US-UK Cooperative Research: In Situ Oxygen Isotope Measurements in Chondrules from Meteorites

这个为期三年的奖项支持三名研究人员之间的美英合作研究：阿肯色大学的德里克·西尔斯以及曼彻斯特大学的格伦维尔·特纳和伊恩·里昂。 目的是系统测量球粒中橄榄石（主要硅酸盐矿物）的氧同位素组成，球粒是球粒陨石的主要结构成分。 球粒及其形成被认为是早期太阳系中重要且广泛的现象。 对它们的成分和特性的分析可用于确定球粒陨石（最常见的陨石形式）的起源和历史，并最终有助于我们了解太阳系的起源。 美国研究人员为此次合作带来了球粒岩相学和化学表征方面的专业知识。 英国研究人员在氧同位素测量方面的专业知识以及他们开发的用于确定球粒中氧同位素比率的离子微探针方法补充了这一点。

This three-year award supports US-UK cooperative research among three investigators: Derek Sears at the University of Arkansas and Grenville Turner and Ian Lyon at the University of Manchester. The objective is to systematically measure the oxygen isotope composition of olivine (the major silicate mineral) in chondrules, the major structural component of chondrite meteorites. Chondrules and their formation are considered an important and widespread phenomenon in the early solar systems. The analysis of their composition and properties could be used to determine the origin and history of chondrite meteorites, the most common form of meteorites, and eventually contribute to our understanding of the origins of solar systems. The US investigator brings to this collaboration expertise in petrography and chemical characterization of chondrules. This is complemented by the British investigators' expertise in oxygen isotope measurements and their development of an ion microprobe method for determining the oxygen isotope ratios in chondrules.