L. Browning et al., On the origin of rim textures surrounding anhydrous silicate grains in CM carbonaceous chondrites, METEORIT PL, 35(5), 2000, pp. 1015-1023
Fine-grained, optically opaque rims coat individual olivine and pyroxene gr
ains in CM matrices and chondrules. Bulk chemical analyses and observations
of these rims indicate the presence of phyllosilicates and disseminated op
aques. Because phyllosilicates could not have survived the chondrule format
ion process, chondrule silicate rims must have formed entirely by late-stat
e aqueous reactions. As such, these textures provide a useful benchmark for
isolating alteration features from more complex CM matrix materials. Both
chondrule silicate and matrix silicate rims exhibit morphological features
commonly associated with advancing stages of replacement reactions in terre
strial serpentinites. Contacts between many matrix silicate rims and the ad
jacent matrix materials suggest that these rims formed entirely by aqueous
reactions in a parent-body setting. This contrasts with previous assertions
that rim textures can only form by the accretion of nebular dust but does
not imply an origin for the rims surrounding other types of CM core compone
nts, such as chondrules.