Magombedze - A new H-chondrite with light-dark structure

Abstract

Magombedze is a light-dark structured H-chondrite breccia that fell in Zimbabwe on July 2, 1990 at 15:30 GMT. White clasts are moderately shocked and have equilibrated mafic silicates (pyroxene Fs(16-18), olivine Fa(18-19)) together with clear optically-recognizable plagioclase of variable composition (An(9-13) found); chondrules are distinct but contain no trace of preserved glass. The darker surrounding material contains a higher proportion of fine-grained metal and sulfide than the white clasts, and many of its constituent grains show little evidence of shock. Mafic silicates in the dark lithology are distinctly less-equilibrated (pyroxene Fs(5-21), olivine Fa(11-20)) than those in the white clasts, and many chondrules preserve brown devitrified glass; some metamorphic plagioclase of variable composition (An(11-22) found) is present. Some monoclinic pyroxene occurs in both fractions, but it is relatively common in the dark fraction. The white clasts are classified as H5, and the enclosing dark material is H3-5.