Trace elements in the Allende meteorite

Nine fine-grained feldspathoid-, grossular-, spinel-, pyroxene-bearing inclusions from the Allende meteorite were analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. On the average, these inclusions are enriched in the refractory lithophile elements, Ca, Sc, Ra and the rare earths by factors of 5 to 30 relative to Cl chondrites but are depleted in the refractory and volatile siderophiles, Ir Co and Au. The volatile elements Fe, Cr and Zn are present at levels of 3.38 to 8.51%, 326 to 2516 ppm and 308 to 1376 ppm, respectively. Textural, mineralogical and chemical data suggest that the fine-grained inclusions formed in the solar nebula by the simultaneous condensation of volatiles and refractory lithophile elements which failed to condense into the coarse-grained, high-temperature condensate inclusions. The marked differences in the enrichment factors for different refractories in the fine-grained inclusions are caused by relatively small differences in their accretion efficiencies into the coarse-grained ones. The trace element data indicate that the refractories in the fine- and coarse-grained inclusions can only be the cosmic complements of one another if the fine-grained ones represent no more than approximately 20% of the most abundant refractory elements. (author)