properties of Phobos' surface, to assess their spatial distributions and relationships with geologic features, and to compare Phobos' surface materials with possible meteorite analogs. Data calibration and processing is briefly discussed, and the observed spectral properties of Phobos and their lateral variations are examined. Attention is then given to the color properties of different types of impact craters, the origin of lateral variations in surface color, the relation between the spatial distribution of color properties and independently identifiable geologic features, and the relevance of color variation spatial distribution to the origin of the grooves.

Murchie, Scott L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Correlated study of initial Sr-87/Sr-86 and Al-Mg isotopic systematics and petrologic properties in a suite of refractory inclusions from the Allende meteorite

The abundance and the distribution of Al-26, and the initial Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios were determined in a suite of six coarse-grained Ca-Al-rich inclusions from the Allende meteorite, using, respectively, petrographic and chemical characterizations and ion-probe mass spectrometric analyses of the Al-Mg isotopic system, and thermal emission spectrometric analyses of the Rb-Sr system. Results establish a firm association between primitive Al-26/Al-27 and primitive Sr-87/Sr-86 found in each of these inclusions. None of the results required interpretation in terms of heterogeneously distributed Al-26.

Podosek, Frank A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Calcic micas in the Allende meteorite - Evidence for hydration reactions in the early solar nebula

Two calcic micas, clintonite and margarite, have been identified in alteration products in a calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusion (CAI) in the Allende meteorite. Clintonite replaces grossular in alteration veins, and margarite occurs as lamellae in anorthite. Their occurrence suggests that, in addition to undergoing high-temperature alteration by a volatile and iron-rich vapor that produced the grossular and anorthite, some CAIs underwent alteration at moderate temperatures (400 K or less). Petrographic evidence suggests that the calcic micas formed before accretion but after the formation of the layered rim sequences that surround the CAI. These calcic micas provide strong evidence that, contrary to theoretical calculations, some hydration reactions occurred in the early solar nebula.

Keller, Lindsay P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Al-26 and O-16 in the early solar system - Clues from meteoritic Al2O3

The study focuses on 26 Al2O3 grains up to 20 micron in size recovered from the Murchison C2 chrondite. It is observed that Mg-26/Mg-24 ranges up to 56 times the solar system ratio, but the initial Al-26/Al-27 ratios do not exceed the canonical maximum of 0.00005 in other meteoritic samples. It is concluded that this ratio represents the abundance of live Al-26 in the early solar system, not fossil radiogenic Mg-26 surviving from presolar times. The grains are shown to divide into three groups on the basis of Al-26, O-16, Ti, and V content, and distinctive correlations are found for Al-26 and O-16. An origin from at least three discrete components is suggested, two of which contained live Al-26.

Anders, Edward↗
NASA NTRS1991

Composition of solar wind noble gases released by surface oxidation of a metal separate from the Weston meteorite

The paper reports on a set of experiments intended to test the feasibility of determining elemental and isotopic ratios of the noble gases and nitrogen in the solar wind in metal separates from gas-rich ordinary chondrites. Helium, neon, and argon show clear evidence of a solar wind signature, while no solar component could be identified for xenon and nitrogen. Helium, neon, and argon elemental isotopic ratios appear to depend on depth within the metal grains. The ratios derived indicate that the Weston meteorite did not acquire its solar wind gases from a recent exposure to solar wind, but more probably at a time in the past similar to or even earlier than the exposure time of Apollo 17 breccias. The Ar-36/Ar-38 ratio, in tandem with other recent determinations of this value, indicates that the solar and terrestrial values can no longer be assumed to be equivalent.

Becker, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Nitrogen isotopic signatures in the Acapulco meteorite

N isotopic abundances are reported for a bulk sample of the unique meteorite Acapulco. Although the mineral chemistry indicates a high degree of recrystallization under redox conditions between those of H and E chondrites (Palme et al., 1981), the presence of two distinct N isotopic signatures shows that the carriers of these N components were not equilibrated. In stepwise pyrolysis, the larger (65 percent) N component is released mostly below 1000 C and reveals a signature of delta(N-15) = 8.9 + or - 1.2 per mil, which is within the range observed in chondrites. A second 'light' component appears above 1000 C and has a signature of delta(N-15) less than or equal to -110.5 + or - 4.0 per mil (uncorrected for spallation N-15).

Sturgeon, G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Complex magmatic processes on Mars - Inferences from the SNC meteorites

Published data on the elemental and isotopic abundances in the shergottites-nakhlites-Chassigny (SNC) meteorites, considered to be of Martian origin, are compared with those for eucritic, lunar, and terrestrial basalt samples, with a focus on their implications for magmatic processes in the parent bodies. The major elements, the REEs and isotopes, and the other lithophile incompatible elements (such as high-field-strength elements, HFSEs) are discussed separately, and it is concluded that Mars had a magmatic history significantly different from that of the other bodies. The Martian pattern of HFSE and REE anomalies suggests extraction of carbonatic melts and remelting of the depleted source material, while the Nd isotopic constraints on the melting of Nakhla indicate very high fractionation of REEs, requiring exceedingly efficient porous flow down to depths of over 350 km.

Longhi, J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A note on the prebiotic synthesis of organic acids in carbonaceous meteorites

Strong similarities between monocarboxylic and hydrocarboxylic acids in the Murchison meteorite suggest corresponding similarities in their origins. However, various lines of evidence apparently implicate quite different precursor compounds in the synthesis of the different acids. These seeming inconsistencies can be resolved by postulating that the apparent precursors also share a related origin. Pervasive D enrichment indicates that this origin was in a presolar molecular cloud. The organic acids themselves were probably synthesized in an aqueous environment on an asteroidal parent body, the hydroxy (and amino) acids by means of the Strecker cyanohydrin reaction.

Kerridge, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Phosphates in pallasite meteorites as probes of mantle processes in small planetary bodies

Trace element analyses of the phosphates minerals in stony-iron pallasite meteorites are used here to investigate the magmatic history of the silicate portions of pallasites. In Eagle Station and seven other pallasites, the phosphates have relatively low concentrations of REEs and are strongly enriched in heavy relative to light REE. These patterns are consistent with formation of phosphate by subsolidus reactions between metal and silicate, in which phosphate inherits the REE pattern of olivine. In Springwater and Santa Rosalia, calcium-rich phosphates have higher concentrations of REE, are enriched in light relative to heavy REE, and have negative europium anomalies. These patterns are consistent with crystallization of phosphate from a europium-depleted chondritic liquid. This is unlikely to have happened near the base of the differentiating parent-body mantle; it suggests that some pallasites may come from regions of their parent bodies much nearer the surface than the core-mantle boundary.

Davis, Andrew M.↗