Search results for "Enstatite"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Evidence for fractional condensation and reprocessing at high temperatures in CH chondrites
2003
We performed a detailed study of silica-rich components (SRC) in the paired CH chondrites Acfer 182 and 207. These SRCs appear either as chondrules or fragments, and they contribute <0.1 vol% to the bulk meteorite. They usually contain a silica and a silicate portion. Both portions are, in most cases, cryptocrystalline and have bulk SiO2-concentrations between 65 and 85 wt%. The silicate generally has a pyroxene normative composition. The silica often appears as blebs within the silicate matrix or vice versa. If there are no blebs, silica and silicate still form rounded interfaces. The SRCs are depleted in refractory elements like Ca, Al, and Ti relative to CI. A few SRC- like objects are e…
Constraints on Earth accretion deduced from noble metals in the oceanic mantle
1998
If the Earth's mantle were in equilibrium with its core, the mantle would contain three orders of magnitude less of the noble metals (platinum-group elements Pt, Os, Ir, Ru, Pd and Rh, plus Au and Re) than are observed. An explanation put forward to account for this disparity has been that the last 1% of the Earth's accretion occurred after the iron-rich core had separated from the mantle1,2. Recent debate has accordingly centred on which meteorite class or classes made up this ‘late veneer’ of accretion3. Here we present analyses of noble-metal concentrations in oceanic peridotites (plutonic rocks which are thought to represent samples of the Earth's upper mantle). We find that the average…
A computational study of point defects and diffusion in enstatite
2009
In order to contribute to the understanding of diffusion processes in enstatite (Mg2Si2O6), we have used atomistic simulation techniques to study point defects in this mineral. We present results for a variety of Scottky and Frenkel defects of all atomic species present in it. We have furthermore calculated the activation energy for magnesium diffusion. We break diffusion down into a succession of hops between neighboring sites. Each hop is associated with a migration energy barrier. By making a series of hops, the diffusing ion may cross the unit cell. The maximum migration energy necessary to attain movement in a direction is the activation energy for diffusion in that direction. The defe…
Are high-temperature fractionations in the solar nebula preserved in highly siderophile element systematics of the Earth's mantle?
2004
The relative abundances of the highly siderophile elements (HSE) Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Rh, and Pd in relatively pristine lherzolites differ from solar abundance ratios and are several orders of magnitude higher than predicted for equilibrium distribution between metal/silicate (core-mantle). The samples are characterized by a mean Ca/Al ratio of 1.18 ± 0.09 σM and a mean Ca/Si ratio of 0.10 ± 0.01 σM, overlapping with a mean Ca/Al of 1.069 ± 0.044 σM and a mean Ca/Si of 0.081 ± 0.023 σM found in chondrites (Wasson and Kallemeyn 1988). Interestingly, the CI-normalized abundance pattern shows decreasing solar system normalized abundances with increasing condensation temperatures. The abundance of …