The new mineral donwilhelmsite is the first high-pressure mineral found in meteorites with application for subducted terrestrial sediments. As natural minerals, they were first described and named based on their occurrences in meteorites. These crystals were synthesized in high-pressure laboratory experiments. Minerals like wadsleyite, ringwoodite, and bridgmanite, constitute large parts of the Earth’s mantle. Therefore, the microscopic shock melt areas are natural crucibles hosting minerals that are otherwise naturally inaccessible at the Earth’s surface. These shocked areas are of great relevance as they mirror pressure and temperature regimes similar to those prevailing in the Earth’s mantle. The extreme physical conditions often led to shock melting of microscopic areas within these meteorites. Some of these meteorites experienced particularly high temperatures and pressures. The largest specimen is on display at the NHM Vienna. They are ejected by impacts onto the lunar surface and subsequently delivered to Earth.įragments of the lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 acquired by the NHM Vienna and used for the scientific analyses. The team around Jörg Fritz from the Zentrum für Rieskrater und Impaktforschung Nördlingen, Germany and colleagues at the German Research Centre for Geoscience GFZ in Potsdam, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Natural History Museum Vienna, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Science, Natural History Museum Oslo, University of Manchester, and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt Berlin published their findings in the scientific journal American Mineralogist.īesides the about 382 kilograms of rocks and soils collected by the Apollo and Luna missions, lunar meteorites allow valuable insights into the formation of the Moon. Credit: © Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Ansgar Greshakeĭonwilhelmsite is important for understanding the inner structure of the earth.Ī team of European researchers discovered a new high-pressure mineral in the lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001, named donwilhelmsite. Scanning electron microscope image of the new mineral, Donwilhelmsite, in the lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001.
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