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Title: Redox History of Early Solar System Planetismals Recorded in the D;Orbigny Angrite

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1036317

Angrites are ancient basaltic meteorites ({approx}4.56 Ga) that preserve evidence of some of the solar system's earliest melting events. The volcanic-textured angrites such as D'Orbigny were rapidly crystallized and are relatively pristine; lacking shock, brecciation, and parent-body weathering textures. Thus, these angrites provide a unique 'window' into the petrogenesis of planetary bodies in the early solar system. Angrites may be formed by partial melting of CV chondrites under relatively oxidized sources compared to the eucrites, and therefore may document variations in fO{sub 2} conditions on carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies. Thus, understanding the intrinsic fO{sub 2} conditions of the angrites is needed to determine how different early Solar System basalts form, to model separation of the core, mantle and crust, and to understand magnetic fields on planetary bodies. The D'Orbigny angrite contains a range of textures: (a) crystalline texture containing interlocking crystals of fassaite (pyroxene) with Ti-rich rims, anorthite, and Mg-olivine with Fe-rich rims; (b) cavities with protruding needle-like pyroxene and anorthite dusted by Ca-(Mg)-carbonate; (c) mesostasis with kirschsteinite, ilmenite, troilite, phosphates (e.g., merrilite, whitlockite and Casilicophosphate), rhonite and minor glass; (d) glasses ({approx} angrite composition) in vesicles, as inclusions and as beads, and also cross-cutting crystal-rich portions of the rock; (e) vesicles (e.g., {approx}1.4 vol. %, 0.0219-87.7 mm{sup 3}). Analysis of the textures and Fe{sup 3+}/Fetotal of the cavity pyroxene suggests that the oxygen fugacity (fO{sub 2}) increased in the D'Orbigny angrite perhaps due to introduction of a gas phase. Here we examine the detailed fO{sub 2} history using micro-analyses that allow us to avoid inclusions that may cause spurious results. We present analyses of both S- and V- oxidation states to complement other work using Fe-oxidation state and to avoid problems related to measuring low concentrations of Fe{sup 3+} and propagating errors when calculating fO{sub 2} in samples with low Fe{sup 3+} concentrations.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
NSFDOE - BASIC ENERGY SCIENCESNASA
OSTI ID:
1036317
Resource Relation:
Conference: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXXIII;March 19-23, 2012;Woodlands, TX
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH