Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Labile Trace Elements in H Chondrites: Evidence for Meteoroid Streams

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Differences have been observed between meteorite populations with vastly different terrestrial ages, i.e. Antarctic and non-Antarctic meteorite populations (Koeberl and Cassidy, 1991 and references therein). Comparisons of labile trace element contents (Wolf and Lipschutz, 1992) and induced TL parameters (Benoit and Sears, 1992) in samples from Victoria Land and Queen Maud Land, populations which also differ in mean terrestrial age (Nishiizumi et al, 1989), show significant differences consistent with different average thermal histories. These differences are consistent with the proposition that the flux of meteoritic material to Earth varied temporally. Variations in the flux of meteoritic material over time scales of 10^5 10^6 y require the existence of undispersed streams of meteoroids of asteroidal origin which were initially disputed by Wetherill ( 1986) but have since been observed (Olsson-Steele, 1988; Oberst, 1989; Halliday et al. 1990). Orbital evidence for meteoroid and asteroid streams has been independently obtained by others, particularly Halliday et al.(1990) and Drummond (1991). A group of H chondrites of various petrographic types and diverse CRE ages that yielded 16 falls from 1855 until 1895 in the month of May has been proposed to be two co-orbital meteoroid streams with a common source (R. T. Dodd, personal communication). Compositional evidence of a preterrestrial association of the proposed stream members, if it exists, might be observed in the most sensitive indicators of genetic thermal history, the labile trace elements. We report RNAA data for the concentrations of 14 trace elements, mostly labile ones, (Ag, Au, Bi, Cd, Cs, Co, Ga, In, Rb, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, and Zn) in H4-6 ordinary chondrites. Variance of elemental concentrations within a subpopulation, the members of a proposed co-orbital meteorite stream for example, could be expected to be smaller than the variance for the entire population. We utilize multivariate linear regression and logistic regression statistical techniques as tools for discriminant analysis. A randomization-simulation technique can also be used to make distribution-independent comparisons and to verify that any observed differences are not due to insufficient samples or too many independent variables (Lipschutz and Samuels, 1991). These methods allow us to test for the existence of distinct compositional subpopulations in what is supposedly a single meteorite population. At the time of writing this abstract our database consists of 55 H4-6 chondrites (Lingner et al, 1987 and this work). Nine of these meteorites are members of the proposed "cluster 1" co-orbital meteoroid stream. For these 9 samples, linear discriminant analysis based on the concentrations of 10 labile trace elements reveals a difference between the "cluster 1" subpopulation of H chondrite falls and all other H chondrite falls at the <0.03 significance level. Logistic regression reveals a difference at the <0.0001 significance level. Normalization of data to Allende standard meteorite reference standard to eliminate bias conceivably due to different analysts yields results comparable to results from the non-normalized data. Additional evidence for the absence of interanalyst bias is provided by data of samples from Victoria Land, Antarctica: random populations analyzed by the present authors (Wolf and Lipschutz, 1992) are statistically indistinguishable from populations analyzed previously (Dennison and Lipschutz, 1987). A logistic regression validation run also supports the lack of interanalyst bias. Results from linear discriminant analysis, and logistic regression randomization-simulations will be presented in Copenhagen. These results on a limited population, which may be expanded by meeting time demonstrate that the "cluster 1" subpopulation of H chondrite falls are distinguishable from all other H chondrite falls on the basis of their labile trace elements, a result that is consistent with the idea that these meteorites had a common thermal history and were associated preterrestrially in a co-orbital meteoroid stream. Research supported by NASA grant NAG 948, with aid from DOE grant DE-FG07-80ER10725J and NATO grant 0252/89. References: Benoit, P. H. and Sears, D. W. G. (1992) Lunar Planet. Sci. (abstract) 23, 85-86. Dennison, J. E. and Lipschutz, M. E. (1987) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 741-754. Drummond, J. D. (1991) Icarus 89, 14-25. Halliday, I., Blackwell, A. T., and Griffen, A. A. (1990) Meteoritics 25, 93-99. Koeberl, C. and Cassidy, W. A. (1991) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 3-18. Lingner, D. W., Huston, T. J., Hutson, M., and Lipschutz, M. E. (1987) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 51, 727-739. Lipschutz, M. E. and Samuels, S. M. (1991) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 19-34. Nishiizumi, K. Elmore, D. and Kubik, P. W. (1989) Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 93, 299-313. Oberst, J. (1989) Meteoritics 24, 23-28. Olsson-Steele, D. (1988) Icarus 75, 64-96. Wetherill, G. W. (1986) Nature 319, 357-358. Wolf, S. F. and Lipschutz, M. E. (1992) Lunar Planet. Sci. (abstract) 23, 1545-1546.

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