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First crystal-structure determination of chromites from an acapulcoite and ordinary chondrites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Davide Lenaz ,
Francesco Princivalle  and
Birger Schmitz
Davide Lenaz*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Francesco Princivalle
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Birger Schmitz
Affiliation:
Division of Nuclear Physics, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
*
*E-mail: lenaz@units.it
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Abstract

We report the first crystal-structure determinations of chromites from an acapulcoite and from ordinary chondrites. Cell edges range from 8.3212 (3) to 8.3501 (1) Å, while the oxygen positional parameters are in the range 0.2624 (3) to 0.26298 (9). Their compositions show they are very close to the chromite end-member FeCr2O4 with limited Al and Mg content. Titanium oxide content exceeds 1 wt.%, whereas the amount of Fe3+ is negligible. Extraterrestrial chromite is distinguished readily from terrestrial analogues on the basis of the cell edge and oxygen positional parameter. These distinctions will facilitate ongoing attempts to reconstruct the palaeoflux of meteorites to Earth from resistant extraterrestrial spinel grains recovered from ancient sediments.

Keywords

chromiteacapulcoiteordinary chondritesingle-crystal X-ray diffractionmeteorite flux
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 755 - 765
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2015

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