Nearly 100 chondrules were extracted from -8.6g of the Mokoia (CV3) meteorite and have been analyzed by sequential instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The resulting data were utilized in a comprehensive statistical characterization of these objects and, unlike similar investigations, virtually no loss of relevant data was incurred due to the use of inadequate or inappropriate software. Mass and elemental frequency distributions, correlation analysis and sorting coefficients support a "nebular" setting for chondrule genesis, and a scenario in which interstellar "dust-balls" (= chondrule precursors) are subject to some transient (short duration) high-energy process(es) followed by gravitationally or aerodynamically induced sorting, while it appears that an enhanced oxygen fugacity due to particle/gas fractionation may also be a factor. Conversely, a "planetary" setting for chondrule formation which requires the melting of pre-existing rocks (e.g., incompatible with the observed data. Factor analysis has led to the identification of the following precursor assemblages (i.e., factors) in the Mokoia chondrite: a refractory lithophile phase, a siderophile/chalcophile phase, a Mg-rich (silicate ?) phase, a refractory siderophile phase and a common lithophile phase. Previous studies of the Allende (CV3), Ornans (C03), Semarkona (LL3) and Chainpur (L3) meteorites are compared with these findings and interchondrite relationships are discussed (e.g., do these objects share similar parental materials, or are their compositions somehow complementary? were they formed in proximity with each other? etc.). A very unique oxide-sulfide-phosphate opaque assemblage was found in Mokoia and analyzed by INAA/electron-probe microanalysis, and may eventually serve to place constraints on the low-temperature thermal histories of chondrules or chondrites as well as provide information concerning the oxygen and sulfur fugacities within the Mokoia chondrite parent body. / Graduation date: 1991

Undergraduate honors paper--Mount Holyoke College, 2006. Dept. of Astronomy. / Includes bibliographical references (42-44 leaves ).

The Abee enstatite chondrite breccia was studied using two methods: measurement of noble gases, and, analyses of the clast size-distribution and the overall texture of Abee. These studies were made in order to understand the formation of the Abee breccia and the formation of the enstatite chondrites. Noble gases were measured as a part of the consortium effort. Noble gases were measured in 17 samples from 10 regions within Abee. Radiogenic ages are 4.5 aeons. Cosmic ray exposure ages average 8 Myr. No evidence for pre-irradiation was found except for a chondrule which may have been neutron pre-irradiated. Abee has at least 2 iodine bearing minerals, both of which are silicate minerals. This suggests that iodine had refractory behavior in the E-chondrites. Two trapped components were found: one having planetary-type elemental and isotopic composition (termed "Kenna-type"), the second with a high argon to xenon ratio (termed "argon-rich") but isotopically similar to the first. Both components appear to be carried in silicate phases, probably enstatite. The Kenna-type component may be carried by small inclusions within silicate minerals. The argon-rich component may have originated from solar wind implantation before accretion of the E-chondrite parent body requiring an inner solar system origin or by noble gas trapping during high temperature mineral condensation requiring high nebular pressures. The clast size-distribution of Abee and 2 other meteorites from the Antarctic meteorite collection (BTNA 78004, ALHA 78113) were measured. The 3 meteorites appear to have formed during single, low energy impacts and that Abee was part of an ejecta blanket which mixed with surrounding regolith. From the textural study, a formation model for the Abee breccia is discussed. The breccia formed during a single impact. Clast metal rims were vapor deposited and partially metamorphosed during impact-generated heating. Greater heating formed dark and metal inclusions. Maximum temperatures were less than 1200 C and heating was brief. Later, the material was disturbed but not brecciated. Abee did not reside on an asteroidal regolith surface for a significant period of time due to the lack of pre-irradiation. This model suggests that the E-chondrite groups formed by metamorphic heating and metal to silicate fractionation on a single parent body.

We have carried out detailed thermometric and cooling history studies of several LL-, L- and H-chondrites of petrologic types 5 and 6. Among the selected samples, the low-temperature cooling of St. Severin (LL6) has been constrained in an earlier study by thermochronological data to an average rate of similar to 2.6 degrees C/My below 500 degrees C. However, numerical simulations of the development of Fe-Mg profiles in Opx-Cpx pairs using this cooling rate grossly misfit the measured compositional profiles. Satisfactory simulation of the latter and low temperature thermochronological constraints requires a two-stage cooling model with a cooling rate of similar to 50-200 degrees C/ky from the peak metamorphic temperature of similar to 875 degrees C down to 450 degrees C, and then transitioning to very slow cooling with an average rate of similar to 2.6 degrees C/My. Similar rapid high temperature cooling rates (200-600 degrees C/ky) are also required to successfully model the compositional profiles in the Opx-Cpx pairs in the other samples of L5, L6 chondrites. For the H-chondrite samples, the low temperature cooling rates were determined earlier to be 10-20 degrees C/My by metallographic method. As in St. Severin, these cooling rates grossly misfit the compositional profiles in the Opx-Cpx pairs. Modeling of these profiles requires very rapid cooling, similar to 200-400 degrees C/ky, from the peak temperatures (similar to 810-830 degrees C), transitioning to the metallographic rates at similar to 450-500 degrees C. We interpret the rapid high temperature cooling rates to the exposure of the samples to surface or near surface conditions as a result of fragmentation of the parent body by asteroidal impacts. Using the thermochronological data, the timing of the presumed impact is constrained to be similar to 4555-4560 My before present for St. Severin. We also deduced similar two stage cooling models in earlier studies of H-chondrites and mesosiderites that could be explained, using the available geochronological data, by impact induced fragmentation at around the same time. Diffusion kinetic analysis shows that if a lower petrological type got transformed by the thermal effect of shock impacts to reflect higher metamorphic temperature, as has been suggested as a possibility, then the peak temperatures would have had to be sustained for at least 10 ky and 80 ky, respectively, for transformation to the petrologic types 6 and 4. Finally, we present a model that reconciles textural data supporting an onion-shell parent body of H-chondrites with rapid cooling rate at high temperature caused by impact induced disturbance, and also discuss alternatives to the onion shell parent body model. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbonaceous chondrites have an approximately solar bulk composition, with some exceptions (e.g. H), and exhibit a range of parent body alteration. Investigations of both pristine and altered chondrites yield valuable insight into the processes and conditions of the early Solar System prior to and resulting in the planets we observe today. Such insight and the dynamic models developed by astrophysicists are constrained by chemical, mineralogical, and textural characteristics of chondrite components (chondrules, refractory inclusions, metal, and matrix). This dissertation uses a variety of chondritic components to address the following: 1) what do correlations within a population of refractory inclusions reveal about early Solar System conditions; 2) what is the distribution of trace elements among chondrite components and how does this affect component formation from precursor aggregation to chondrite accretion; and 3) can metal associated with chondrules further our understanding of chondrule formation and/or deformation? The first two objectives were investigated using suite of carbonaceous Ornans-group (CO) chondrites of varying petrologic grades (Colony CO3.0, Kainsaz CO3.2, Felix CO3.3, Moss CO3.6, and Isna CO3.8). These chondrites were analyzed using several analytical techniques including: electron microprobe element mapping, a modal phase analysis algorithm, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Within the comprehensive dataset of refractory inclusion characteristics (area, major mineralogy, bulk major chemistry, texture, and rare Earth element (REE) patterns and abundances) there is an overwhelming lack of correlations implying that thermal processing prior to accretion was stochastic and that sorting was minimal. Only two CO chondrites were analyzed for REE abundances (Colony and Moss). While refractory inclusions exhibit the greatest enrichments in REE relative to CI, after modal recombination chondrule glass contributes most significantly to the bulk REE budget in both chondrites. The bulk mean REE patterns for both Colony and Moss are flat and approximately CI in abundance while the mean REE patterns for components are nearly flat with relative enrichments (~10x CI for both chondrule glass and refractory inclusions) or depletions (chondrule olivine) relative to CI. Lack of correlations between REE and other characteristics, nearly flat REE patterns and nearly equivalent enrichment factors relative to CI across chondrite groups, including the CO chondrites analyzed here, implies that REE were equilibrated in precursor material prior to chondrite component formation. We propose a scenario for the equilibration of REE with vapor-solid or solid-solid reactions with subsequent accretion of chondrite components. Metal-rich chondrules in Acfer 139, a carbonaceous Renazzo-group (CR) chondrite were used to address the final objective. Chemical information was obtained using electron microprobe quantitative analysis and element mapping, electron backscatter diffraction was used to analyze the crystal structure of the metal nodules, and computed tomography provided insight into the 3D relationships of the metal. Eight chondrules with abundant metal nodules, both as rims and within the chondrule interior, were analyzed in detail. Chondrule A is of particular interest as it contains three concentric metal layers. A majority of the metal nodules fall on the calculated condensation trajectory of Co/Ni in a vapor of solar composition with the interior metal nodules containing higher Ni wt% and Co wt% than the rim nodules. Twinning is evident in many of the metal nodules and could indicate a ubiquitous parent body deformation process. Chemical inhomogeneity of Ni only occurs within the metal nodules of chondrule A and implies these metal nodules were reheated to high temperatures. The combination of chemical inhomogeneity, multiple sets of twins, and other evidence of strain imply that the formation of these chondrules was not straightforward and involved multiple iterations of heating, and potentially addition of material. A plausible model of chondrule formation in the early Solar System must be able to account for this more complicated thermal and alteration history and produce the chemical and textural variety of chondrules present in the region of chondrite accretion.

I have developed a technique that improves the speed, reproducibility, and sensitivity of the measurement of degree of equilibration in ordinary chondrites. The Fast Electron Microprobe technique (FEM) technique provides a continuous quantitative scale for the amount of thermal processing a particular sample has experienced. The Fast Electron Microprobe technique (FEM) allows us to quickly collect sufficient data to determine the homogeneity and composition of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene in ordinary chondrite thin sections. I have studied several meteorites that are homogenous in olivine composition, but heterogeneous in low-Ca pyroxene composition. One of these samples (ALH 85033) has previously been classified as an L4. The FEM technique allows reproducible measurements of the degree of thermal metamorphism in ordinary chondrites, improving our understanding of thermal processing of asteroids in the early solar system.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-76). Also available via World Wide Web.

To constrain the thermal histories of two complex L chondrite melt breccia samples (NWA 5964 and NWA 6580) we compare textures and chemical compositions of metal and sulfide to L melt rock (NWA 6454 and NWA 6579) and strongly shocked (shock stage S6) (NWA 4860) samples. The inferred thermal histories can be used to evaluate formation settings on the L chondrite parent body. The L melt samples probably formed as different melt units within warm but largely unmelted material relatively close to the surface of the parent body, and the same is true for the S6 sample, except it experienced less melting. The breccia samples likely formed deeper, below different impact craters, by the injection of shock melt into a cooler chondritic basement. Carbide grains in the melt breccias could have formed by a contact metamorphic process caused by heating of the chondritic basement in proximity to the melt. Within the melt regions of the various samples, inferred cooling rates are on the order of 1-10 °C/sec, whereas in the chondritic portions of the melt breccias, the inferred cooling rates are many orders of magnitude slower, ~1-100 °C/My. The complex intergrowths of metal and FeS (hereafter referred to as dendritic grains) within the melt are recording cooling rates above the metal-sulfide eutectic, while the metal grains outside of the melt regions are recording cooling rates at much lower temperatures. It is likely the melt regions in the breccias cooled substantially prior to coming to rest against the chondritic basement, and thereafter the melt-chondrite rocks cooled more slowly.

Les chondrites carbonées (CCs) sont des objets primitifs accrétés lors de la formation du Système Solaire. Composées en grande partie de chondres, de matrice et d’inclusions réfractaires, elles ont enregistré les hétérogénéités chimiques, isotopiques et minéralogiques de la nébuleuse solaire. Contrairement aux autres classes de chondrites, la grande majorité des CCs sont primitives (types pétrologiques 1 à 3). Elles n’ont donc pas subi de métamorphisme important sur leur corps parent. Toutefois, un groupe de CCs, les CKs, montre un métamorphisme thermique intense (types pétrologiques 4 à 6). Ces chondrites sont caractérisées par des matrices recristallisées, des olivines équilibrées à ∼Fa31, un degré d’oxydation important (olivines riches en NiO, rapport métal/magnétite proche de zéro), des teneurs en éléments réfractaires lithophiles intermédiaires aux CVs et aux COs, ou encore des compositions isotopiques en oxygène se situant dans le champ défini par les CVs et les COs. Les CKs ont été peu étudiées jusqu’au début des années 90, car peu nombreuses (seulement 210 classifiées au 6 décembre 2011) et de petite taille (masse médiane ∼33,5g). Leurs compositions isotopiques et chimiques laissent supposer l’existence d’un lien génétique avec les CV3. Les découvertes récentes de nouvelles CKs depuis 1990, et notamment de CK3 par le biais de collectes systématiques au Sahara et en Antarctique, permettent l’étude détaillée de l’évolution métamorphique des CKs, notamment à la transition 3–4. Ce travail a pour but de caractériser les conditions dans lesquelles s’est déroulé cet épisode métamorphique, et grâce à l’observation de plusieurs CK3–4, d’étudier la relation CV-CK. La caractérisation détaillée de l’évolution métamorphique de 19 CKs dont 5 CK3 a permis de confirmer que les différences observées entre les divers composants chondritiques (abondance, minéralogie, texture) des CVs et des CKs peuvent être expliquées par un épisode thermique secondaire de HT-BP (∼300–650°C) en conditions oxydantes (∼NNO). De plus, l’analyse de profils de diffusions dans les chondres des CKs indique des durées de métamorphisme intermédiaires à celles communément invoquées pour du choc (de quelques secondes à quelques jours) et pour la désintégration d’éléments à courte durée de vie (plusieurs millions d’années). Une série d’expériences réalisées en four 1 atmosphère avec contrôle de la fugacité d’oxygène nous a permis de reproduire les textures caractéristiques des CKs et d’obtenir une teneur en fer d’équilibre des olivines des CVs, valeur proche de celle mesurée dans les CKs. Cela semble donc confirmer que les CKs sont des CVs rééquilibrées. Par conséquent, la classification actuelle de ces chondrites en deux groupes distincts devrait être modifiée afin de rendre compte de l’existence de cette série métamorphique CV-CK continue. Nous proposons de considérer le chauffage radiatif comme cause possible du métamorphisme des CKs. Un modèle numérique nous a permis de confirmer que des météoroïdes carbonés avec des périhélies situés entre 0,07 et 0,15 UA peuvent être chauffés à des températures pouvant aller jusqu’à 780°C. Les tailles pré-atmosphériques estimées pour les CV-CK (de quelques centimètres à 2,5 mètres) sont compatibles avec ce type de processus. La fragmentation d’un corps parent homogène de type CV (possiblement l’astéroïde à l’origine de la famille d’Eos) pourrait former des météoroïdes qui, sous l’effet de phénomènes de résonances, seraient redirigés vers l’intérieur du Système Solaire et pourraient ainsi être métamorphisés par chauffage radiatif. Ce type de processus thermique secondaire n’étant efficace que pour de petits fragments d’astéroïdes, il ne doit pas être considéré comme un processus corps-parent stricto sensu. / Carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) are primitive objects accreted during the earliest stage of the Solar System formation. Mainly composed of chondrules, matrix and refractory inclusions, CCs recorded chemical, isotopic and mineralogical heterogeneities of the solar nebula. Unlike other chondrite classes, most CCs are primitive (petrologic types 1 to 3), i.e., they have not been affected by thermal parent-body processes. However, CK chondrites suffered an intense metamorphism (petrologic types 4 to 6). The CK group is characterized by recrystallized matrices, equilibrated olivines (∼Fa31), a high level of oxidation (Ni-rich olivines, metal/magnetite ratio close to zero), low contents of refractory inclusions, refractory lithophile abundances intermediate between CV and CO groups, and oxygen isotope compositions overlapping the CV and CO groups. CKs have been poorly studied until the 1990’s, in part due to the small number of classified samples (210 as of December 6th, 2011), and their small masses (median mass∼33.5g). Isotopic and major element compositions support a genetic link with CV3s. Since1990, recent discoveries of CKs, in particular of CK3s recovered by systematic Antarctic and Saharan collects, allow a detailed study of the CK metamorphic evolution, especially at the 3–4 transition. The objective of this study is the characterization of the conditions of metamorphism of CKs, and through analyses of several CK3–4 samples, the study of the CV-CK relationship. The detailed characterization of the metamorphic evolution of 19 CKs, including 5 CK3, confirms that observed differences between chondritic components in CVs and CKs (abundance, mineralogy, texture) can be explained by a secondary HT-BP thermal process (∼300–650°C) under oxidizing conditions (∼NNO). Moreover, durations of metamorphism obtained by the analysis of diffusion profiles in CK chondrules are intermediate between those commonly admitted for shock (few seconds to several days) and for short-lived radionuclides decay (several million years). An experimental study, using a 1-atmosphere furnace with controlled oxygen fugacity, provides additional arguments for the CV-CK relationship. We reproduced characteristic CK textures and obtained olivine iron contents of equilibrated CVs close to those measured in CKs. These experiments confirm that CKs can be considered as reequilibrated CVs. Thus, the current classification of CVs and CKs in two distinct groups should be modified in order to account for the existence of the CV-CK continuous metamorphic series from type 3 to 6. We propose to consider radiative heating as a possible cause of metamorphism for CKs. Numerical thermal modeling indicates that carbonaceous meteoroids with low perihelia (between 0.07 and 0.15 AU) can be heated at temperatures up to 780°C. Pre-atmospheric sizes estimated for CVs and CKs (from a few centimeters to 2.5 meters) support this thermal process. Fragmentation of an homogeneous CV-type parent body (possibly the parent asteroid at the origin of the Eos family) could be the source of meteoroids which, due to resonances, move toward the Sun and thus be metamorphosed by radiative heating. This secondary thermal process, affecting only small asteroid fragments, should not be considered as a parent-body process in the sense that it did not occur on the asteroid before its disruption.

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