Aluminum, Calcium, & Calcium / Aluminum
Al2O3, CaO, and CaO/Al2O3 vs. Fe2O3(T)
+ MgO
Al2O3
Most meteorites have low concentrations of aluminum
(Al2O3) compared to terrestrial rocks.
The exception is meteorites from the Moon because most lunar
meteorites contain a high abundance
of plagioclase feldspar. For an explanation of why lunar meteorites
plot along the diagonal trend, see How
Do We Know That It's a Rock From the Moon? Feldspars
are common in terrestrial rocks, too.
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CaO
Lunar meteorites also have high concentrations of calcium
(CaO) compared to most terrestrial rocks (except, of course,
those
rocks
rich in calcite, like the limestones that plot around 50% CaO).
The terrestrial rocks that plot with the martian meteorites
are
probably basalts, which have similar mineralogy to the martian
basalts (but, see Na2O & K2O).
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CaO/Al2O3
In most meteorites, virtually all the Al2O3
and most of the CaO is carried by feldspar, so there is little
variation in CaO/Al2O3. Terrestrial rocks
tend to have lower CaO/Al2O3 than meteorites.
See Notes, Caveats, and References
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Back to: Chemical Composition of
Meteorites
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