On the Behavior of Phosphorus During the Aqueous Alteration of CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrites

During the earliest period of solar system formation, water played an important role in the evolution of primitive dust, both after accretion of planetesimals and possible before accretion within the protoplanetary disk. Many chondrites show evidence of variable degrees of aqueous alteration, the CM2 chondrites being among the most studied [1]. This group of chondrites is characterized by mineral assemblages of both primary and secondary alteration phases. Hence, these meteorites retain a particularly important record of the reactions that occurred between primary high temperature nebular phases and water. Studies of these chondrites can provide information on the conditions and environments of aqueous alteration and the mobility of elements during alteration. This latter question is at the core of a debate concerning the location of aqueous alteration, i.e. whether alteration occurred predominantly within a closed system after accretion (parent body alteration) or whether some degree of alteration occurred within the solar nebula or on ephemeral protoplanetary bodies prior to accretion. At the core of the parent body alteration model is the hypothesis that elemental exchange between different components, principally chondrules and matrix, must have occurred. chondrules and matrix, must have occurred. In this study, we focus on the behavior of the minor element, phosphorus. This study was stimulated by observations of the behavior of P during the earliest stages of alteration in glassy mesostasis in type II chondrules in CR chondrites and extends the preliminary observations of on Y791198 to other CM chondrites.