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1

The effects of temperature on the behaviour of the Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus

100%

Janecki T., Kidawa A., Potocka M.

Polish Polar Research

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2010

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issue 3

2

Skład chondrytów zwyczajnych a potencjalne surowce pasa planetoid

84%

Łuszczek K., Przylibski T. A.

Acta Societatis Metheoriticae Polonorum

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2011

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vol. 2

92-111

EN

In this article the authors present a simple method of determining the content of selected metal raw materials (Fe, Ni, Co) on the parent bodies of ordinary chondrites. Thanks to the use of planimeter for measuring, under microscope, polished slices of meteorites, it is possible to estimate quite accurately the proportion of these metals in the parent bodies of meteorites, i.e. on asteroids. When it comes to analysing a large number of polished slices, these results will be most likely comparable to much more expensive results of chemical tests conducted on meteorites. Based on the analysis of 16 thin polished sections and polished slices of 11 ordinary chondrites, the authors found out that the highest content of Fe, Ni and Co ore minerals, reaching 10,06% of the total volume, can be found in ordinary chondrites from group H. For ordinary chondrites from groups L and LL, it makes 3,86% and 3,93% of the volume respectively. Employing the results of chemical analyses available in literature sources, the authors also estimated the size of Fe, Ni and Co resources for several selected asteroids. These bodies contain higher concentrations of iron, nickel and cobalt than terrestrial deposits (those found in the earth’s crust). The total content of Fe on parent bodies of even the most deficient in metals group LL of ordinary chondrites is about twice as high as that in the earth’s crust. Cobalt occurs on parent asteroids of ordinary chondrites in concentrations 15–24 times as high as those in the earth’s crust, and the concentrations of Ni are 100–180 times as high as those in the earth’s crust. The contents of these metals on parent asteroids of ordinary chondrites are also several times as high as those in currently extracted deposits in the earth’s crust. Taking into account the mean annual terrestrial production of these metals, the authors have estimated that a parent asteroid of ordinary chondrites with the size between 433 Eros and 6 Hebe could satisfy our need for Fe, Ni and Co for the nearest several million to dozens of billion years. Considering the fact that asteroid belt contains plenty of such objects, and as many asteroids built chiefly of Fe-Ni alloy, one should regard this section of the Solar System as a practically inexhaustible source of metal raw materials. The prospect of their exploitation is probably much nearer than we can currently imagine.

3

Chondryt Sołtmany

51%

Przylibski T. A.

Acta Societatis Metheoriticae Polonorum

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2016

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vol. 7

93-122

EN

The Sołtmany hammer meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite type L6, W0, S2. At present it is the most thoroughly and comprehensively examined Polish meteorite. A comprehensive petrological, mineralogical and geochemical analysis alongside the investigation of its physical and particularly thermophysical properties, and, most of all, analyses of cosmogenic radionuclides and noble gases isotopes content, as well as the use of a troilite thermometer has made it possible to draw interesting conclusions concerning the genesis and evolution of the parent body and the history of the parent meteoroid and, finally, the Sołtmany meteorite. The present report attempts at summing up the results of studies conducted at several European research centres in the last four years. The age of the the Sołtmany chondrite parent rock has been defined at 4.137 billion years. It was formed at a temperature of up to 440–450 K (about 170°C), probably at a depth of up to 3 to 7 km under the surface of the parent body, i.e. at a pressure of the order of 1–2.4 kbar. Such a low temperature during the accretion, diagenesis and metamorphism of the parent body may point to its complicated development, which may be in part due to collisions of partially melted planetesimals. Like with other type L ordinary chondrites, one can infer that the parent body could have been destroyed about 467 million years ago, at the time of a catastrophic collision which led to the formation of Gefion family of planetoids. Perhaps one of the bodies in this family was involved in another collision about 29.2 million years ago, which resulted in ejecting the parent meteoroid of the Sołtmany chondrite onto the Earth collision trajectory. Before entering the Earth’s atmosphere, this meteoroid had the mass of about 36 kg and the diameter of ca 13.5 cm. During its flight through the atmosphere, it rotated and somersaulted, which resulted in the formation of an uniform thin (0.5–0.7 mm) fusion crust, whose temperature reached 1000°C. In the last phase, the Sołtmany meteorite fell almost vertically and its mass was a mere 3% of the mass of the parent meteoroid – 1.066 kg. It hit the roof and then the concrete stairs of a farm building, which caused it to break into two bigger and many small pieces. It was found a few minutes after the fall, which occurred at 6:03 a.m. (CEST, UTC+2:00) on 30 April 2011, by Wydmińskie Lake in northern Poland (54°00,53’N, 22°00,30’E). The Sołtmany chondrite is one of just 14 meteorites in which the activity concentration of the cosmogenic 52Mn has been determined, and one of the few ordinary chondrites where the concentration of organic matter has been defined. As a result, it was found out that unlike in carbonaceous CI chondrites, the composition of organic particles is dominated by less complex compounds (CHO and CHOS) than CHNO and CHNOS compounds. This may indicate the decomposition of more complex organic compounds into particles with simple structures during magmatic and metamorphic processes related to formation of type L ordinary chondrites.

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The effects of temperature on the behaviour of the Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus

Skład chondrytów zwyczajnych a potencjalne surowce pasa planetoid

Chondryt Sołtmany