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Barrett, Thomas; Cernok, Ana; Anand, Mahesh; Franchi, Ian and Darling, James
(2018).
URL: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2018/pdf/6...
Abstract
Volatile elements play a key role in the dynamics of planetary evolution. As such there has been significant interest in their abundance and isotopic composition, particularly in the trace mineral apatite which is known to contain appreciable amounts of volatile elements [e.g. 1-4]. Whilst these works account for the textural context of the apatite grain and the surrounding minerals, the internal microstructure of the apatite has not been considered. Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) in extraterrestrial samples has mostly beenused to interpret the microstructures of zircon/baddeleyite for age dating and larger-scale plastic deformation features of samples [e.g 5-7]. Recently, however, the microtextures of meteoritic and lunar apatite and merrillite have been investigated [8-10]. As apatite is one of the major hosts of volatiles in planetary materials, any variation in structure observed may affect its volatile composition. In this study we therefore investiage the microstructure of apatite grains in eucrites with previously reported H [11] and preliminary Cl [12] isotopic data in order to investigate the relationship between crys-tallographic features and their volatile contents and isotopic compositions.