The message of oldhamites from enstatite chondrites

Abstract

We have determined rare-earth element (REE) abundances in oldhamites (CaS) from 13 unequilibrated and equilibrated enstatite chondrites (5 EH and 8 EL) and in a few enstatites by in situ, laser ablation ICP-MS. In EH chondrites, oldhamite REE patterns vary from the most primitive petrographic types (EH3) to the most metamorphosed types (EH5). In EH3, CI-normalized REE patterns are convex downward with strong positive Eu and Yb anomalies, whereas EH5 display flat patterns with enrichments reaching about 80 times CI abundances. The positive anomalies of Eu and Yb found in oldhamites of primitive EH chondrites indicate that they represent the condensation of a residual gas fraction, in a manner similar to fine-grained CAIs of carbonaceous chondrites. The early condensate may have been preserved in the matrix of unequilibrated EH. Equilibrated EH oldhamite patterns may result from metamorphic evolution and REE redistribution on the EH parent body. On the contrary, all the oldhamites from EL chondrites (EL3 to EL6) display a single kind of patterns, which is convex upward and is about 100 times enriched relative to CI, with a negative Eu anomaly. In addition, the EL pattern is similar to that of oldhamites from aubrites (enstatite achondrites). The latter observation suggests that oldhamites of all EL metamorphic types (including primitive ones) bear the signature of a magmatic event accompanied by FeS loss as vapor, prior to the assembly of the EL parent body. Given the difficulty of obtaining precise ages on enstatite chondrites, it is not possible to discuss the chronology of the events recorded by the oldhamite REE patterns.