LAR 06319 - Olivine Shergottite
Collection:
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Fact sheet

LAR 06319 - Olivine Shergottite

This olivine-phyric shergotitte was found in 2006 near the Larkman Nunatak, Antarctica. Isotopic techniques have produced a range of ages for the sample - 179 m.y. (Lu-Hf), 190 m.y. (Sm-Nd) and 207 m.y. (Rb-Sr).

Much of the outer surface of the sample is a brown-black fusion crust with a fine-grained wrinkled texture. The interior is grey-black in colour and the matrix is both fine-grained and very hard.

The mineral assemblage consists of olivine phenocrysts set in a matrix of pyroxene (enstatite, pigeonite and augite) and plagioclase feldspar (now converted to maskelynite). Accessory constituents include apatite, merrillite, chromite, Ti-chromite, troilite, pyrrhotite and pyrite. Small melt inclusions occur in the olivine and pyroxene. Shock melt veins cut the sample.

This description is based on the work of NASA scientist Charles Meyer - compiler of The Mars Meteorite Compendium. Further details are available from the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter.

Map
-85.76666, 179.383333
Description:
Larkman Nunatak, Antarctica
Precision:
Good
About this collection

This collection of meteorites includes Shergottites, Nakhlites and Chassignites (or SNC meteorites) which originate from the surface of the planet Mars.

They carry unique signals of the surface of the planet that allows scientists to study the composition and age of Martian rocks. The collection includes a sample of the famous ALH84001 meteorite, evidence from which was used in 1996 to begin the debate of 'life on Mars?'. 

 

Sample details

Collection: Martian Meteorites
Type
meteorite
Category
shergottite achondrite
Rock-forming mineral
olivine
pyroxene
feldspar
Category guide  
Category Guide
Title
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like ‘granite’ as well as more specific names such as ‘breccia’. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Description
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Accessory minerals
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Timescale
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
Theme
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a ‘SW England granites’ theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
Category
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
Owner
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection