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The parent magma of the nakhlite meteorites - Clues from melt inclusionsSeveral forms of trapped liquid found within nakhlite meteorites have been examined, including interstitial melt and magmatic inclusions within the cores of large olivine grains. Differences in the mineralogy and texture between two types of trapped melt inclusions, and between these inclusions and the mesostasis, indicate that vitrophyric inclusions are most appropriate for estimating the composition of a nakhlite parental magma in equilibrium with early-forming olivine and augite. Parent liquids were calculated from the mineralogy of large inclusions in Nakhla and Governador Valadares, using a system of mass-balance equations solved by linear regression methods. The chosen parental liquids were cosaturated in olivine and augite and had Mg/Fe values consistent with measured augite/liquid Kds. These parental magma compositions are similar to other published compositions for Nakhla, Chassigny, and Shergotty parental melts, and may correspond to a significant magma type on Mars.
Document ID
19920069965
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Harvey, Ralph P.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Mcsween, Harry Y., Jr.
(Tennessee, University Knoxville, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume: 111
Issue: 4-Feb
ISSN: 0012-821X
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
92A52589
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG9-58
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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