Northwest Africa 7034

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Northwest Africa 7034
MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main black beauty full.jpg
Northwest Africa 7034, nicknamed "Black Beauty"
Type Achondrite
Clan Martian meteorite
Grouplet Martian (basaltic breccia) [1]
Composition Plagioclase and pyroxene phenocrysts in a fine groundmass. [2]
Weathering grade Minimal [1]
Country Western Sahara, Morocco
Coordinates 24°5.311′N14°46.671′W / 24.088517°N 14.777850°W / 24.088517; -14.777850 [3]
(purchased from dealer) [1]
Observed fall No
Found date2011
TKW 320 grams (11 oz) [1]

Northwest Africa 7034 is a Martian meteorite believed to be the second oldest yet discovered. [4] It is estimated to be two billion years old and contains the most water of any Martian meteorite found on Earth. [5] Although it is from Mars it does not fit into any of the three SNC meteorite categories, and forms a new Martian meteorite group named "Martian (basaltic breccia)". [1] Nicknamed "Black Beauty", it was purchased in Morocco and a slice of it was donated to the University of New Mexico by its American owner. [1] The image (shown on the right) of the original NWA 7034 was photographed in 2012 by Carl Agee, University of New Mexico.

Contents

Discovery and naming

The meteorite was found by nomads in Rabt Sbayta, Ghredad Sabti region, Western Sahara, [3] in the Sahara Desert in 2011, [6] and was purchased in Morocco by a meteorite dealer who sold it to a collector in the United States, [1] as Morocco does not have meteorite export control laws. Like all meteorites that are found in large numbers or sold at markets the name stands for the geographic region (Northwest Africa) and a number, which is given out consecutively. [7] NWA 7034 carries the nickname "Black Beauty". [4] [8]

Description

NWA 7034 was originally described as a volcanic breccia that has a porphyritic appearance, consisting of plagioclase (andesine) and pyroxene (pigeonite and augite) phenocrysts that are up to 5 mm in diameter set in a fine grained groundmass. Accessory minerals include chlorapatite, chromite, goethite, ilmenite, magnetite, maghemite, alkali feldspar and pyrite. [5] There are even some clasts present that are made of quenched magma. The groundmass is made from fine grained plagioclase, pyroxene, different oxide minerals, and traces of iron sulfides. [1] The whole rock chemistry revealed that NWA 7034 has the highest water content ever measured in a Martian meteorite. [6] The water might be derived from oceans that used to exist on Mars, but were still present when the volcanic rock, that would eventually become the meteorite, was erupted. [9]

The meteorite contains components as old as 4.42 ± 0.07 Ga (billion years), [10] and was heated during the Amazonian period of Mars. [11] It is the second oldest Martian meteorite known. [5] [6] [12] However, a team of Japanese researchers who studied the meteorite concluded that water on Mars originated around 4.4 billion years ago. [13]

Classification

NWA 7034 is the first Martian meteorite that is a breccia and does not fall in any of the known Martian meteorite groups (shergottite, nakhlite, chassignite and ALH 84001). [2] NWA 7034 was classified as an ungrouped planetary achondrite until the Meteoritical Society approved the new designation "Martian (basaltic breccia)" in January 2013. The iron/manganese ratio is consistent with that of other Martian meteorites, but the oxygen isotopes do not correlate with a Martian origin. The change in oxygen isotope ratios could be explained by removal or addition of heavier or lighter isotopes, or by mixing with a mass with a different isotopic ratio. This could happen during aqueous alteration of the Martian crust. Another explanation would be an isotopic contamination of the Martian crust during impact brecciation. [2]

In 2018 the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society accepted a petition to reclassify the NWA 7034 pairing group as "Martian (polymict breccia)". The older term, "basaltic breccia," was held to be unsuitable because the stones contain a variety of clast types, including impact melts, sedimentary rocks, and a wide variety of other lithologies.

Origin

A 2022 study concluded that it had been ejected into space by the impact that formed the crater Karratha about 5-10 million years ago in the Terra Cimmeria-Terra Sirenum region of the southern highlands of Mars. The authors proposed that the meteorite represented the impact ejecta of the nearby Khujirt crater, which formed about 1.5 billion years ago. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martian meteorite</span> Meteorite made of rock originating from Mars

A Martian meteorite is a rock that formed on Mars, was ejected from the planet by an impact event, and traversed interplanetary space before landing on Earth as a meteorite. As of September 2020, 277 meteorites had been classified as Martian, less than half a percent of the 72,000 meteorites that have been classified. The largest complete, uncut Martian meteorite, Taoudenni 002, was recovered in Mali in early 2021. It weighs 14.5 kilograms and is on display at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Hills 84001</span> Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1984

Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) is a fragment of a Martian meteorite that was found in the Allan Hills in Antarctica on December 27, 1984, by a team of American meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project. Like other members of the shergottite–nakhlite–chassignite (SNC) group of meteorites, ALH84001 is thought to have originated on Mars. However, it does not fit into any of the previously discovered SNC groups. Its mass upon discovery was 1.93 kilograms (4.3 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achondrite</span> Stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules

An achondrite is a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules. It consists of material similar to terrestrial basalts or plutonic rocks and has been differentiated and reprocessed to a lesser or greater degree due to melting and recrystallization on or within meteorite parent bodies. As a result, achondrites have distinct textures and mineralogies indicative of igneous processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon rock</span> Rock from the Moon

Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as meteorites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HED meteorite</span> Group of achondrite meteorites

HED meteorites are a clan (subgroup) of achondrite meteorites. HED stands for "howardite–eucrite–diogenite". These achondrites came from a differentiated parent body and experienced extensive igneous processing not much different from the magmatic rocks found on Earth and for this reason they closely resemble terrestrial igneous rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldest dated rocks</span> Includes rocks over 4 billion years old from the Hadean Eon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shergotty meteorite</span> Martian meteorite discovered in India

The Shergotty meteorite is the first example of the shergottite Martian meteorite family. It was a 5-kilogram (11 lb) meteorite which fell to Earth at Sherghati, in the Gaya district, Bihar, India on 25 August 1865, and was retrieved by witnesses almost immediately. Radiometric dating indicates that it solidified from a volcanic magma about 4.1 billion years ago. It is composed mostly of pyroxene and is thought to have undergone preterrestrial aqueous alteration for several centuries. Certain features within its interior are suggestive of being remnants of biofilm and their associated microbial communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angrite</span> Rare group of achondrite meteorites

Angrites are a rare group of achondrites consisting mostly of Al-Ti bearing diopside, hedenbergite, olivine, anorthite and troilite with minor traces of phosphate and metals. The group is named for the Angra dos Reis meteorite. They are the oldest igneous rocks, with crystallization ages of around 4.56 billion years. Angrites are subdivided into two main groups, the quenched and plutonic angrites. The quenched angrites cooled rapidly upon the surface of the angrite parent body (APB), whereas the plutonic angrites cooled slower, deeper in the crust. The APB is thought to have been a similar size to the asteroid 4 Vesta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nakhlite</span> Group of Martian meteorites

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tissint meteorite</span>

The Tissint meteorite is a Martian meteorite that fell in Tata Province in the Guelmim-Es Semara region of Morocco on July 18, 2011. Tissint is the fifth Martian meteorite that people have witnessed falling to Earth, and the first since 1962. Pieces of the meteorite are on display at several museums, including the Museum of Natural History of Vienna and the Natural History Museum in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaklodzie meteorite</span>

The Zakłodzie meteorite is a stony-iron meteorite found in Poland in 1998. Its mass is 8.68 kilograms (19.1 lb). It is composed predominantly from enstatite and meteoric iron. Currently classified as an ungrouped enstatite achondrite its classification is still an ongoing scientific debate.

The Itqiy meteorite is an enstatite-rich stony-iron meteorite. It is classified as an enstatite chondrite of the EH group that was nearly melted and is therefore very unusual for that group. Other classifications have been proposed and are an ongoing scientific debate.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Hills A81005</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest Africa 7325</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamato 000593</span> Meteorite found in Antarctica

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NWA 7034". Meteoritical Society. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Agee, C. B.; N.V. Wilson; F.M. McCubbin; Z.D. Sharp; et al. (2012). "Basaltic Breccia NWA 7034: New ungrouped planetary Achondrite" (PDF). 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Northwest Africa 7034/7533 and pairings". Meteorite Studies.
  4. 1 2 Associated Press (January 4, 2013). Mars meteorite 'Black Beauty' contains most water of any found on Earth, say scientists. The Guardian
  5. 1 2 3 Agee, C. B.; Wilson, N. V.; McCubbin, F. M.; Ziegler, K.; et al. (3 January 2013). "Unique Meteorite from Early Amazonian Mars: Water-Rich Basaltic Breccia Northwest Africa 7034". Science. 339 (6121): 780–785. Bibcode:2013Sci...339..780A. doi: 10.1126/science.1228858 . PMID   23287721. S2CID   206544554.
  6. 1 2 3 Staff (January 3, 2013). "Researchers Identify Water Rich Meteorite Linked To Mars Crust". NASA . Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Guidelines for meteorite nomenclature". Meteoritical Society. p. Section 3.4)c) and Section 3.5. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Tills 2013, p. 111.
  9. ↑ "Mars Meteorite May Be Missing Link to Red Planet's Past". Space.com . Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Nyquist, Laurence E.; Shih, Chi-Yu; McCubbin, Francis M.; Santos, Alison R.; Shearer, Charles K.; Peng, Zhan X.; Burger, Paul V.; Agee, Carl B. (2016-02-17). "Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic and REE studies of igneous components in the bulk matrix domain of Martian breccia Northwest Africa 7034". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 51 (3): 483–498. Bibcode:2016M&PS...51..483N. doi: 10.1111/maps.12606 . ISSN   1086-9379. S2CID   131565237.
  11. ↑ Cassata, William S.; Cohen, Benjamin E.; Mark, Darren F.; Trappitsch, Reto; Crow, Carolyn A.; Wimpenny, Joshua; Lee, Martin R.; Smith, Caroline L. (2018-05-01). "Chronology of martian breccia NWA 7034 and the formation of the martian crustal dichotomy". Science Advances. 4 (5): eaap8306. Bibcode:2018SciA....4.8306C. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aap8306. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   5966191 . PMID   29806017.
  12. ↑ Williams, Rob (4 January 2013). "'Black Beauty' rock is a 2 billion year old unique 'meteorite' from Mars, say scientists" . London: Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Water was formed 4.4 billion years ago on Mars: Study". Telangana Today. 1 November 2020.
  14. ↑ Lagain, A.; Bouley, S.; Zanda, B.; Miljković, K.; Rajšić, A.; Baratoux, D.; Payré, V.; Doucet, L. S.; Timms, N. E.; Hewins, R.; Benedix, G. K. (2022-07-12). "Early crustal processes revealed by the ejection site of the oldest martian meteorite". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 3782. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-31444-8. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   9276826 . PMID   35821210.

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