Allan Hills A77219 - The first Antarctic mesosiderite

• Main Authors: Agosto, W. N., Hewins, R. H., Clarke, R. S., Jr.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1980
• Subjects: 91; Antarctic; Allan Hills; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19820038773

The abundance of orthopyroxene, inverted pigeonite, plagioclase, tridymite, kamacite, and tetrataenite, plus the whole rock analysis, indicates that ALHA 77219 is a mesosiderite. The presence of inverted pigeonite rims on orthopyroxene clasts plus the range of Fe/Mg and Fe/Mn ratios for pyroxene and olivine are characteristic of mesosiderites. All the petrographic and chemical data are consistent with classification of ALHA 77219 as a mesosiderite and, because the matrix is fine-grained and little recrystallized, as a subgroup I mesosiderite. The Fe/Mn trends in pyroxenes of mesosiderites such as ALHA 77219 can be explained by igneous fractionation of pyroxene along with metal and subsequent subsolidus reduction in the breccia.