Aqueous alteration in carbonaceous chondrites - Mass balance constraints on matrix mineralogy

• Main Author: Mcsween, Harry Y., Jr.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1987
• Subjects: 91; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19880028210

Bulk chemical compositions of matrix material were determined in eleven Antarctic CM chondrites and five non-Antarctic CM and CI chondrites, using microprobe defocused-beam technique. The results, along with previously published data, are used to provide mass balance constraints on the relative proportions of intergrown and intermixed phyllosilicate phases in carbonaceous chondrite matrices. In terms of Fe, Si, and Mg, the CM matrix bulk compositions plot within a triangle defined by the compositions of PCP (a mixture of 25 percent tochilinite and 75 percent cronstedtite), Mg-rich serpentine, and Fe-rich serpentine. Results indicate differing amounts of PCP and serpentines in individual CM matrices. The discrepancies found between predicted and measured S and Ni values require additional sulfide phases. CI matrices were found to contain little, if any, PCP; they consist mostly of serpentine and montmorillonite.