Trace Element Characteristics of the New Shergottite LEW88516

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LEW88516, a meteorite collected in Antarctica, has recently been identified as a shergottite (Mason and Satterwhite, 1991). The shergottites belong to a group of unique achondritic meteorites, the SNCs, for which Mars has been suggested as the parent body. From preliminary petrologic and geochemical studies, it appears that LEW88516 is closely related to the shergottite ALHA77005. Like ALHA77005, LEW88516 is composed of two distinct lithologies; one consists of large (mm-sized) pyroxenes poikilitically enclosing olivine crystals, and the other is represented by interstitial areas that contain small pyroxenes, olivine, maskelynite, whitlockite, and opaques (Lindstrom et al., 1992). Besides mineralogy and texture, whole rock chemical characteristics of these two shergottites also appear to be strikingly similar (Lindstrom et al., 1992; Boynton et al., 1992). We measured REE and other selected trace elements in individual mineral phases present in LEW88516, and compared the results with similar data obtained for ALHA77005 by Lundberg et al. (1990). Analyses were made on a thin section of LEW88516 with an ion microprobe; trace elements concentrations were measured in poikilitic and interstitial pyroxenes (augites and pigeonites), maskelynite, whitlockite, and glass. The total REE inventory of LEW88516 is dominated by whitlockite, although this mineral, as in ALHA77005, is present in only small modal abundance. Maskelynite in LEW88516 is characterized by a positive Eu anomaly that is approximately twice as large as that present in the maskelynite in ALHA77005, although the rest of the REE are present in lower abundances. The homogeneous, crystallite-free glass in LEW88516 is slightly enriched relative to LEW88516 bulk rock REE abundances, and has a REE pattern that is parallel to the ALHA77005 whole rock REE pattern. Pyroxenes in LEW88516 are zoned in their trace element concentrations, as are the pyroxenes in ALHA77005. Elemental abundances (e.g., REE, Y, Ti, Zr, Cr, V) for the two meteorites follow the same trends. The compositional range of the pyroxenes in LEW88516, however, appears to be smaller than that for pyroxenes in ALHA77005. The data confirm that indeed LEW88516 and ALHA77005 are petrogenetically related. As discussed in Lundberg et al. (1990) for ALHA77005, the intercumulus melt in LEW88516, once trapped in the cumulus pile, crystallized as a closed system. The question as to whether the two meteorites are paired or not cannot be resolved until the terrestrial and cosmic ray exposure ages of LEW88516 are determined. The differences in the trace element compositional ranges of the pyroxenes, as well as in the REE abundances in the other minerals (particularly maskelynite) in LEW88516 and ALHA77005 could simply be an artifact of sampling during analysis (particularly in the case of the pyroxenes) and/or heterogeneity within a sample, and therefore do not preclude that the two meteorites are paired. On the other hand, it is possible that the two meteorites represent distinct falls. In either case, it is evident that they were generated by the same/similar igneous processes on their parent body. References: Boynton W.V., Hill D.H., and Kring D.A. (1992) Lunar Planet. Sci. (abstract) 23, 147-148. Lindstrom M.M., Mittlefehldt D.W., Treiman A.H., Wentworth S.J., Gooding J.L., Monis R.V., Keller L.P., and McKay G. (1992) Lunar Planet. Sci. (abstract) 23, 783-784. Lundberg L.L., Crozaz G., and McSween H.Y., Jr. (1990) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 54, 2535-2547. Mason B. and Satterwhite C. (1991) Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter 14:2, 19.

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