The significance of meteorite density and porosity

doi:10.1016/j.chemer.2008.01.003

Geochemistry

Volume 68, Issue 1, 30 April 2008, Pages 1-29

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemer.2008.01.003 Get rights and content

Abstract

Non-destructive, non-contaminating, and relatively simple procedures can be used to measure the bulk density, grain density, and porosity of meteorites. Most stony meteorites show a relatively narrow range of densities, but differences within this range can be useful indicators of the abundance and oxidation state of iron and the presence or absence of volatiles. Typically, ordinary chondrites have a porosity of just under 10%, while most carbonaceous chondrites (with notable exceptions) are more than 20% porous. Such measurements provide important clues to the nature of the physical processes that formed and evolved both the meteorites themselves and their parent bodies. When compared with the densities of small solar system bodies, one can deduce the nature of asteroid and comet interiors, which in turn reflect the accretional and collisional environment of the early solar system.

Section snippets

Ordinary chondrites

Ordinary chondrites represent by far the most numerous type of stony meteorite, both in fall and find statistics, representing 74% of all meteorites seen to fall and 92% of those found in the relatively unbiased Antarctic collections (McBride, 2002). Likewise, they are the set of meteorites most widely measured for density and porosity, with density data reported for 860 samples of 365 different meteorites, and reliable porosities for 131 meteorites. The average densities and porosities for

The meteorite–asteroid connection

The compositional diversity of the various types of meteorites spans a huge range, essentially from dirt clods to steel, showing bulk densities that range from 1.6 to 7.8 g/cm³.

But as diverse and interesting the meteorite collections are, the range of compositions observed in asteroids and comets is even larger. The high-density end seems fixed by iron–nickel combinations; observations do show asteroids with spectra consistent with Fe–Ni meteorites and this is backed up by radar reflectivity

Summary and conclusions

Non-destructive, non-contaminating, and relatively simple procedures can measure the bulk density, grain density, and porosity of meteorites. Such measurements provide important clues to the nature of the physical processes that formed and evolved both the meteorites themselves and their parent bodies. The best-studied group of meteorites are the ordinary chondrites; on the basis of several hundred measurements one can conclude that the porosity of all these samples average just under 10% (for

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to Phil Bland, Sara Russell, and William Bottke for their insights and helpful discussions. The database used in this review includes a large number of samples whose data were provided by Tomas Kohout of the University of Helsinki and Phil McCausland of the University of Western Ontario; we are grateful for their enthusiastic cooperation in sharing their data and their insights. The MetBase computer database of Jörn Koblitz was an invaluable aid to the analysis of the

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Invited ReviewThe significance of meteorite density and porosity

Abstract

Section snippets

Ordinary chondrites

The meteorite–asteroid connection

Summary and conclusions

Acknowledgments

Icarus

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

Icarus

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Icarus

Mass and local topography measurements of Itokawa by Hayabusa

Science

Deep impact: excavating comet Tempel 1

Science

Physical properties of stony meteorites and their interpretation based on the hypothesis on the origin of meteorites

Meteritika

Carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen in Saharan chondrites: the importance of weathering

Meteoritics

An estimation of the mass of asteroid 20-Massalia derived from the Hipparcos minor planets data

Astron. Astrophys.

Chemistry of primitive solar material

Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.

The physics of protoplanetesimal dust agglomerates. I. Mechanical properties and relations to primitive bodies in the solar system

Astrophys. J.

Dynamical evolution of asteroids and meteoroids using the Yarkovsky effect

Stony meteorite porosities and densities: a review of the data through 2001

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

Asteroid porosity and structure

An entry model for the Tagish Lake fireball using seismic, satellite and infrasound records

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

Discovery of a planetary-sized object in the scattered Kuiper belt

Astrophys. J.

The mass of dwarf planet Eris

Science

Orbits and photometry of Pluto's satellites: Charon, S/2005 P1, and S/2005 P2

Astron. J.

Visible-wavelength spectroscopy of asteroids

Expected characteristics of cometary meteorites

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

Minor bodies: spectral gradients and relationships with meteorites

Space Sci. Rev.

The density and porosity of meteorites from the Vatican collection

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

The porosities of ordinary chondrites: models and interpretation

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

Density, magnetic susceptibility, and the characterization of ordinary chondrite falls and showers

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

Bulk densities of assorted CK chondrites, primitive achondrites, and Bencubbin (abstract)

Meteorit. Planet. Sci.

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Bull. A. A. S.

Shock-induced compaction and porosity in meteorites (abstract)

Meteorit. Planet. Sci. Suppl.

Invited Review
The significance of meteorite density and porosity