Article Sidebar

Submitted
May 5, 2017
Published
Jan 1, 2017
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 620 Download : 573

Main Article Content

Abstract

Al Wusta is a desert area in the Sultanate of Oman which is famous due to the discovery of a number of Martian and Lunar meteorites since the start of the present millennium. According to the Meteoritical Bulletin database, 137 approved Martian meteorites have been found worldwide, including 17 from Oman (4 from Zufar, 13 from Al Wusta region). Interestingly 11 finds in the last 15 years have been of Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 005 and its pairings. These finds (estimated mass = 11.2 kg) are linked to 10 search expeditions carried out between November 26, 1999 and March 2, 2014 by the Swiss group from the University of Bern and several anonymous meteorite hunters. The bulk of these meteorites (~97%) is in the possession of anonymous collectors, negatively affecting Oman’s natural heritage and denying further research opportunities, given their associated scientific value. SaU 005 and its pairings belong to the shergottite group of the Shergotty-Nakhla-Chassigny (SNC) meteorites, originating from various depths within the Martian mantle. We discuss the recently published oxygen isotope data of bulk and mineral fractions of SaU 008 recovered during the very first expedition in 1999 in the context of other shergottites found in Oman. The bulk oxygen isotope data of SaU 008 and Dhofar 019, another Martian meteorite from Oman, show a narrow range in δ18O values. Their Δ17O values are remarkably close to identical and fall linearly on a Martian fractionation line above the terrestrial fractionation line (TFL) by + 0.32‰, suggesting that Mars’ mantle is homogeneous in oxygen isotopes. Petrographic and mineralogical data of SaU 005 and other pairings published in the Meteoritical Bulletin are compiled, and it is noted that all the meteorites are identical and are likely paired. The story behind these rare extra-terrestrial specimens demands a local meteorite museum and preliminary testing laboratory at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) to protect this treasure trove of Omani heritage.

 

Keywords

Mars Oxygen isotopes SNC meteorites Oman.

Article Details

References

  1. Nasir, S., Al-Rawas, A., Herd, C., Banerjee, N., Ali, A. and McCausland, P. Characterization of Oman Meteorites (SR/SCI/ETHS/12/01), Published by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Earth Sciences Research Centre and College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman, 2015.
  2. Lodders, K. Solar system abundances and condensation temperatures of the elements. The Astrophysical Journal, 2003, 591, 1220-1247.
  3. Clayton, R.N., Grossman, L. and Mayeda, T.K. A component of primitive nuclear composition in carbonaceous meteorites. Science, 1973, 182, 485-488.
  4. Matsuhisa, Y., Goldsmith, J.R. and R.N. Clayton, R.N. Mechanisms of hydrothermal crystallization of quartz at 250oC and 15kbar. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1978, 42, 173-182.
  5. Sharp Z.D. A laser-based microanalytical method for the in-situ determination of oxygen isotope ratios of silicates and oxides. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1990, 54, 1353-1357.
  6. Rumble, D. and Hoering, T. C. Analysis of oxygen and sulfur isotope ratios in oxide and sulfide minerals by spot heating with a carbon dioxide laser in a fluorine atmosphere. Accounts of Chemical Research, 1994, 27, 237-241.
  7. Valley, J.W., Kitchen, N., Kohn, M.J., Niendorf, C.R. and Spicuzza, M.J. UWG-2, a garnet standard for oxygen isotope ratios: Strategies for high precision and accuracy with laser heating. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta , 1995, 9, 5223-5231.
  8. Jabeen, I. and Kusakabe, M. Determination of δ17O values of reference water samples VSMOW and SLAP. Chemical Geology, 1997, 142, 115-119.
  9. Spicuzza, M.J., Day, J.M.D., Taylor, L.A. and Valley, J.W. Oxygen isotope constraints on the origin and differentiation of the moon. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2007, 253, 254-265.
  10. Miller, M.F., Franchi, I.A., Sexton, A.S. and Pillinger, C.T. High precision δ17O isotope measurements of oxygen from silicates and other oxides: method and applications. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 1999, 13, 1211-1217.
  11. Rumble, D., Miller, M.F., Franchi, I.A. and Greenwood, R.C. Oxygen three-isotope fractionation lines in terrestrial silicate minerals: An inter-laboratory comparison of hydrothermal quartz and eclogitic garnet. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2007, 71, 3592-3600.
  12. Kusakabe, M. and Matsuhisa, Y. Oxygen isotopic ratios of silicate reference materials determined by direct comparison with VSMOW-oxygen. Geochemical Journal 2008, 42, 309-317.
  13. Ahn, I., Lee, J.I., Kusakabe, M. and Choi, B.G. Oxygen isotope measurements of terrestrial silicates using a CO2-laser BrF5 fluorination technique and the slope of terrestrial fractionation line. Geosciences Journal, 2012, 16, 7-16.
  14. Jabeen, I., Kusakabe, M., Nagao, K. and Nakamura, T. Oxygen isotope study of Tsukuba chondrite, Some HED meteorites and Allende Chondrules. Antarctic Meteorite Research, 1998, 11, 122-135.
  15. Franchi, I.A., Wright, I.P., Sexton, A.S. and Pillinger, C.T. The oxygen-isotopic composition of earth and Mars. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 1999, 34, 657-661.
  16. Wiechert, U.H., Halliday, A.N., Palme, H. and Rumble, D. Oxygen isotope evidence for rapid mixing of the HED meteorite parent body. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2004, 221, 373-382.
  17. Rumble, D., Zolensky, M.E., Friedrich, J.M., Jenniskens, P. and Shaddad, M.H. The oxygen isotope composition of Almahata Sitta. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2010, 45, 1765-1770.
  18. Greenwood, R.C., Franchi, I.A., Gibson, J.M. and Benedix, G.K. Oxygen isotope variation in primitive achondrites: The influence of primordial, asteroidal and terrestrial processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2012, 94, 146-163.
  19. Ali A., Jabeen I., Gregory D., Verish, R. and Banerjee, N.R. New triple oxygen isotope data of bulk and separated fractions from SNC meteorites: Evidence for mantle homogeneity of Mars. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2016, 51, 981-995.
  20. Clayton, R.N. and Mayeda, T.K. Formation of ureilites by nebular processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1988, 52, 1313-1318.
  21. Miller, M.F. Isotopic fractionation and the quantification of 17O anomalies in the oxygen three-isotope system: An appraisal and geochemical significance. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2002, 66, 1881-1889.
  22. Clayton, R.N. and Mayeda, T.K. The use of bromine pentafluoride in the extraction of oxygen from oxides and silicates for isotopic analysis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1963, 27, 43-52.
  23. Elsenheimer, D. and Valley, J.W. In situ oxygen isotope analysis of feldspar and quartz by Nd:YAG laser microprobe. Chemical Geology, 1992, 101, 21-42.
  24. Mattey, D. and Macpherson, C. High-precision oxygen isotope microanalysis of ferromagnesian minerals by laser-fluorination. Chemical Geology, 1993, 105, 305-318.
  25. Young, E.D., Coutts, D.W. and Kapitan, D. UV laser ablation and irm-GCMS microanalysis of 18O/16O and 17O/16O with application of a calcium-aluminium-rich inclusion from the Allende meteorite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1998, 62, 3161-316.
  26. Romanek, C.S., Perry, E.C., Treiman, A.H., Socki, R.A., Jones, J.H. and Gibson, E.K. Jr. Oxygen isotope record of silicate alteration in the Shergotty-Nakhla-Chassigny meteorite Lafayette. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 1998, 33, 775-784.
  27. Tada, Y., Wada, H, and Miura, H. Seasonal stable oxygen isotope cycles in an Antarctic bivalve shell (Laternula elliptica): a quantitative archive of ice melt runoff. Antarctic Science, 2006, 18, 111-115.
  28. Jull, A.J.T., Eastoe, C.J., Xue S. and Herzog G.F. Isotopic composition of carbonates in the SNC meteorite Allan Hills 84001 and Nakhla. Meteoritics, 1995, 30, 311-318.
  29. Farquhar, J., Thiemens, M.H., and Jackson, T. Atmosphere-surface interactions on mars: Δ17O measurements of carbonates from ALH 84001. Science, 1998, 280, 1580-1582.
  30. Agee, C.B., Wilson, N.V., McCubbin, F.M., Ziegler, K., Polyak, V.J., Sharp, Z.D., Asmerom, Y., Nunn, M.H., Shaheen, R., Thiemens, M.H., Steele, A., Fogel, M.L., Bowden, R., Glamoclija, M., Zhang, Z. and Elardo, S.M. Unique Meteorite from Early Amazonian Mars: Water-Rich basaltic Breccia Northwest Africa 7034. Science, 2013, 339,780-785.
  31. Shaheen, R., Niles, P.B., Chong, K., Corrigan, C.M. and Thiemens, M.H. Carbonate formation events in ALH 84001trace the evolution of the Martian atmosphere. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America doi.10.1073/pnas.1315615112, 2015.
  32. Rumble, D. and Irving, A.J. 2009. Dispersion of oxygen compositions among 42 martian meteorites determined by laser fluorination: Evidence for assimilation of (ancient) altered crust (abstract#2293). 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. CD-ROM.
  33. Taylor, L.A., Nazarov, M.A., Shearer, C.K., McSween, H.Y.Jr., Cahill, J., Neal, C.R., Iranova, M.A., Barsukova, L.D., Lentz, R.C., Clayton, R.N. and Mayeda, T.K. Martian meteorite Dhofar 019: A new shergottite. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2002, 37, 1107-1128.
  34. Russell, S.S., Zipfel, J., Grossman, J.N. and Grady, M.M. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 86, 2002 July. Meteoritics and Planetary Science (Supplement), 2002, 37, A157-A184.
  35. Weisberg, M.K., Smith, C., Benedix, G., Herd, C.D.K., Righter, K., Haack, H., Yamaguchi, A., Chennaoui Aoudjehane, H. and Grossman, J.N. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 97. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2010, 45(3), 449-493.
  36. Grossman, J.N. and Zipfel, J. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 85, 2001 September. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2001, 36, A293-A322.
  37. Russell, S.S., Zipfel, J., Folco, L., Jones, R., Grady, M.M., McCoy, T. and Grossman, J.N. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 87, 2003 July. Meteoritics and Planetary Science (Supplement), 2003, 38(7), A189-A248.
  38. Meteoritical Bulletin Database, The Meteoritical Society, International Society for Meteoritics and Planetary Science, Lunar and Planetary Institute, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php.
  39. Grossman, J.N. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 84, 2000 August. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2000, 35, A199-A225.
  40. Gnos, E., Hofmann, B., Franchi, I.A., Al-Kathiri, A., Hauser, M. and Moser, L. Say al Uhaymir 094: A new martian meteorite from the Oman desert. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2002, 37, 835-854.
  41. Shih, Y., Nyquist, L.E. and Reese, Y. Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic studies of Martian depleted shergottites SaU 094/005 (abstract#1745). 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2007. CD-ROM.
  42. Debaille, V., Brandon, A.D., Yin, Q.Z. and Jacobsen, B. Coupled 142Nd-143Nd evidence for a protracted magma ocean in Mars. Nature, 2007, 450, 525-528.
  43. Andreasen, R. and Sharma, M. Solar Nebula heterogeneity in p-process samarium and neodymium isotopes. Science, 2006, 314, 806-809.
  44. Boyet, M. and Carlson, R.W. A new geochemical model for the Earth’s mantle inferred from 146Sm-142Nd systematics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2006, 250, 254-268.
  45. Al-Kathiri, A., Hofmann, B.A., Jull, A.J.T. and Gnos, E. Weathering of meteorites from Oman: Correlation of chemical and mineralogical weathering proxies with 14C terrestrial ages and the influence of soil chemistry. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2005, 40, 1215-1239.
  46. Russell, S.S., Folco, L., Grady, M.M., Zolensky, M.E., Jones, R., Righter, K., Zipfel, J. and Grossman, J.N. The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 88, 2004 July. Meteoritics and Planetary Science (supplement), 2004, 39(8), A215-A272.
  47. Meyer, C. Martian Meteorite Compendium. 2012, https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/mmc/SaU005.pdf.