Chromium chondrites

Rolfs CE, Rodney WS (1988) Cauldrons in the cosmos. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Rotaru M, Birck JL, Allegre CJ (1992) Clues to early solar system history from chromium isotopes in carbonaceous chondrites. Nature 358 465-470... 

Virag A, Zinner E, Lewis RS, Tang M (1989) Isotopic compositions of H, C, and N in C8 diamonds from the Allende and Murray carbonaceous chondrites. Lunar Planet Sci XX 1158-1159 Volkening J, Papanastassiou DA (1989) Iron isotope anomalies. Astrophys J 347 L43-L46 Volkening J, Papanastassiou DA (1990) Zinc isotope anomalies. Astrophys J 358 L29-L32 Wadhwa M, Zinner EK, Crozaz G (1997) Manganese-chromium systematics in sulfides of unequilibrated enstatite chondrites. Meteorit Planet Sci 32 281-292... 

Bulk techniques still have a place in the search for presolar components. Although they cannot identify the presolar grain directly, they can measure anomalous isotopic compositions, which can then be used as a tracer for separation procedures to identify the carrier. There are several isotopically anomalous components whose carriers have not been identified. For example, an anomalous chromium component enriched in 54Cr appears in acid residues of the most primitive chondrites. The carrier is soluble in hydrochloric acid and goes with the colloidal fraction of the residue, which means it is likely to be submicron in size (Podosck el al., 1997). Measurements of molybdenum and ruthenium in bulk primitive meteorites and leachates from primitive chondrites show isotopic anomalies that can be attributed to the -process on the one hand and to the r- and /7-processes on the other. The s-process anomalies in molybdenum and ruthenium correlate with one another, while the r- and /7-process anomalies do not. The amounts of -process molybdenum and ruthenium are consistent with their being carried in presolar silicon carbide, but they are released from bulk samples with treatments that should not dissolve that mineral. Thus, additional carriers of s-, r-, and/ -process elements are suggested (Dauphas et al., 2002). 

The aubrites are the most reduced achondrites (Keil et al., 1989). Their silicates are essentially free of iron, and they contain minor metallic iron. A variety of unusual sulfides of calcium, chromium, manganese, titanium, and sodium - all usually lithophile elements -occur in aubrites. These unusual sulfides also characterize the highly reduced enstatite chondrites, which may have been precursors for these rocks. 

The bulk chemical composition of the dust, obtained by averaging the compositions of particles in numerous tracks (Fig. 12.11a) and impact crater residues (Fig. 12.11b), is chondritic for iron, silicon, titanium, chromium, manganese, nickel, germanium, and selenium, within the 2o confidence level (Flynn el al., 2006). Copper, zinc, and gallium are... 

Many chondrules contain minor amounts of metals, sulfides, and oxides. These phases also occur as distinct grains and assemblages embedded in the chondrite matrix. The metallic mineral kamacite is a common chondrule component that contains significant amounts of minor elements such as cobalt, chromium, and phosphorus. Taenite is another alloy of iron and nickel. Sulfide minerals such as troilite, pyrrhotite, and pentlandite are also abundant in many chondrules. 

Based on the bulk chemistry, IDPs are divided into two groups (i) micrometer-sized chondritic particles and (ii) micrometer-sized nonchondritic particles. A particle is defined as chondritic when magnesium, aluminum, silicon, sulfur, calcium, titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, and nickel occur in relative proportions similar (within a factor of 2) to their solar element abundances, as represented by the Cl carbonaceous chondrite composition (Brownlee et al., 1976). Chondritic IDPs differ significantly in form and texture from the components of known carbonaceous chondrite groups and are highly enriched in carbon relative to the most carbon-rich Cl carbonaceous chondrites (Rietmeijer, 1992 Thomas et al., 1996 Rietmeijer, 1998, 2002). 

Grains of metallic Fe,Ni in most unshocked type 3-6 chondrites provide a record of slow cooling at —1-1,000 K Myr through the temperature range —550-350 °C, when kamacite and taenite ceased to equilibrate (Wood, 1967). In most type 2 and 3.0-3.3 chondrites, metallic Fe,Ni grains typically contain concentrations of 0.1 -1 % chromium, silicon, and phosphorus, which are not found in type 4-6 chondrites, and reflect high-temperature processing prior to accretion. 

Figure 24 Concentration profiles of siderophile elements in a radially zoned Fe,Ni grain in the CBb chondrite, QUE 94411 (a) electron microprobe data (b) and (c) trace element data from laser ablation ICPMS (Campbell et ai, 2001). The nickel, cobalt, and chromium profiles can be matched by nonequilibrium nebular condensation assuming an enhanced dust-gas ratio of —36 X solar, partial condensation of chromium into silicates, and isolation of 4% of condensates per degree of cooling (Petaev etal, 2001). Concentrations of the refractory siderophile elements, osmium, iridium, platinum, ruthenium, and rhodium, are enriched at the center of the grain by factors of 2.5-3 relative to edge concentrations, which are near Cl levels after normalization to iron (reproduced by permission of University of Arizona on behalf of The Meteoritical Society from Meteorit. Planet. ScL, 2002, 37, pp. 1451-1490).

Zanda B., Bourot-Denise M., Perron C., and Hewins R. H. (1994) Origin and metamorphic redistribution of sihcon, chromium, and phosphoms in the metal of chondrites. Science 265, 1846-1849. 

Itqiy is distinct from chondritic meteorites in bulk composition. Aluminum, FREE, europium, sodium, potassium, vanadium, chromium, and manganese are aU depleted. Itqiy has La/Yb of 0. lOxCI, and Eu/Sm of 0.16 X Cl. Refractory siderophile elements are enriched —2-3 X Cl, while moderately volatile siderophile elements are at roughly Cl abundances. The bulk rock Mg/Si and Fe/Si ratios are greater than those of EH or EL chondrites. 

The major-element compositions of 200 chondritic IDPs were measured by EDS (Table 1 and Figure 12). All of the particles were identified as extraterrestrial because they have approximately chondritic compositions or consist predominantly of a single mineral grain like forsterite or pyrrhotite (commonly found within chondritic IDPs) 37% of the particles are CSIDPs, 45% are CP IDPs, and 18% IDPs composed predominantly of a single mineral. Table 1 summarizes the compositions of the IDPs. Within a factor of 2 the abundances of oxygen, magnesium, aluminum, sulfur, calcium, chromium, manganese, iron, and nickel are approximately chondritic. CP IDPs are a closer match to Cl carbonaceous chondrites than CS IDPs, and they are closer to Cl bulk than to Cl... 

For most other elements there is no difference between the isotopic composition of carbonaceous chondrites and the Earth. As of early 2000s, only two exceptions, chromium and titanium, are known for these two elements very small differences in the isotopic composition between carbonaceous chondrites and the Earth were found. Bulk carbonaceous chondrites have isotope anomalies in chromium and titanium. Isotopically unusual material may have been mixed to the CC-source after proto-earth material has accumulated to larger objects. 

For chromium, the anomaly is only in " Cr and this effect is limited to carbonaceous chondrites (Rotam et al., 1992 Podosek et al., 1997 Shukolykov and Lugmair, 2000). Titanium appears to be anomalous in °Ti and again the effect has only been found in carbonaceous chondrites (Niemeyer and Lugmair, 1984 Niederer et al., 1985). In both cases the anomalies are larger in Ca, Al-inclusions of the Allende meteorite than in bulk meteorites. 

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