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Author |
C Engrand, E Charon, H Le- Roux, M Marinova, J Duprat, E Dartois, B Guérin, J Rojas, L Delauche, M Godard, D Troadec |
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Abstract |
Introduction: Ultracarbonaceous Antarctic Micrometeorites (UCAMMs) are dominated by N-rich polyaromatic organic matter exhibiting large D enrichments [1-5]. The high abundance of organic matter exhibiting large D enrichment suggests a cometary origin for UCAMMs [1-3]. Three kinds of organic matter are identified in UCAMMs, with different nitrogen abundances and highly variable concentrations of small (typically 30-500 nanometer) mineral aggregates embedded in the organic matter [5-8]. We focus here on a mineral assemblage embedded in one UCAMM that exhibits evidence of ion irradiation, to get insight on the formation and evolution of this cometary particle. Sample and methods: A fragment of UCAMM DC06-06-43 (hereafter DC06-43) was carbon coated, observed by SEM/EDX, and a 100 nm thick FIB section of this fragment was made at IEMN Lille. The size of the initial UCAMM before fragmentation was ~ 25 x 30 µm. After STXM-XANES analysis, the mineralogy of the sample was investigated by TEM at UMET Lille using a FEI Tecnai G2 20 at 200 kV and FEI TITAN Themis at 300 kV [9]. Results : TEM examination reveals a large assemblage of crystalline minerals at the center of the DC06-43 UCAMM fragment, surrounded by organic matter (Figure 1) [9]. The assemblage consists of µm-to subµm sized Mg-rich pyroxenes, a large “triskell”-shaped Fe-sulfide, a few Mg-rich olivines, and minor Si-Al-Carich amorphous pockets and Fe-Ni metal. About 28 crystalline pyroxenes are identified whereas only 5 olivine crystals are observed in the section. GEMS are present embedded in the organic matter, close to the crystalline assemblage. We identified irradiation features (rims and tracks) in pyroxene grains. No rims or tracks were found in olivine. We observed irradiated rims around six pyroxenes at the top of the section (Figure 1, light blue labels). One pyroxene shows a continuous irradiated rim (Figure 2 top). Rim thicknesses range from 20 to 100 nm, with an average of 60 ± 20 nm (1σ) (Figure 2 bottom). Fe-rich deposits are occasionally found on top of irradiated rims. EDX mappings and profiles show that the rims are strongly depleted in Mg (Figure 3). The average track density in pyroxene grains measured over an area of 4.5 x 10-8 cm 2 is 1.3 x 10 10 cm-2 with one value at 3.8 x 10 9 cm-2 , the other values ranging from 9.5 x 10 9 to 3.2 x 10 10 cm-2 (Figure 4). Irradiation track lengths |
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