The history of the Tissint meteorite, from its crystallization on Mars to its exposure in space

Author(s)

Toni Schulz, Pavel P. Povinec, Ludovic Ferrière, Timothy A. J. Jull, A. Kovacik, I. Sykora, J. Tusch, Carsten Muenker, Dan Topa, Christian Koeberl

Abstract

The Tissint meteorite fell on July 18, 2011 in Morocco and was quickly recovered, allowing the investigation of a new unaltered sample from Mars. We report new high-field strength and highly siderophile element (HSE) data, Sr-Nd-Hf-W-Os isotope analyses, and data for cosmogenic nuclides in order to examine the history of the Tissint meteorite, from its source composition and crystallization to its irradiation history. We present high-field strength element compositions that are typical for depleted Martian basalts (0.174 ppm Nb, 17.4 ppm Zr, 0.7352 ppm Hf, and 0.0444 ppm W), and, together with an extended literature data set for shergottites, help to reevaluate Mars’ tectonic evolution in comparison to that of the early Earth. HSE contents (0.07 ppb Re, 0.92 ppb Os, 2.55 ppb Ir, and 7.87 ppb Pt) vary significantly in comparison to literature data, reflecting significant sample inhomogeneity. Isotope data for Os and W (

¹⁸⁷Os/

¹⁸⁸Os = 0.1289 ± 15 and an ε

¹⁸²W = +1.41 ± 0.46) are both indistinguishable from literature data. An internal Lu-Hf isochron for Tissint defines a crystallization age of 665 ± 74 Ma. Considering only Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf chronometry, we obtain, using our and literature values, a best estimate for the age of Tissint of 582 ± 18 Ma (MSWD = 3.2). Cosmogenic radionuclides analyzed in the Tissint meteorite are typical for a recent fall. Tissint's pre-atmospheric radius was estimated to be 22 ± 2 cm, resulting in an estimated total mass of 130 ± 40 kg. Our cosmic-ray exposure age of 0.9 ± 0.2 Ma is consistent with earlier estimations and exposure ages for other shergottites in general.

Organisation(s)

Department of Lithospheric Research

External organisation(s)

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NHM), Comenius University Bratislava, University of Arizona, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MicroStep MIS Sro, Universität zu Köln

Journal

Meteoritics and Planetary Science

Volume

55

Pages

294-311

No. of pages

18

ISSN

1086-9379

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13435

Publication date

02-2020

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

105105 Geochemistry

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics, Space and Planetary Science

Portal url

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/the-history-of-the-tissint-meteorite-from-its-crystallization-on-mars-to-its-exposure-in-space(4e484368-2aec-4297-963b-c046b62e85c7).html