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Science 21 October 1988:
Vol. 242. no. 4877, pp. 417 - 419
DOI: 10.1126/science.242.4877.417
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Articles

Rapid Growth of Magnesium-Carbonate Weathering Products in a Stony Meteorite from Antarctica

A. J. T. JULL 1, S. CHENG 2, J. L. GOODING 3, and M. A. VELBEL 4

1 National Science Foundation Accelerator Facility for Radioisotope Analysis and Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
2 Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.
3 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center, Planetary Science Branch, Houston, TX 77058.
4 Department of Geological Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824.

Nesquehonite, a hydrous magnesium carbonate, occurs as a weathering product on the surface of the Antarctic meteorite LEW 85320(H5 chondrite). Antarctic meteorites have resided on the earth for periods of 104 to 106 years, but the time needed for weathering products to form has been uncertain. Isotopic measurements of dgr13C and dgr18O indicate that the nesquehonite formed at near freezing temperatures by reaction of meteoritic minerals with terrestrial water and carbon dioxide. Results from carbon-14 dating suggest that, although the meteorite has been in Antarctica for at least 3.2 x 104 to 3.3 x 104 years, the nesquehonite formed after A.D.1950.

Submitted on June 16, 1988
Accepted on September 2, 1988


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