[meteorite-list] SNC varification

[bernd.pauli at paulinet.de]

> can some one help me out on the third [and more if available] 
> verification process to authenticate Martian meteorites:

1. identical match of gases with Martian atmosphere.
2. relatively [1.3 billion*] young crystallization age.
3. ??

* various radiognic isotope systems define ages variying between
  1.3 billion and 0.2 billion years. (McSween, Parent Planets, p. 136)


Hello Jerry and List,

Maybe this helps:

McSWEEN H.Y., Jr. (1994) What we have learned about Mars from
SNC meteorites (Invited Review in Meteoritics 29-6, 1994 November,
pp. 757-779) -Are they really from Mars?, pp. 761-762:

In summary, the idea that SNC meteorites are martian rocks rests
on a number of well-founded observations. The suggestion that late
crystallization requires a large planet remains a durable argument,
even though other thermal sources (e.g., tidal heating of Io) have
now been recognized.

A planetary origin inferred from the presence of garnet in the SNC
source regions is model-dependent but plausible.

A specific link to Mars based on the elemental and isotopic match
between trapped gases and the martian atmosphere remains convinc-
ing.

Other permissive evidence - meteorite data that are consistent with what
we know about Mars from other sources (Ashwal et al., 1982; McSween,
1984) - also strongly support this hypothesis, although these constitute
circular arguments.

If the SNC meteorites are not from Mars, but rather from an asteroid, then
our understanding of small bodies is fundamentally flawed.

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Best regards,

Bernd

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