Carbonaceous chondrites. II - Carbonaceous chondrite phyllosilicates and light element geochemistry as indicators of parent body processes and surface conditions

Petrographic analyses of CM matrices characterized four phyllosilicates in Murray and Murchison meteorites and Fe- and Mg-serpentines in Nogoya. All phyllosilicates and bulk matrices show enrichment of K relative to Na when compared with bulk meteorites; the loss of Na and some Cl, and the addition of H2O, CO2, and water-soluble organics during alteration indicates a partially open system. Synthesis of soluble organic materials may have occurred in CM matrices before aqueous alteration of the precursive phases. Nogoya was 95% altered and has a bulk C content of 5.2%, higher than any meteorite; also, it has the lowest measured C-13/C-12 ratio of any carbonaceous chondrite except for Karoonda.