--> Abstract: Melting from Asteroids in the Early Solar System: A Look from Primitive Achondrite Meteorites, by Kathryn Gardner-Vandy, Dante Lauretta, Yulia Goreva, Dolores Hill, and Marvin Killgore; #90078 (2008)

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Melting from Asteroids in the Early Solar System: A Look from Primitive Achondrite Meteorites

Kathryn Gardner-Vandy1, Dante Lauretta1, Yulia Goreva1, Dolores Hill1, and Marvin Killgore2
1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
2Southwest Meteorite Center, Tucson, AZ

While most samples in the meteorite collection today are either primitive material (chondrites) or from fully differentiated bodies (achondrites), a small group of meteorites contains evidence of incipient melting on asteroids (primitive achondrites). To date, several research groups have studied the melting of FeO-poor parent bodies and the subsequent connection to FeO-poor primitive achondrites, yet no one has studied this relationship for FeO-rich parent bodies and primitive achondrites. In order to reconcile this gap and better understand the very first steps of planetary differentiation, we investigate the FeO-rich primitive achondrite meteorites, studied via electron microprobe analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The petrology and bulk composition of several meteorites will be discussed, and this information will be used in thermodynamic modeling of the mineral assemblages in the meteorites to determine oxidation conditions during their formation. Partial melting experiments of R and CK chondrites are performed to make a comparison between these meteorites and potential chondritic precursors. This research will not only better characterize the processes that occurred in the early solar system on asteroids and even bodies like Mars but will also allow for the better understanding of the current state of asteroids in the Asteroid Belt and the type of material present on their surfaces.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas