Meteorite Mineralogy Alan Rubin , Chi Ma Frontmatter More Information

Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-48452-7 — Meteorite Mineralogy Alan Rubin , Chi Ma Frontmatter More Information

METEORITE MINERALOGY

Meteorites are fascinating cosmic visitors. Using accessible language, this book documents the history of mineralogy and meteorite research, summarizes the mineralogical characteristics of the myriad varieties of meteorites, and explains the mineralogical characteristics of Solar System bodies visited by spacecraft. Some of these bodies contain minerals that do not occur naturally on Earth or in meteorites. The book shows how to recognize different phases under the microscope and in backscattered electron images. It summarizes the major ways in which meteoritic minerals form – from condensation in the expanding atmospheres of dying stars to crystallization in deep-seated magmas, from ﬂash melting in the solar nebula to weathering in the terrestrial environment. Containing spectacular backscattered electron images, color photo- graphs of meteorite minerals, and with an accompanying online list of meteorite minerals, this book provides a useful resource for meteorite researchers, terrestrial mineralogists, cosmoche- mists, and planetary scientists, as well as graduate students in these ﬁelds.

alan e. rubin is a meteorite researcher who recently retired from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he worked as a research geochemist. He is a fellow of the Meteoritical Society and winner of the Nininger Meteorite Award and seven Grifﬁth Observer science writing awards. He is the namesake of the garnet mineral rubinite and the main-belt asteroid 6227Alanrubin. He is the author of more than 200 research papers and 50 popular science articles. He is also the author of Disturbing the Solar System (Princeton, 2004). chi ma is a mineralogist at the California Institute of Technology, with research interests in nanomineralogy and the discovery of new minerals in meteorites, especially those representing extreme conditions of formation. He has discovered and led investigations on 47 new minerals, including 14 refractory minerals from the solar nebula and 11 high-pressure minerals. He is a fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America. The oxide mineral machiite was named in his honor. He is the author of more than 100 research papers.

CAMBRIDGE PLANETARY SCIENCE

Series Editors Fran Bagenal, David Jewitt, Carl Murray, Jim Bell, Ralph Lorenz, Francis Nimmo, Sara Russell

Books in the Series 1. Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere† Edited by Bagenal, Dowling, and McKinnon 978-0-521-03545-3 2. Meteorites: A Petrologic, Chemical and Isotopic Synthesis† Hutchison 978-0-521-03539-2 3. The Origin of Chondrules and Chondrites† Sears 978-1-107-40285-0 4. Planetary Rings† Esposito 978-1-107-40247-8 5. The Geology of Mars: Evidence from Earth-Based Analogs† Edited by Chapman 978-0-521-20659-4 6. The Surface of Mars† Carr 978-0-521-87201-0 7. Volcanism on Io: A Comparison with Earth† Davies 978-0-521-85003-2 8. Mars: An Introduction to its Interior, Surface and Atmosphere† Barlow 978-0-521-85226-5 9. The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy, and Physical Properties Edited by Bell 978-0-521-86698-9 10. Planetary Crusts: Their Composition, Origin and Evolution† Taylor and McLennan 978-0-521-14201-4 11. Planetary Tectonics† Edited by Watters and Schultz 978-0-521-74992-3 12. Protoplanetary Dust: Astrophysical and Cosmochemical Perspectives† Edited by Apai and Lauretta 978-0-521-51772-0 13. Planetary Surface Processes Melosh 978-0-521-51418-7 14. Titan: Interior, Surface, Atmosphere, and Space Environment Edited by Müller-Wodarg, Grifﬁth, Lellouch, and Cravens 978-0-521-19992-6 15. Planetary Rings: A Post-Equinox View (Second edition) Esposito 978-1-107-02882-1 16. Planetesimals: Early Differentiation and Consequences for Planets Edited by Elkins-Tanton and Weiss 978-1-107-11848-5 17. Asteroids: Astronomical and Geological Bodies Burbine 978-1-107-09684-4 18. The Atmosphere and Climate of Mars Edited by Haberle, Clancy, Forget, Smith, and Zurek 978-1-107-01618-7 19. Planetary Ring Systems Edited by Tiscareno and Murray 978-1-107-11382-4 20. Saturn in the 21st Century Edited by Baines, Flasar, Krupp, and Stallard 978-1-107-10677-2 21. Mercury: The View after MESSENGER Edited by Solomon, Nittler, and Anderson 978-1-107-15445-2 22. Chondrules: Records of Protoplanetary Disk Processes Edited by Russell, Connolly Jr., and Krot 978-1-108-41801-0 23. Spectroscopy and Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres and Ionospheres Krasnopolsky 978-1-107-14526-9 24. Remote Compositional Analysis: Techniques for Understanding Spectroscopy, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of Planetary Surfaces Edited by Bishop, Bell III, and Moersch 978-1-107-18620-0 25. Meteoroids: Sources of Meteors on Earth and Beyond Edited by Ryabova, Asher, and Campbell-Brown 978-1-108-42671-8

† Reissued as a paperback

METEORITE MINERALOGY

ALAN E. RUBIN University of California, Los Angeles

CHI MA California Institute of Technology

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www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108484527 DOI: 10.1017/9781108613767 © Simon Mitton 2021 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2021 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Limited, Padstow Cornwall A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-108-48452-7 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

For Dorene and Kang

Contents

Preface page xiii

1 Minerals and Meteorites: Historical Foundations and Current Status 1

2 Deﬁnitions and Explications 44

3 Brief Review of Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry 58 3.1 Crystal Systems and Space Groups 58 3.2 Miller Indices 60 3.3 Chemical Bonding 61 3.4 Coordination and Packing 63 3.5 Pauling’s Rules 65

4 Properties of Minerals: Explanations and Applications 66 4.1 Major Physical Properties 66 4.2 Other Physical Properties 75 4.3 Optical Properties 85

5 Identification of Meteoritic Minerals in Reflected Light, by Backscattered Electron Imaging, and by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, and Electron Backscatter Diffraction Analysis 92 5.1 Reflected Light 92 5.2 Backscattered-Electron Imaging with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, and Electron Backscatter Diffraction Analyses 98

6 Meteorite Classiﬁcation and Taxonomy 101 6.1 History 101 6.2 Taxonomy 103

7 Mineralogy of Major Physical Components of Chondrites 109 7.1 Chondrules 109 7.2 Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions 116 7.3 Amoeboid Olivine Inclusions 126 7.4 Plagioclase-Olivine Inclusions 127

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7.5 Dark Inclusions 127 7.5.1 Dark Inclusions in the Abee EH Chondrite 127 7.5.2 Dark Inclusions in Carbonaceous Chondrites 128 7.6 Carbon-Rich Aggregates 129 7.7 Matrix Material 130 7.7.1 CI Chondrites 130 7.7.2 CM Chondrites 131 7.7.3 CR Chondrites 133 7.7.4 CO Chondrites 133 7.7.5 CV Chondrites 133 7.7.6 CK Chondrites 134 7.7.7 Ungrouped Carbonaceous Chondrites 135 7.7.8 Ordinary Chondrites 136 7.7.9 R Chondrites 137 7.7.10 Enstatite Chondrites 138 7.7.11 Kakangari 138 7.8 Carbide-Magnetite Assemblages 139 7.9 Opaque Phases and Opaque Assemblages 139 7.9.1 Ordinary Chondrites 139 7.9.2 R Chondrites 142 7.9.3 Enstatite Chondrites 142 7.9.4 Kakangari-like Chondrites 144 7.9.5 Carbonaceous Chondrites 144 7.10 Presolar Grains 148 7.11 Calcium-Plagioclase-Bearing Clasts 149 7.12 Eclogitic Clasts 150 7.13 Impact-Melt-Rock Clasts 151 7.14 Impact-Melt Pockets 152

8 Petrologic and Mineralogical Characteristics of Meteorite Groups 153 8.1 Chondrites: Undifferentiated Meteorites 153 8.1.1 Ordinary Chondrites 153 8.1.2 R Chondrites (Prototype Rumuruti) 162 8.1.3 Carbonaceous Chondrites 162 8.1.4 Enstatite Chondrites 170 8.1.5 Kakangari-Like Chondrites (Prototype Kakangari) 171 8.2 Primitive Achondrites 171 8.2.1 Ureilites (Prototype Novo-Urei) 171 8.2.2 Brachinites (Prototype Brachina) 172 8.2.3 Acapulcoites and Lodranites (Prototypes Acapulco and Lodran) 173 8.2.4 Winonaites (Prototype Winona) and IAB Silicates 174 8.3 Asteroidal Achondrites 175 8.3.1 Howardites, Eucrites, Diogenites 175 8.3.2 Angrites (Prototype Angra dos Reis) 176

Contents ix

8.3.3 Aubrites a.k.a. Enstatite Achondrites (Prototype Aubres) 177 8.3.4 Ungrouped Achondrites 178 8.4 Nonasteroidal Achondrites 182 8.4.1 Lunar Meteorites 182 8.4.2 Martian Meteorites 182 8.5 Iron Meteorites 183 8.5.1 Magmatic CC Irons 185 8.5.2 Magmatic NC Irons 186 8.5.3 Non-Magmatic NC Irons 188 8.5.4 Ungrouped Irons 190 8.6 Stony-Iron Meteorites 192 8.6.1 Pallasites 192 8.6.2 Mesosiderites 197

9 Cosmomineralogy 200 9.1 Mercury 200 9.2 Venus 202 9.3 Earth 204 9.4 Moon 206 9.5 Mars 215 9.6 Asteroids 221 9.6.1 Vesta 223 9.6.2 Ceres 224 9.6.3 Eros 225 9.6.4 Itokawa 226 9.6.5 Ryugu 227 9.6.6 Bennu 228 9.6.7 Psyche 229 9.7 Titan 230 9.8 Comets and Kuiper Belt Objects 231 9.8.1 Comet Spectroscopy 231 9.8.2 Stardust 234 9.8.3 Interplanetary Dust Particles 235 9.8.4 Kuiper Belt Objects 235

10 Formation of Meteoritic Minerals in Gas- and Dust-Rich Environments 239 10.1 Condensation in Gaseous Envelopes Around Evolved Stars 240 10.2 Condensation in the Solar Nebula 243 10.3 Crystallization in Ca-Al-Rich Inclusion Melts 246 10.4 Crystallization in Melted Portions of Amoeboid Olivine Inclusions 248 10.5 Crystallization in Chondrule Melts 249 10.6 Exsolution in Opaque Assemblages during the Cooling of Ca-Al-Rich Inclusions 251 10.7 Exsolution during the Cooling of Chondrules 252

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10.8 Exsolution during the Cooling of Opaque Assemblages Outside Ca-Al-Rich Inclusions and Chondrules 252 10.9 Annealing of Amorphous Material in the Solar Nebula 253

11 Formation of Meteoritic Minerals on Parent Bodies 254 11.1 Devitriﬁcation of Amorphous Material on Parent Bodies 254 11.2 Thermal Metamorphism and Exsolution 254 11.2.1 Heat Sources 254 11.2.2 Ordinary Chondrites 254 11.2.3 Carbonaceous Chondrites 257 11.2.4 R Chondrites 260 11.2.5 Enstatite Chondrites 261 11.2.6 Eucrites 262 11.3 Aqueous Alteration, Hydrothermal Alteration, and Metasomatism 263 11.3.1 CI Chondrites 263 11.3.2 CM Chondrites 264 11.3.3 CR Chondrites 267 11.3.4 CO Chondrites 267 11.3.5 CV Chondrites 268 11.3.6 Ungrouped Carbonaceous Chondrites 270 11.3.7 Ordinary Chondrites 271 11.3.8 R Chondrites 272 11.3.9 Enstatite Chondrites 273 11.3.10 Eucrites 273 11.3.11 Ureilites 274 11.3.12 Mesosiderites 274 11.3.13 Lunar Rocks 274 11.3.14 Martian Meteorites 275 11.4 Precipitation from Asteroidal Brines 275 11.5 Shock Metamorphism 276 11.5.1 Ordinary Chondrites 276 11.5.2 R Chondrites 282 11.5.3 Carbonaceous Chondrites 282 11.5.4 Enstatite Chondrites 285 11.5.5 Howardites, Eucrites, and Diogenites 289 11.5.6 Ureilites 290 11.5.7 Acapulcoites and Lodranites 291 11.5.8 Aubrites 292 11.5.9 Mesosiderites 292 11.5.10 Iron Meteorites 293 11.5.11 Lunar Meteorites 297 11.5.12 Martian Meteorites 297 11.5.13 Earth 300 11.6 Space Weathering 301

Contents xi

11.7 Condensation Within Impact Plumes 302 11.8 Crystallization from Melts in Differentiated or Partially Differentiated Bodies 303 11.8.1 Eucrites 304 11.8.2 Diogenites 304 11.8.3 Howardites 305 11.8.4 Angrites 305 11.8.5 Aubrites 306 11.8.6 Magmatic Iron Meteorites 306 11.8.7 Mesosiderites 307 11.8.8 Pallasites 307 11.8.9 Lunar Meteorites 308 11.8.10 Martian Meteorites 308 11.8.11 Acapulcoites and Lodranites 309 11.8.12 Ureilites 309 11.8.13 Brachinites 310 11.9 Condensation from Late-Stage Vapors in Differentiated Bodies 310 11.10 Exsolution, Inversion, and Subsolidus Redox Effects Within Cooling Igneous Materials 311 11.11 Solar Heating Near Perihelion 315

12 Formation of Meteoritic Minerals in the Terrestrial Environment 317 12.1 Atmospheric Passage 317 12.2 Terrestrial Weathering 318 13 The Strange Case of the Aluminum-Copper Alloys 325

Summary: The Formation of Meteoritic Minerals 328

Epilogue 330

References 331 Index 379 The plate section can be found between pages 210 and 211

Preface

The broad field of mineralogy covers the physical and geochemical characteristics of minerals, mineraloids, and amorphous phases within rocks. The rocks themselves may herald from Earth, the Moon, other planets and satellites, asteroids, and comets. Mineralogical inferences can extend to the realm of exoplanets. Most mineralogical studies are conducted on samples in the lab; in recent years, advanced electron-beam and synchrotron techniques have facilitated the discovery of dozens of new minerals from the microscale to the nanoscale. Important mineralogical information can also be gleaned from telescopic observations, unmanned spacecraft. and thermodynamic calculations. The related field of astromineralogy commonly focuses on astronomical observations of dust in circumstellar disks. Extraterrestrial field mineralogy was initiated in 1967 by the unmanned lunar lander Surveyor 5. The spacecraft housed an alpha-scattering surface analyzer and determined the local lunar soil to be basaltic; its basic mineralogy could be inferred. In 1972, Apollo 17 geologist Harrison Schmitt visited the Taurus-Littrow Valley at the edge of Mare Serenitatis. He found the observational environment “superb” and had “little difficulty in distinguishing mineralogical and textural differences” among the clean, unaltered rocks at his feet. Since the mid-1960s, robotic vehicles have managed to land on, collide with, crawl along, bounce off, or jab the surfaces of three planets (Venus, Earth, and Mars), two moons (the Earth’s Moon and Saturn’s Titan), two comets (67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and 9P/Tempel), and four asteroids (433 Eros, 25143 Itokawa, 162173 Ryugu, and 101955 Bennu). Samples collected from the coma of Comet 81P/Wild and from the surface of asteroid Itokawa have been brought to Earth. More missions are in the works. There are many excellent books on terrestrial mineralogy and planetary astronomy but most devote scant attention to meteorites. Books focused on meteorites discuss their mineralogical components but commonly concentrate on whole-rock petrological and geochemical characteristics. Much of the information about meteorite mineralogy can be found only in the primary scientific literature. This book is focused on the mineralogical properties of meteorites and their petrologic components. It is not simply analogous to stamp collecting or the recitation of many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse. The book explains how to recognize different phases in the microscope and in backscattered electron images. It summarizes the major ways in which meteoritic minerals form: from condensation in the expanding atmospheres of dying stars to crystallization in deep-seated magmas, from flash melting in the solar nebula to weathering in

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the terrestrial environment. It discusses what is known about the mineralogical properties of celestial bodies visited by spacecraft. Some of these bodies contain minerals that do not occur naturally on Earth or in meteorites. We acknowledge with deep gratitude the help we received from many colleagues who answered our questions, provided data and samples, and offered potential illustrations. We also received numerous helpful comments on the entire manuscript from Bob Hazen, Mike Zolensky, and Ed Scott. The book is a better product because of their assistance.