Below is the Meteoritical Bulletin announcing the discovery of two new Mars meteorites: DAG 1037 and NWA 2046. NWA 2046 was announced previously by Anthony Irving last January. Also, not mentioned in the Bulletin is yet another Mars meteorite which was recovered by Mike Farmer in January 2004: SAU 130. SAU 130 weighs 116 grams and was found in Oman. SAU 130 is assumed paired with the other SAU Mars meteorites, which now includes eight numbered meteorites. So, taking into account pairings and prior annoucements, DAG 1037 is the only 'new' Mars meteorite in this group, and bumps up the Mars meteorite count to 31.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/snc Ron Baalke -------------------------------------------------------------- THE METEORITICAL BULLETIN Announcement 88-4, March 31, 2004 Sara Russell, Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Mike Zolensky, Assoc. Ed. for Northwest Africa ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Luigi Folco, Assoc. Ed. for Africa ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Monica Grady, Assoc. Ed. for Oman ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Rhian Jones, Assoc. Ed. for the Americas ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Kevin Righter, Assoc. Ed. for Antarctica ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Jeffrey N. Grossman, Assoc. Ed. for Web ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) This is the fourth electronic announcement of new meteorites to be published in Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 88, 2004 July. Martian meteorites: Dar al Gani 1037 Basaltic shergottite (4.0 kg, Libya) [see below] Northwest Africa 2046 Basaltic shergottite (63 g, Morocco) [see below] [snip] ================================================================ ANNOUNCEMENTS ================================================================ Dar al Gani 1037 27d20.00' N, 16d13.00' E Libya Found 1999 Martian meteorite (basaltic shergottite) Ten stones totaling 4012.43 g were found early 1999 in the sand desert of Dar al Gani. The biggest individual was a complete individual of 3090 g with perfect orientation and rather fresh appearance. Classification and mineralogy (A. Greshake and M. Kurz): an olivine-phyric shergottite with porphyritic texture; large chemically zoned olivine megacrysts are set into a fine-grained groundmass composed of pyroxene and maskelynite; minor phases include chromite, Ti-rich chromite, sulfides, phosphates, and small Fe-rich olivines; olivine megacrysts often contain melt inclusions and small chromites; pyroxenes are dominantly chemically zoned pigeonites, some contain orthopyroxene cores; olivine phenocrysts, Fa31.4-41.1, Fe/Mn Northwest Africa 2046 Algeria Purchased 2003 September Martian meteorite (basaltic shergottite) A 63g complete and partially crusted stone found near Lakhbi, Algeria was purchased from a Moroccan dealer in 2003 September by M. Farmer (Farmer). The ellipsoidal stone has an average width of 30 mm, with a 1 to 3 mm thick weathering rind; the interior is very fresh and unweathered. Classification and mineralogy (J. Wittke and T. Bunch, NAU; A. Irving and S. Kuehner, UWS): olivine-orthopyroxene-phyric basaltic rock. Subhedral to euhedral, dark brown olivine phenocrysts (up to 2.2 mm long) are strongly zoned from cores of Fa15.7 to rims of Fa47.9, and subhedral to euhedral, prismatic orthopyroxene phenocrysts (up to 2.1 mm long) have cores as magnesian as Fs17.7Wo2.5, surrounded by irregularly zoned mantles with both pigeonite and augite, and pigeonite rims as ferroan as Fs39.0Wo12.5. The groundmass consists mainly of zoned pigeonite (Fs30Wo6.5 to Fs40Wo13) intergrown with maskelynite (zoned from cores of Ab25.5Or0.1 to rims of Ab36.5Or1.1) and small grains of relatively ferroan olivine (Fa47.6-58.1). Accessory minerals include Ti- chromite (Al/(Al+Cr) = 13.8-28.3), chromite, ilmenite, Cr-ulvöspinel, pyrrhotite (commonly in parallel growth with ilmenite), merrillite, rare chlorapatite, and rare fayalite (which occurs as a reaction rim on groundmass pigeonite in contact with ilmenite or pyrrhotite). Trapped melt inclusions in olivine contain aluminous diopside, amphibole(?), pleonaste, chromite, merrillite and glass. Large, prismatic orthopyroxene phenocrysts exhibit preferred orientation; olivine phenocrysts are weakly oriented and tend to occur in clusters. Textures and mineral compositions are similar to those in olivine-orthopyroxene-phyric shergottite NWA 1195, but the olivine cores in NWA 2046 are more magnesian (Irving et al., 2004). Specimens: type specimen, 12.2 g, and one polished thin section, NAU; one polished thin section, UWS; main mass, Strope. [snip] ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
