Terrestrial exposure of a fresh Martian meteorite causes rapid changes in hydrogen isotopes and water concentrations

Determining the hydrogen isotopic compositions and H2O contents of meteorites and their components is important for addressing key cosmochemical questions about the abundance and source(s) of water in planetary bodies. However, deconvolving the effects of terrestrial contamination from the indigenous hydrogen isotopic compositions of these extraterrestrial materials is not trivial, because chondrites and some achondrites show only small deviations from terrestrial values such that even minor contamination can mask the indigenous values. Here we assess the effects of terrestrial weathering and contamination on the hydrogen isotope ratios and H2O contents of meteoritic minerals through monitored terrestrial weathering of Tissint, a recent Martian fall. Our findings reveal the rapidity with which this weathering affects nominally anhydrous phases in extraterrestrial materials, which illustrates the necessity of sampling the interiors of even relatively fresh meteorite falls and underlines the importance of sample return missions

Phosphorus zoning as a recorder of crystal growth kinetics: application to second generation olivine in mantle xenoliths from the Cima Volcanic Field

Composite mantle xenoliths from the Cima Volcanic Field (CA, USA) contain glassy veins that cross-cut lithologic layering and preserve evidence of lithospheric melt infiltration events. Compositions and textures of minerals and glasses from these veins have the potential to place constraints on the rates and extents of reaction during infiltration. We studied glass-bearing regions of two previously undescribed composite xenoliths, including optical petrography and chemical analysis for major and trace elements by electron probe microanalysis and laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The petrogenetic history of each vein involves melt intrusion, cooling accompanied by both wall-rock reaction and crystallization, quench of melt to a glass, and possibly later modifications. Exotic secondary olivine crystals in the veins display concentric phosphorus (P)-rich zoning, P-rich glass inclusions, and zoning of rapidly diffusing elements (e.g., Li) that we interpret as records of rapid disequilibrium events and cooling rates on the order of 10 °C/h. Nevertheless, thermodynamic modeling of the diversity of glass compositions recorded in one of the samples demonstrates extensive reaction with Mg-rich olivine from the matrix before final quench. Our results serve as a case study of methods for interpreting the rates and processes of lithospheric melt-rock reactions in many continental and oceanic environments