RELICT OLIVINES IN MICROMETEORITES: PRECURSORS AND INTERACTIONS IN THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

Antarctica micrometeorites (~1200) and cosmic spherules (~5000) from deep sea sediments are studied using electron microscopy to identify Mg-rich olivine grains in order to determine the nature of the particle precursors. Mg-rich olivine (FeO < 5wt%) in micrometeorites suffers insignificant chemical modification during its history and is a well-preserved phase. 420 forsterite grains enclosed in 162 micrometeorites of different types - unmelted, scoriaceous and porphyritic - are examined in this study. Forsterites in micrometeorites of different types are crystallized during their formation in solar nebula; their closest analogues are chondrule components of CV-type chondrites or volatile rich CM chondrites. The forsteritic olivines are suggested to have originated from a cluster of closely related carbonaceous asteroids that have Mg-rich olivines in the narrow range of CaO (0.1−0.3 wt%), Al2O3 (0.0−0.3wt%), MnO (0.0−0.3wt%) and Cr2O3 (0.1−0.7wt%). Numerical simulations carried out with the Chemical Ablation Model (CABMOD) enable us to define the physical conditions of atmospheric entry that preserve the original compositions of the Mg-rich olivines in these particles. The chemical compositions of relict olivines affirm the role of heating at peak temperatures and the cooling rates of the micrometeorites. This modelling approach provides a foundation for understanding the ablation of the particles and the circumstances in which the relict grains tend to survive.