Origin of fabrics and olivine chemical variations preserved in brachinite and brachinite-like achondrite meteoritesOPEN ACCESS 

Benjamin H. Gruber, Robert W. Nicklas, James M. D. Day, Emily J. Chin, Minghua Ren, Rachel E. Bernard

MAPS, Version of Record online: 12 May 2024

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“Brachinites and brachinite-like achondrites are olivine-rich meteorites that represent materials after partial metal–silicate differentiation on multiple early Solar System bodies. Both meteorite types show macroscopic textures of olivine crystals, which make up >70 modal percent of their mineralogy. We investigated the orientations of olivine using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and elemental compositions from paired brachinite-like achondrites and one brachinite. The olivine orientations are characterized by a strong concentration of [010] axes with maxima perpendicular to the foliation/layering and a concentration of [001] axes distributed in a girdle or, in a few samples, as point maxima. Trace element abundances of the olivine in these meteorites determined using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry have uniformly low concentrations of sodium (<300 μg g−1), aluminum (<70 μg g−1), and titanium (<40 μg g−1) that are distinct from olivine in chondrites or within terrestrial lavas. Instead, brachinite and brachinite-like olivine compositions broadly overlap those of olivine from melt-depleted mantle lithologies on Earth. Evidence from olivine trace element geochemistry, in conjunction with mineral fabrics, supports that these meteorites formed as melt residues on their host planetary body(ies).”