Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992metic..27r.274p&link_type=abstract
Meteoritics, vol. 27, no. 3, volume 27, page 274
Physics
2
Scientific paper
Two methods were used to search for C-rich phases in micrometeorites collected at Cap-Prudhomme, Antarctica: (i) In the first method ~200-micrometer-sized grains were fragmented into three pieces. The largest one was polished and analyzed with classical techniques of mineralogy for micrometeorite classification. The second one was crushed into micrometer-sized grains onto a gold electron microscope grid held between two glass plates; they were observed at ONERA with a 400-kV Jeol 4000-FX transmission analytical electron microscope equipped with both a Kevex EDX system with a thin boron window, and a Gata electron energy loss spectrometer (EELS). It was shown four years ago (Maurette et al, 1989) that this procedure greatly reduces residual C contamination on the grains and allows measurements of their C/O ratios on a scale of ~1000 angstroms; (ii) In the second method polished sections of 50-100-micrometer-sized micrometeorites were run in Vienna with a Jeol 6400 SEM equipped with an EDX system similar to that of the 400-kV microscope. The first method was applied to ~200-micrometer-sized micrometeorites that had been heated more upon atmospheric entry than the 50-100-micrometer-sized grains analyzed with the second method. Our preliminary results are: (i) Comparisons with carbonaceous chondrites indicate that ~50% of the fine grained micrometeorites contain higher C/O ratios than Murchinson (CI chondrites should be run soon) (ii) Carbon appears as C-rich "hot" spots, where the C/O ratios occasionally reach unity (never observed yet in meteorites) that are superimposed on a rather homogeneous low-C matrix; (iii) On a scale of 10^-4 micrometer^3 comparisons between EDX and EELS spectra already show a variety of C-rich mineral phases, the dominant one being associated with some Mg-rich silicate; (iv) Some of the most C-rich micrometeorites belong to a family of light-colored particles that was overlooked in our previous studies, and that includes several new varieties of extraterrestrial "rocks." These "light" micrometeorites represent about 20% of the Cap-Prudhomme micrometeorite collection that is still dominated by "dark" particles. The second method (SEM+EDX) is only useful to spot the most C-rich and nonporous phases, which should be subsequently picked up for HVEM analyses. There appears to be present an odd "COPS" phase in about 20% of the ~50 fine-grained micrometeorites in which it was specifically searched for. This phase is typically partially filling up cavities and/or voids in a given particle. It is quite enriched in O, C, S, P, Si, and Fe and also contains measurable but variable amounts of minor elements including Ni, Cl, Ca, Cr, Na, and Zn. Scoria type vesicular micrometeorites, that have been partially melted, frequently contain this phase. If the COPS phase has indeed an extraterrestrial origin, it might have contributed to the formation of the characteristic vesicular texture of the scoria type particles, thus delineating a subset of "COPS"-rich micrometeoroids in the interplanetary medium. Carbon-rich micrometeorites might have individually functioned as microscopic "chondritic chemical reactor" for the synthesis of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth through the catalyzed hydrolysis of their C-rich components (Maurette et al., 1991). The COPS phase just reported in this paper might have contributed to the making of complex molecules. Acknowledgements. We thank A. Brack for helpful comments. REFERENCES Maurette M., Jouret C., Bonny Ph., Bradley J.P., and Germany M.S. (1989) Lunar Planet. Sci. (abstract) 20, 638-639. Maurette M., Bonny Ph., Brack A., Jouret C., Pourchet M., and Siry P. (1991) Lectures Notes in Physics 390, 124-132.
Engrand Cécile
Kurat Gero
Maurette Michel
Perreau M.
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