Natural occurrence of MgSiO3-limenite and evidence for MgSiO3- perovskite in a shocked L chondrite

Thomas Sharp, Cornelia M. Lingemann, Catherine Dupas, Dieter Stöffler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

Shock-induced melt veins in the Acfer 040 L5-6 (S6) chondrite contain a previously unknown set of high pressure phases consisting of amorphous grains similar in composition to majorite, MgSiO3-ilmenite; and ringwoodite. The amorphous grains have compositions that are similar to those of synthetic MgSiO3-perovskites from chemically complex systems and are inferred to be MgSiO3-perovskite that crystallized from the melt at high pressure and temperature and subsequently amorphized after pressure release. The ilmenite represents a natural occurrence of a potentially important mineral in Earth's mantle. The MgSiO3-perovskite-MgSiO3-ilmenite-ringwoodite assemblage is not predicted by phase equilibria studies, but appears to result from crystallization of a melt at pressures above 26 gigapascals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)352-355
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume277
Issue number5324
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 18 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Natural occurrence of MgSiO3-limenite and evidence for MgSiO3- perovskite in a shocked L chondrite'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this