Meteoritics & Planetary Science 1–16 (2016) doi: 10.1111/maps.12591 The chlorine isotope composition of Martian meteorites 2. Implications for the early solar system and the formation of Mars Zachary SHARP1,2,*, Jeffrey WILLIAMS1, Charles SHEARER3, Carl AGEE3, and Kevin McKEEGAN4 1Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131–0001, USA 2Center for Stable Isotopes, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131–0001, USA 3Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131–0001, USA 4Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095–1567, USA *Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected] (Received 15 July 2015; revision accepted 29 October 2015) Abstract–We determined the chlorine isotope composition of 16 Martian meteorites using gas source mass spectrometry on bulk samples and in situ secondary ion microprobe analysis on apatite grains. Measured d37Cl values range from À3.8 to +8.6&. The olivine- phyric shergottites are the isotopically lightest samples, with d37Cl mostly ranging from À4 to À2&. Samples with evidence for a crustal component have positive d37Cl values, with an extreme value of 8.6&. Most of the basaltic shergottites have intermediate d37Cl values of À1to0&, except for Shergotty, which is similar to the olivine-phyric shergottites. We interpret these data as due to mixing of a two-component system. The first component is the mantle value of À4toÀ3&. This most likely represents the original bulk Martian Cl isotope value. The other endmember is a 37Cl-enriched crustal component. We speculate that preferential loss of 35Cl to space has resulted in a high d37Cl value for the Martian surface, similar to what is seen in other volatile systems.