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Experiments were made using a state-of-the-art UV-Vis microspectrophotometer (MSP) in order to assess if the instrument is suitable for use on spectroscopy of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial materials. This new instrument brings advantages that cannot be found in instruments currently in use: it requires only extremely small samples (min of -2 um) and it is very quick to use (little sample preparation and spectra taken in less than 2 min). If suitable, the instrument could help to show the relationship between meteorites and their parent bodies and in the study ' of very small fragile samples, such as cometary samples and Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs). Using samples of minerals commonly found in meteorites, it was concluded that the instrument is suitable for the study of these materials, however it has some limitations and certain conditions need to be met. The method was then applied on two grains from comet 81P/Wild 2 returned by the space mission Stardust. Further limitations were found with these samples caused by the fact that they are covered in aerogel and embedded in gold foil. Results indicate however, that the samples seem to be composed of a mixture of different materials. Results from the study of HED (howardites, eucrites and diogenites) type meteorites proved that if the conditions are met, the technique is suitable and comparable to other instruments and can be used to match the spectra of meteorites to that of their possible asteroidal parent bodies. A complementary investigation studied the effects of impact by shock on the spectra of rocks using a Light Gas Gun and Near Infrared spectroscopy with the goal of investigating the effects of weathering on the spectra of asteroids. It was found that there is a change in the spectra of the samples and a relationship with a change in composition of the impacted area.

Hydrocarbons are ubiquitous in the Cosmos. Carbon stars jettison large amounts of hydrocarbons into interstellar space and these are incorporated into forming planetary systems alongside newly synthesized hydrocarbon material. The structure of a hydrocarbon reveals its origin with non-biological, biological, low temperature, high temperature, reduced, oxidised and aqueously altered hydrocarbons all having structural features that imply their provenance. These features are explored throughout this work, with a focus on the insoluble macromolecular organic carbon of meteorites and comparative terrestrial samples. Analytical pyrolysis of macromolecular material in meteorites is a well established technique. By subjecting samples to multiple heating steps, rather than the more usual single step, new insights into the structure and composition of the macromolecular material have been obtained. In addition, simple typing of chondrites and a reconstruction of the conditions experienced on their asteroid parent bodies is possible using the products of pyrolysis. It is the carbonaceous chondrites that have received the most attention for their organic content but some ordinary chondrites also contain appreciable quantities of organic materials. The organic inventory of both carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites has been explored in this study. Carbonaceous chondrites contain authentic abiotic organic material and are in great demand for scientific analysis and experimentation. Yet these objects are extremely rare and valuable and there is a need for analogue materials that are available in larger quantities and on which specific experiments can be carried out. Uses of effective meteorite organic analogues include the training of personnel, testing of analytical methods, contamination studies, and optimisation of space mission instruments. Most of the carbon in carbonaceous chondrites is a non-biological aromatic and intractable macromolecular material and previously unsatisfactory analogues have included coals and other so-called type III kerogens. Following a comparison of a number of candidate materials a new analogue has been identified in reworked fossil soils from the Jurassic of southern England. This type IV kerogen displays great similarities to the macromolecular material in meteorites and can be employed to lessen the burden on our curated collections of rare carbonaceous meteorites. The thermal and chemical stability of hydrocarbons ensures that they exhibit excellent preservation potential and can often be found when other molecular information carriers have long since perished. This feature is important when studying planetary environments for indicators of biogenicity. Yet there is a multitude of information to process and the organic signals can often be confusing owing to diagenesis, catagenesis, oxidation and weathering. In this study a wide range of terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials have been examined using statistical techniques to develop a method for the discrimination of abiotic from biotic macromolecular materials, based only upon the distributions of simple aromatic hydrocarbons and related compounds. This has important implications for life-detection missions destined for Mars, which are currently under development.

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No description available.

Les chondrites primitives sont des objets extraterrestres qui possèdent un grand intérêt pour la compréhension de la formation du système solaire. En effet, celles-ci se sont formées très tôt dans l'histoire du système solaire et leurs constituants n'ont pas ou peu été modifiés pendant leur séjour au sein de leur corps parent. Les chondres sont les constituants majoritaires d'un bon nombre de chondrites. Une population particulière de chondres, ceux à grains fins, a subi un faible taux de fusion. Ils nous offrent ainsi l'opportunité de faire le lien entre la matière finement divisée de la nébuleuse proto-solaire et la matière impliquée dans l'événement thermique à l'origine des chondres. Ce travail de thèse présente une étude par microscopie électronique en transmission analytique de ce type de chondres dans deux chondrites ordinaires primitives (Bishunpur et Semarkona). Les résultats suggèrent que les chondres à grains fins sont la conséquence de l'agglomération et d'un chauffage modéré de poussières fines dominées par du silicate amorphe de composition quasi-chondritique. Les équivalents connus correspondent aux matrices fines de certaines chondrites, supportant l'idée d'une relation étroite entre chondres et matrice. Finalement nos résultats nous conduisent à conclure que la matrice et les chondres dans les chondrites ordinaires se sont formés au sein du même réservoir de composition initiale solaire. / Primitive chondrites are extraterrestrial objects that have a great interest for the understanding of the formation of the Solar System. Indeed, they have formed early in the history of the solar system and their components have not or slightly been modified on their parent body. Chondrules are the major components of most chondrites. Fine-grained chondrules is a special population of chondrules that suffered a low degree of melting. They giving us the opportunity to draw a link between the fine-grained dust of the protoplanetary disk and the material involved in the thermal event at the origin of chondrules. This work presents an analytical transmission electron microscopy study of this type of chondrules in two ordinary chondrites (Bishunpur and Semarkona). The results suggest that these fine-grained chondrules are the consequence of the agglomeration and moderate heating of fine dust dominated by amorphous silicate with quasi-chondritic composition. The known equivalents are the matrix of some primitive chondrites, supporting the idea of a close relationship between chondrules and matrix. Finally, our results lead us to conclude that the matrix and chondrules in ordinary chondrites were formed from the same reservoir with an initial chondritic composition.

Les chondrites primitives sont les témoins de l’accrétion des astéroïdes. Elles sont constituées de composants de haute température (principalement des chondres de taille ~ 50 µm-1 mm) et d’une matrice fine interstitielle, riche en éléments volatils, tels que l’eau et la matière organique. Les couronnes à grains fins se situent à l’interface entre les chondres et la matrice et sont porteuses d’informations essentielles sur l’accrétion et la formation des astéroïdes. Pourtant, les études réalisées jusqu’ici n’ont pas permis de révéler l’origine des différences entre couronnes et matrice. Ceci est lié d’une part à la faible taille de grain et à l’hétérogénéité de ces assemblages qui les rendent difficiles à analyser, et d’autre part aux processus corps parents (altération aqueuse, métamorphisme) qui les ont modifiés par la suite. Cette thèse a donc pour objectif de (1) développer une méthodologie analytique quantitative pour l’étude des assemblages hétérogènes submicrométriques basée sur la microscopie électronique et couplée à des procédures de traitement de données hyperspectrales ; (2) réaliser une étude comparative des couronnes à grains fins et de la matrice adjacente dans les météorites les plus primitives (faible altération/métamorphisme ; Paris, Semarkona, DOM 08006 et QUE 99177); (3) proposer un scénario de formation pour les couronnes des chondres et apporter des nouvelles contraintes sur les premières étapes de l’accrétion des solides dans le disque proto-planétaire. La comparaison multi-échelle matrice/couronnes et l’utilisation des abondances modales des phases, de leurs morphologies et de leurs compositions chimiques nous ont permis de contraindre la nature des précurseurs accrétés dans les chondrites et de remonter aux processus secondaires les ayant modifiés. Nous montrons que la poussière silicatée du disque se situant dans l’environnement proche de la région de formation des chondres a été thermiquement modifiée et compactée à la surface des chondres avant d’être incorporée avec le reste de la matrice pour former les premiers astéroïdes. Nous en concluons que cette étape est à l’origine des différences entre couronnes et matrice. Ces résultats pourraient permettre de faire le lien entre les observations pétrographiques et les modèles astrophysiques de l’accrétion des premiers astéroïdes. / Primitive chondrites are the witness of the accretion of the first asteroids. They are composed of coarse-grained high-temperature components (mainly chondrules with a typical size of ~50 µm-1 mm) and of fine interstitial matrix, rich in volatile elements such as water and organic matter. The fine-grained rims (FGRs) at the interface of these two components contain essential information on the accretion and the formation of the first asteroids. However, to date, the origin of the differences between FGRs and matrix has not been explained. This is due, on the one hand, to the small grain size (< 3µm) and the heterogeneity of these assemblages which make them difficult to analyze, and, on the other hand, to the parent bodies processes (aqueous alteration/metamorphism) which modified them and obscured their original specificities. This limits our understanding of their origin and formation environment. The objective of this thesis work is therefore to (1) develop a new quantitative methodology for the study of submicrometric heterogeneous assemblages based on coupled electron microscopies and hyperspectral data processing; (2) carry out a comparative study of FGRs and their adjacent matrix in the most primitive meteorites (weak alteration/metamorphism; Paris, Semarkona, DOM 08006 and QUE 99177); (3) propose a formation scenario for FGRs and evaluate it with respect to existing accretion scenarios. The multi-scale matrix/FGR comparison, using phase modal abundances, morphologies and chemical compositions allowed us to effectively constrain the nature of the precursors and the early stages of dust accretion on chondrules as well as to identify specific secondary processes that affected them. We show in the different chondrites that the silicate dust from the disk in the environment of the chondrule formation region was thermally modified and compacted onto the surfaces of chondrules before being incorporated with the rest of the matrix to form the first asteroids. We conclude that this early process caused primary differences between FGRs and matrix. Our results allow to discuss the petrographic observations with respect to the astrophysical model of dust accretion.

Copies of author's previously published articles are inserted between p. 272-283 and are not numbered as part of main text. / Bibliography: p. 283-293. / xxii, 293 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis is concerned with the observations of meteors with a narrow beam, high gain, VHF radar system, operating at a frequency of 54.1 MHz. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics, 1996

Les astéroïdes carbonés ont été affectés par des processus d’altération aqueuse qui ont largement modifié leur minéralogie primaire au profit d’une grande diversité de phases néoformées. Malgré les nombreuses études conduites sur les chondrites hydratées (chondrites CM), la compréhension des processus physico-chimiques de l’altération aqueuse et les conditions d'hydratation des astéroïdes reste aujourd’hui encore très parcellaire. À partir de l’étude minéralogique et isotopique des phases secondaires, cette thèse a pour objectifs (i) de déchiffrer l’origine et l’évolution de l’eau accrétée par les astéroïdes primitifs et (ii) de retracer les conditions physico-chimiques de l’altération aqueuse grâce à des expériences hydrothermales en laboratoire. Tout d’abord, les résultats montrent que la chondrite CM Paris contient des carbonates de calcium dont la composition isotopique en oxygène ([delta]17,18O) implique l’incorporation de 8-35 % de glace d’eau originaire du Système Solaire externe. De plus, les analyses isotopiques en carbone, menées sur ces mêmes carbonates, indiquent que les valeurs en [delta]13C sont similaires à celles de la matière organique soluble (SOM) présente dans les chondrites carbonées. Ainsi, j’ai pu proposer que la SOM représente la source la plus probable de carbone pour former les carbonates. L’étude des différents clastes de la CM Boriskino a permis de mettre en évidence que cette météorite a subi des épisodes d’impacts de forte intensité, engendrant la formation de fractures et la circulation de fluides tardifs enrichis en 16O. Enfin, des expériences de laboratoire de basse température ont permis de synthétiser les phases d’altération les plus caractéristiques des chondrites CM : la tochilinite et la cronstedtite. Par ailleurs, en comparant ces résultats avec ceux obtenus par d’autres études expérimentales, une corrélation positive a été observée entre la quantité de Mg contenue dans la couche hydroxylée de la tochilinite synthétique et la température. Cette corrélation suggère que la composition chimique de la tochilinite peut servir de traceur pour remonter aux températures des processus d'altération aqueuse des chondrites CM / Carbonaceous asteroids were affected by aqueous alteration processes that have strongly modified their primary mineralogy in favour of a wide diversity of newly formed phases. Despite the numerous studies carried out on hydrated chondrites (CM chondrites), the physicochemical conditions of aqueous alteration and the identification of the water sources accreted by asteroids are still poorly constrain. From the mineralogical and isotopic survey of secondary phases, this thesis aims (i) to decipher the origin and evolution of water accreted by primitive asteroids and (ii) to retrace the physicochemical conditions of aqueous alteration using hydrothermal laboratory experiments. First of all, our results show that the pristine CM chondrite Paris contains Ca-carbonates whose O-isotopic compositions ([delta]17,18O) requires an 8-35% contribution of water ice from the outer part of the Solar System. In addition, our C-isotopic analyses conducted on these same Ca-carbonates indicate similar [delta]13C values to those of the soluble organic matter (SOM) that constitute carbonaceous chondrites. Thus, we suggest that SOM is the most probable source of carbon to form Ca-carbonates. Then, the study of different clasts in the CM chondrite Boriskino revealed that this meteorite has experienced high intensity impact events, causing the formation of fractures and the circulation of later 16O-rich fluid flow. Finally, our low temperature laboratory experiments successfully synthetized the most characteristic phases of CM chondrites: tochilinite and cronstedtite. Moreover, by comparing our results to other experimental studies, we observed a positive correlation between the nMg content in the hydroxide layer of synthetic tochilinite and temperature. This correlation suggests that the chemical composition of tochilinite represents as powerful proxy to retrace the alteration temperature experienced by CM chondrites

Les météorites les plus primitives, appelées chondrites, sont les témoins privilégiés de la formation des premiers solides du système solaire et des processus qui ont conduit à la naissance des premiers corps planétaires. Les chondres, qui sont des sphérules ferromagnésiennes ignées, et leur matrice finement cristallisée constituent l’essentiel du volume des chondrites primitives. L’origine des chondres comme celle de la matrice est encore largement débattue. Cette thèse interroge les relations qui existent entre les chondres et la matrice à grains fins qui les auréole fréquemment, notamment dans les chondrites carbonées. En prenant l’exemple de la chondrite Vigarano (CV3) nous explorons la piste d’un continuum des conditions physico-chimiques pour former les chondres et leurs auréoles de matrice à grain fin. La thèse aborde cette problématique par une double approche : une approche expérimentale consacrée à la quantification des vitesses de dissolution de l’olivine dans des liquides silicatés caractéristiques des chondres de type I et une approche de caractérisation détaillée de la minéralogie, des fabriques et de la composition isotopique de l’oxygène des chondres et de leurs auréoles de matrice à grains fins dans Vigarano. Ces travaux suggèrent que chondre et matrice pourraient enregistrer une continuité d’interaction avec le gaz environnant, d’abord de type liquide/gaz (solubilité) pour la formation des chondres, puis de type solide/gaz (condensation) à plus basse température pour la formation des auréoles de matrice à grains fins / The most primitive meteorites, the chondrites, are our best witnesses of solar system birth and formation of first solids as well as processes that formed the first planetary bodies. Both chondrules, which are ferromagnesian igneous spherules, and fine-grained matrix, constitute the largest volume fraction of primitive chondrites. Their origin still constitutes a matter of debate. This thesis questions the relationship between chondrules and fine-grained matrix, called fine-grained rims, that frequently overlay chondrules in primitive carbonaceous chondrites. By taking the example of Vigarano (CV3), we explore the idea that chondrules and fine-grained rims could form in a continuum of physical and chemical conditions. This thesis combines both experimental and characterization approaches, with an experimental determination of olivine dissolution rates in molten silicates representative of type I chondrule melts and a detailed petrographic characterization of mineralogy, fabrics and oxygen isotopic composition of chondrules and their fine-grained rims in Vigarano. This work suggests that chondrules and their fine-grained rims could register a continuous interaction with surrounding gas, with first, chondrule formation from liquid/gas interaction (solubility) and then fine-grained rim formation, at lower temperature and from solid/gas interaction (condensation)