Complex exposure histories for meteorites with “short” exposure ages

We report measurements of 26Al and 10Be activities in nine ordinary chondrites and of the light noble gas concentrations and 36Cl and 41Ca activities in subsets of those meteorites. All but Murray have low 21Ne concentrations (<1.0 × 10−8cm3STP/g) and have previously been used to estimate 21Ne production rates. Ladder Creek, Murchison, Sena, and Timochin have inventories of cosmogenic radionuclides that are compatible with a single stage of irradiation and give 21Ne production rates that are consistent with the standard L-chondrite value of 0.33 × 10−8cm3STP/g/Ma. In contrast, Cullison, Guenie, Shaw, and Tsarev experienced complex irradiation histories. They and several other meteorites with low nominal exposure ages also have lower 3He/21Ne ratios than expected based on their 22Ne/21Ne ratios. A general association between low 21Ne contents and 3He losses suggests that meteorites with short lifetimes often occupy orbits with small perihelia. However, meteorites with low 21Ne contents, one-stage exposure histories, and losses of cosmogenic 3He are rare. Possible explanations for the scarcity are (1) statistical, (2) that it is harder for more deeply buried protometeoroids to lose gas in a liberating collision, and (3) that it is harder to insert more deeply buried protometeoroids directly into orbits with small perihelia. © 1999-2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keywords

Chondrites, Meteorites, Radioisotopes, Radioactivity, Radiation doses, Stone meteorites

Citation

Herzog, G. F., Vogt, S., Albrecht, A., Xue, S., Fink, D., Klein, J., Middleton, R., Weber, H., & Schultz, L. (1997). Complex exposure histories for meteorites with “short” exposure ages. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 32(3), 413-422. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1997.tb01284.x