PNNL

Abstract

We report the discovery of presolar silicate, oxide (hibonite) and (possibly) SiC grains from four Antarctic micrometeorites. The oxygen isotopic compositions of the eighteen presolar silicate (and one oxide) grains found are consistent with those observed previously in primitive meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, and indicate origins in oxygen-rich red giant or asymptotic giant branch stars. Four grains with anomalous C isotopic compositions were also detected. 12C/13C as well as Si ratios are similar to those of mainstream SiC grains; the N isotopic composition of one grain is also consistent with a mainstream SiC classification. Presolar silicate grains were found in three of the seven AMMs studied, and are heterogeneously distributed within these micrometeorites. Fourteen of the 18 presolar silicate grains and 3 of the 4 C-anomalous grains were found within one AMM, T98G8. The presence of magnesiowüstite, which forms mainly through the decomposition of carbonates, in AMMs without presolar silicates, and its absence in the presolar silicate-bearing micrometeorites, suggests that parent body processes (specifically aqueous alteration) may determine the presence or absence of presolar silicates in Antarctic micrometeorites.