Phosphate-Silicate Inclusions in Chaunskij: How Diverse are They?

Details Phosphate-Silicate Inclusions in Chaunskij: How Diverse are They? Phosphate-Silicate Inclusions in Chaunskij: How Diverse are They?

Jul 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993metic..28..418p&link_type=abstract

Meteoritics, vol. 28, no. 3, volume 28, page 418

Computer Science

Chaunskij, Mesosiderites, Metamorphism, Meteorities, Anomalous, Petrology, Phosphate-Silicate Inclusions

Scientific paper

The Chaunskij meteorite was found in 1985 and was recently classified as the most highly metamorphosed, shock-modified, and metal-rich mesosiderite [1]. It contains ~10 vol% mono- and polymineralic troilite-phosphate-silicate inclusions, micrometers to centimeters in size. Metal in Chaunskij displays a mesosiderite structure and is described in some detail in an accompanying paper [2]. Here we present new data on polymineralic inclusions that shed additional light on their origin. Two dominant silicate lithologies have been found in the inclusions. One, making up the largest inclusion (2.2 x 1.7 cm), consists of a fine-grained (20-30 micrometers) aggregate of anhedral pyroxene, subhedral plagioclase laths, and silica, with larger poikilitic grains of the first two minerals. Whitlockite is minor. Textures vary from microophitic to xenoblastic. This lithology, called "igneous," also contains rare primary clasts enriched in pyroxene, whose boundaries are almost unresolvable from the ground mass in transmitted light. The second, "metamorphic" lithology occurs as separate small inclusions and as larger areas in intimate contact with the "igneous" lithology in the largest inclusion. This lithology is a fine-grained (typically 30-50 micrometers) xenoblastic intergrowth of low-Ca pyroxene, whitlockite, and cordierite, with rare larger porphyritic grains of the first two minerals. Porphyritic pyroxene grain edges are generally irregular, indicative of reaction with the ground mass. Plagioclase is present only as a rare accessory mineral. Minor minerals in both lithologies are silica, kamacite, taenite, troilite, chromite, ilmenite, and rutile. Rare grains of pyrophanite, zircon, alabandite, stanfieldite, and a graftonite-farringtonite mineral are also present in the inclusions. Mineral compositions of small inclusions are more diverse than those characteristic of the "igneous" and "metamorphic" lithologies. Many of them consist of cordierite, pyroxene, and whitlockite intergrowths, with or without silica and opaque minerals. However, some inclusions do not match the mineralogies of "igneous" or "metamorphic" lithologies. They consist of cordierite only (inclusion #1-10); cordierite and silica (#1-18); silica, whitlockite, and troilite with minor Al-rich chromite and rare pyroxene (#4- 5A); plagioclase and whitlockite (#4-5D); and silica and whitlockite (#4-6E). Mineral compositions vary considerably both between and within all inclusions. No systematic differences between separate inclusions were found. Compositions of pyroxene and plagioclase match those of mesosideritic minerals. The chromite and ilmenite display systematic variations in MgO, MnO, Al(sub)2O(sub)3 and V(sub)2O(sub)3 contents, suggestive of a precursor material consisting of a series of basaltic rocks. The bulk chemical composition of the largest silicate inclusion, recalculated to the silicate fraction only, is very close to that of eucrites and mesosiderites except for a large enrichment in P and volatile chalcophiles. Major-element and REE chemistry and bulk mineralogy point to cumulate eucrites as the precursor of the silicate inclusions. This precursor was apparently slightly fractionated during the remelting event inferred by the structure of the "igneous" lithology. The "metamorphic" lithology apparently was formed due to reaction between silicates and phosphorus dissolved in the metal: Px + An + P + O --> Cord + Q + Whit. This reaction took place under ~700 degrees C and ~4 kbar [3] in the interior of the Chaunskij parent body. Compositions and textures of small inclusions suggest that the metamorphic reaction took place before the incorporation of the inclusions into the piece of metal making up the Chaunskij main mass. References: [1] Petaev M. I. et al. (1993) LPS XXIV, 1131-1132. [2] Clarke R. S. Jr. et al., this volume. [3] Petaev M. I. et al. (1992) Meteoritics, 27, 276-277.

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