Letter. Determination of planetary basalt parentage: A simple technique using the electron microprobe
-
J.J. Papike
,
J.M. Karner
Abstract
Many basaltic meteorites are being discovered in old and new meteorite suites including those from cold- deserts (e.g., Antarctica) and hot-desert environments. It is important to establish the specific planetary body source. Proven techniques for establishing planetary parentage include stableisotopic signatures (especially oxygen), certain elemental ratios in bulk samples, and certain elemental ratios in specific minerals. Some of these techniques are expensive, require considerable sample preparation, and are adversely affected by weathering processes on the parent body or on Earth. We have been seeking key major and minor elemental ratios (in pyroxene, olivine, and feldspar) that can be measured by the electron microprobe on standard thin sections. These ratios may be preserved in unweathered portions of mineral grains and thus “see through” weathering processes. In addition, if the sample is too small to provide a representative bulk composition, it may still have key information recorded in individual minerals. We have found that some of the most useful chemical parameters are Fe/Mn (atomic) in olivine or pyroxene and the percent anorthite (%An) in plagioclase solid solutions. A plot of Fe/Mn in pyroxene and/or olivine verses %An defines compositional fields that are significantly different for Earth, Mars, Moon, 4 Vesta, and the angrite parent body. This method may be especially powerful when combined with oxygen isotope data.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Structure, metal-insulator transitions, and magnetic properties of FeO at high pressures
- The high-temperature behavior of defect hydrogen species in quartz: Implications for hydrogen isotope studies
- Thermal stability and vibrational spectra of the sheet borate tuzlaite, NaCa[B5O8(OH)2]·3H2O
- Hydrogen-bonded water in laumontite I: X-ray powder diffraction study of water site occupancy and structural changes in laumontite during room-temperature isothermal hydration/dehydration
- In-situ determination of mineral solubilities in fluids using a hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell and SR-XRF: Solubility of AgCl in water
- Pressure-induced phase transition in malayaite, CaSnOSiO4
- Equation of state of stishovite to lower mantle pressures
- Chemical transfer during redox exchanges between H2 and Fe-bearing silicate melts
- Trace-element partitioning between alkali feldspar and peralkalic quartz trachyte to rhyolite magma. Part I: Systematics of trace-element partitioning
- Trace-element partitioning between alkali feldspar and peralkalic quartz trachyte to rhyolite magma. Part II: Empirical equations for calculating trace-element partition coefficients of large-ion lithophile, high field-strength, and rare-earth elements
- Four generations of accessory-phase growth in low-pressure migmatites from SW New Hampshire
- Mineralogy, chemistry, and formation of oxidized biotite in the weathering profile of granitic rocks
- Experimental study of zircon coarsening in quartzite ±H2O at 1.0 GPa and 1000 ℃, with implications for geochronological studies of high-grade metamorphism
- Biotite dissolution processes and mechanisms in the laboratory and in nature: Early stage weathering environment and vermiculitization
- Fe2+ -Mg partitioning between garnet, magnesiowüstite, and (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 phases of the transition zone
- Interlayer structure and dynamics of Cl-bearing hydrotalcite: far infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics modeling
- Si-Al disorder and solid solutions in analcime, chabazite, and wairakite
- Cafetite, Ca[Ti2O5](H2O): Crystal structure and revision of chemical formula
- Order-disorder approach to calcioaravaipaite, [PbCa2Al(F,OH)9]: The crystal structure of the triclinic MDO polytype
- Ab initio investigation of the structures of NaOH hydrates and their Na+ and OH– coordination polyhedra
- Another step toward understanding the true nature of sartorite: Determination and refinement of a ninefold superstructure
- Letter. Ultrapotassic clinopyroxene from the Kumdy-Kol microdiamond mine, Kokchetav Complex, Kazakhstan: Occurrence, composition and crystal-chemical characterization
- Letter. Determination of planetary basalt parentage: A simple technique using the electron microprobe
Articles in the same Issue
- Structure, metal-insulator transitions, and magnetic properties of FeO at high pressures
- The high-temperature behavior of defect hydrogen species in quartz: Implications for hydrogen isotope studies
- Thermal stability and vibrational spectra of the sheet borate tuzlaite, NaCa[B5O8(OH)2]·3H2O
- Hydrogen-bonded water in laumontite I: X-ray powder diffraction study of water site occupancy and structural changes in laumontite during room-temperature isothermal hydration/dehydration
- In-situ determination of mineral solubilities in fluids using a hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell and SR-XRF: Solubility of AgCl in water
- Pressure-induced phase transition in malayaite, CaSnOSiO4
- Equation of state of stishovite to lower mantle pressures
- Chemical transfer during redox exchanges between H2 and Fe-bearing silicate melts
- Trace-element partitioning between alkali feldspar and peralkalic quartz trachyte to rhyolite magma. Part I: Systematics of trace-element partitioning
- Trace-element partitioning between alkali feldspar and peralkalic quartz trachyte to rhyolite magma. Part II: Empirical equations for calculating trace-element partition coefficients of large-ion lithophile, high field-strength, and rare-earth elements
- Four generations of accessory-phase growth in low-pressure migmatites from SW New Hampshire
- Mineralogy, chemistry, and formation of oxidized biotite in the weathering profile of granitic rocks
- Experimental study of zircon coarsening in quartzite ±H2O at 1.0 GPa and 1000 ℃, with implications for geochronological studies of high-grade metamorphism
- Biotite dissolution processes and mechanisms in the laboratory and in nature: Early stage weathering environment and vermiculitization
- Fe2+ -Mg partitioning between garnet, magnesiowüstite, and (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 phases of the transition zone
- Interlayer structure and dynamics of Cl-bearing hydrotalcite: far infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics modeling
- Si-Al disorder and solid solutions in analcime, chabazite, and wairakite
- Cafetite, Ca[Ti2O5](H2O): Crystal structure and revision of chemical formula
- Order-disorder approach to calcioaravaipaite, [PbCa2Al(F,OH)9]: The crystal structure of the triclinic MDO polytype
- Ab initio investigation of the structures of NaOH hydrates and their Na+ and OH– coordination polyhedra
- Another step toward understanding the true nature of sartorite: Determination and refinement of a ninefold superstructure
- Letter. Ultrapotassic clinopyroxene from the Kumdy-Kol microdiamond mine, Kokchetav Complex, Kazakhstan: Occurrence, composition and crystal-chemical characterization
- Letter. Determination of planetary basalt parentage: A simple technique using the electron microprobe
