Hello
In my research with meteorites, I use microscopy techniques to constrain the behavior of potassium and argon in impacted or "shocked" ordinary chondrites. These meteorites are special and record the impact history of our solar system, which can inform our models of solar system dynamics through time and provide insight into the earliest body-formation processes billions of years ago. In this work I regularly use 40Ar/39Ar isotopic dating, electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and detailed petrography to study highly altered minerals (the real time keepers!) in shocked meteorites.
Meteorites : The Time Keepers of our Solar System
Mbale is an L5/6 ordinary chondrite that was found as a fall in Uganda in 1992. Mbale is a remnant part of the L-chondrite asteroid parent body that was broken up upon impact about 470 million years ago. The sample of Mbale that I study has large preserved melt veins that were formed and preserved during the impact that caused the asteroid breakup. Here is an image of a region of my Mbale sample taken in an electron microprobe using backscattered electron imaging.
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Patuxent Range 91505 (PAT 91501) is an L7 ordinary chondrite that was found in Antarctica in 1992 by the US Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET). PAT 91501 is also a remnant part of the L-chondrite asteroid parent body that was broken up upon impact about 470 million years ago, just like Mbale. The sample of PAT 91501 that I study has been completely annealed (recrystallized slowly) during the impact that caused the asteroid breakup. Here is an image of a region of my Mbale sample taken in an electron microprobe using backscattered electron imaging.
Yamato 75100 is and H6 ordinary chondrite found in Antarctica in 1975 by Japanese National Institute of Polar Research. Yamato 75100 is a highly shocked (S6) chondrite from the H-chondrite asteroid parent body. My sample, pictured here in a reflected light image from a petrographic microscope, has a large quantitiy of metal and sulfide grains. This sample also has a large melt vein, like my sample of Mbale, that was melted and preserved during the impact event early in the history of the H-chondrite asteroid parent body. This sample experienced an impact event more than 4 billion years ago!
Queen Alexandra Range 97017 (QUE 97017) is and LL5 ordinary chondrite found in Antarctica in 1997 by the US Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET). QUE 97017 is a shocked chondrite from the LL-chondrite asteroid parent body. My sample, pictured here in a plane-polarized light image from a petrographic microscope, has large remnant clasts and melt pocket regions, .
