LPI Contributions
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To document the activities of the visiting and staff scientists and other work supported by the Lunar and Planetary Institute, this formal series, called Lunar and Planetary Institute Contributions, was initiated in September 1969 while the Institute was under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences. The Lunar and Planetary Institute Contribution series continues today, documenting the scientific research, meeting-related publications, educational materials, outreach products, and other activities of the Institute.
ISSN 1540-9120
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ItemPapers Presented at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Summer Intern Conference: August 9, 2023(Lunar and Planetary Institute, 2023)Papers Presented at the 2023 Summer Intern Program for Undergraduates at the Lunar and Planetary Institute
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ItemPapers Presented at the Thirty-Seventh Annual Summer Intern Conference: August 10, 2022(Lunar and Planetary Institute, 2022)Papers Presented at the 2022 Summer Intern Program for Undergraduates held at the Lunar and Planetary Institute
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ItemSignificance of Secondary Fe-Oxide and Fe-Sulfide Minerals in Upper Peak Ring Suevite from the Chicxulub Impact Structure(MDPI, 2023-03-02)The suevite (polymict melt rock-bearing breccia) composing the upper peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater is extremely heterogeneous, containing a combination of relict clasts and secondary minerals. Using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), we investigated the nature and occurrence of primary and secondary Fe-oxide and Fe-sulfide minerals to better understand hydrothermal trends such as mineral precipitation and dissolution, and to document the remobilization of Fe and associated siderophile elements within suevites. Large primary Fe-oxides (~20–100 µm) reveal decomposition and dissolution patterns, forming sub-micrometer to micrometer Fe-oxide phases. Secondary sub-micrometer Fe-oxide crystals are also visibly concentrated within clay. The occurrence of Fe-oxide crystals within clay suggests that these likely formed at temperatures ≤100 °C, near the formation temperature of smectite. The formation of Fe-oxide minerals on clay surfaces is of interest as it may form a micro-setting, where free electrons (from the oxidation of Fe2+) and the adsorption of simple organic molecules on the surface of clay could generate reactive conditions favorable to microbial communities. Primary and secondary Fe-sulfide minerals exhibiting a variety of morphologies are present within samples, representing different formation mechanisms. Secondary Fe-sulfide minerals occur within rims of clasts and vesicles and in fractures and voids. Some secondary Fe-sulfide grains are associated with Ni- and Co-rich phases, potentially reflecting the post-impact migration of siderophile elements within the suevite of the Chicxulub crater.
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ItemParent body histories recorded in Rumuruti chondrite sulfides: Implications for the onset of oxidized, sulfur-rich core formation(Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2023-02-27)Models of planetary core formation beginning with melting of Fe,Ni metal and troilite are not readily applicable to oxidized and sulfur-rich chondrites containing only trace quantities of metal. Cores formed in these bodies must be dominated by sulfides. Siderophile trace elements used to model metallic core formation could be used to model oxidized, sulfide-dominated core formation and identify related meteorites if their trace element systematics can be quantified. Insufficient information exists regarding the behavior of these core-forming elements among sulfides during metamorphism prior to anatexis. Major, minor, and trace element concentrations of sulfides are reported in this study for petrologic type 3–6 R chondrite materials. Sulfide-dominated core-forming components in such oxidized chondrites (ƒO2 ≥ iron-wüstite) follow metamorphic evolutionary pathways that are distinct from reduced, metal-bearing counterparts. Most siderophile trace elements partition into pentlandite at approximately 10× chondritic abundances, but Pt, W, Mo, Ga, and Ge are depleted by 1–2 orders of magnitude relative to siderophile elements with similar volatilities. The distribution of siderophile elements is further altered during hydrothermal alteration as pyrrhotite oxidizes to form magnetite. Oxidized, sulfide-dominated core formation differs from metallic core formation models both physically and geochemically. Incongruent melting of pentlandite at 865°C generates melts capable of migrating along solid silicate grains, which can segregate to form a Ni,S-rich core at lower temperatures compared to reduced differentiated parent bodies and with distinct siderophile interelement proportions.
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Item40Ar/39Ar ages of L4, H5, EL6, and feldspathic ureilitic clasts from the Almahata Sitta polymict ureilite (asteroid 2008 TC3)(Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2023-02-22)The Almahata Sitta (AhS) meteorite consists of disaggregated clasts from the impact of the polymict asteroid 2008 TC3, including ureilitic (70%–80%) and diverse non-ureilitic materials. We determined the 40Ar/39Ar release patterns for 16 AhS samples (3–1500 μg) taken from three chondritic clasts, AhS 100 (L4), AhS 25 (H5), and MS-D (EL6), as well as a clast of ureilitic trachyandesite MS-MU-011, also known as ALM-A, which is probably a sample of the crust of the ureilite parent body (UPB). Based on our analyses, best estimates of the 40Ar/39Ar ages (Ma) of the chondritic clasts are 4535 ± 10 (L4), 4537–4555 with a younger age preferred (H5), and 4513 ± 17 (EL6). The ages for the L4 and the H5 clasts are older than the most published 40Ar/39Ar ages for L4 and H5 meteorites, respectively. The age for the EL6 clast is typical of older EL6 chondrites. These ages indicate times of argon closure ranging up to 50 Ma after the main constituents of the host breccia, that is, the ureilitic components of AhS, reached the >800°C blocking temperatures of pyroxene and olivine thermometers. We suggest that these ages record the times at which the clasts cooled to the Ar closure temperatures on their respective parent bodies. This interpretation is consistent with the recent proposal that the majority of xenolithic materials in polymict ureilites were implanted into regolith 40–60 Ma after calcium–aluminum-rich inclusion and is consistent with the interpretation that 2008 TC3 was a polymict ureilite. With allowance for its 10-Ma uncertainty, the 4549-Ma 40Ar/39Ar age of ALM-A is consistent with closure within a few Ma of the time recorded by its Pb/Pb age either on the UPB or as part of a rapidly cooling fragment. Plots of age versus cumulative 39Ar release for 10 of 15 samples with ≥5 heating steps indicate minor losses of 40Ar over the last 4.5 Ga. The other five such samples lost some 40Ar at estimated times no earlier than 3800–4500 Ma bp. Clustering of ages in the low-temperature data for these five samples suggests that an impact caused localized heating of the AhS progenitor ~2.7 Ga ago. In agreement with the published work, 10 estimates of cosmic-ray exposure ages based on 38Ar concentrations average 17 ± 5 Ma but may include some early irradiation.