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Lunar Meteorite: Dhofar 025, 301, 304, & 308 (paired stones)

Oman

Dhofar 025. Original source of photo unknown.
A big slab of Dhofar 301 (lef) and a small slab of Dhofar 304 (right). Click on image for enlargement. The tick marks on the scale are spaced at 1 mm. The white areas in the centerof Dhodar 301 are amygdules - vugs filled with terrestrial alteration minerals, mainly gypsum, calcite, celestite, barite. Other vugs (reddish) contain iron hydroxides. (Photo by Randy Korotev)

from The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 84, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 35, A199-A225 (2000)

Dhofar 025

18º24.2'N 54º09.1'E 

Oman 
Found 2000 March 5 
Lunar meteorite (anorthositic regolith breccia) 

A brownish gray stone weighing 751 g was found in the Dhofar region of Oman. Mineralogy and classification (M. Nazarov and M. Ivanova, Vernad): fusion crust absent; meteorite is a regolith breccia containing numerous mineral fragments and clasts of feldspathic rocks embedded in a glass-rich matrix; schlieren and vesicles are abundant; feldspar, An95-96; pyroxene, En74-84Wo3-6 (Fe/Mn = 50-70 at.); olivine, Fo70-78 (Fe/Mn = 91-97 at.); accessory minerals are silica, Ti-rich alumochromite, troilite, and FeNi metal; meteorite has a prominent positive Eu anomaly (Sm/Eu = 1.95); terrestrial weathering is not significant. Specimens: type specimen, 102 g plus two thin sections, Vernad; main mass with anonymous finder.
from The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 86, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37, A157-A184 (2002)

Dhofar 301

18°24.1' N, 54°08.9' E 

Oman 
Found 2001 April 13
Lunar meteorite (anorthositic impact melt breccia) 

A brownish grey stone weighing 9 g was found in the Dhofar region, Oman. Mineralogy and classification (M. Nazarov, Vernad; L. Taylor, UTenn): fusion crust is absent; meteorite is a clast-rich impact melt breccia containing numerous mineral fragments and lithic clasts embedded in a very fine-grained impact melt matrix. The lithic clast population is dominated by impact melt breccias; primary igneous rocks and granulites of mostly anorthositic and gabbro-noritic compositions are rare; mare basalt material is possibly present; feldspar, An90-98; orthopyroxene, Wo1-4En70-99; clinopyroxene, Wo6-43En1-74; olivine, Fo58-86 (Fe/Mn ~ 90 atom%); accessory minerals are Ti-rich chromite, ilmenite (7 wt% MgO), troilite, and FeNi metal (7-48 wt% Ni; 0.4-1.4 wt% Co); composition of the impact melt matrix is SiO2 = 44.1, TiO2 = 0.36, Al2O3 = 28.6, Cr2O3 = 0.10, FeO = 4.27, MnO = 0.07, MgO = 4.83, CaO = 16.5, Na2O = 0.39, K2O = 0.04, P2O5 = 0.07 (wt%); the meteorite is moderately weathered; gypsum, calcite, celestite, barite, and Fe hydroxides occur in cracks and holes. Dhofar 025 and Dhofar 301 are possibly paired because the stones were found nearby, and they are similar in texture and mineral chemistry. Specimens: type specimen, 1.8 g plus a thin section, Vernad; main mass with anonymous finder.
from The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 87, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38, A189-A248 (2003)

Dhofar 304

18°24.2'N, 54°09.0'E 

Oman 
Found 2001 April 13
Lunar meteorite (anorthositic impact melt breccia) 

A brownish grey stone weighing 10 g was found in the Dhofar region, Oman. Mineralogy and classification (M. Nazarov, Vernad, L. Taylor, UTenn): fusion crust is absent; meteorite is a clast-rich impact melt breccia; mineral fragments and lithic clasts are embedded in a very fine-grained impact-melt matrix; the lithic clast population is dominated by impact melt breccias; possible igneous rocks and granulites of mostly anorthositic and gabbro-noritic compositions are rare. Mineral compositions are: feldspar, An93-99; orthopyroxene, Wo1- 5En70-90; clinopyroxene, Wo6-42En40-50; olivine, Fo60-90 (Fe/Mn ~87 at). Accessory minerals are Ti-rich chromite, Cr-pleonaste, ilmenite (7-8 wt % MgO), troilite, and FeNi metal (7.8 wt% Ni; 0.6 wt% Co). The composition of the impact-melt matrix (wt%) is SiO2 = 45.0, TiO2 = 0.34, Al2O3 = 25.3, Cr2O3 = 0.17, FeO = 5.71, MnO = 0.12, MgO = 7.09, CaO = 14.8, Na2O = 0.37, K2O = 0.04, P2O5 = 0.07. The meteorite is moderately weathered; gypsum, calcite, celestite, barite, and Fe hydroxides occur in cracks and holes. Dhofar 304 is possibly paired with Dhofar 025 and Dhofar 301 because the stones were found nearby, and they are similar in texture, mineral chemistry and degree of weathering. Specimens: type specimens of 2 g, and a thin section, Vernad; main mass with anonymous finder.
from The Meteoritical Bulletin No. 87, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38, A189-A248 (2003)

Dhofar 308

18°24.2' N, 54°09.0' E

Oman
2001 April 13
Lunar meteorite (anorthositic impact melt breccia?)

Dhofar 308 is a 2 g stone paired with Dhofar 025, 301 and 304.

More Information

Meteoritical Bulletin Database

Dhofar 025 | Dhofar 301 | Dhofar 304 | Dhofar 308

Map

Schematic Map of the Find Locations of the Dhofar Lunar Meteorites

References

Al-Kathiri A., Hofmann B. A., Jull A. J. T., and Gnos E. (2005) Weathering of meteorites from Oman: Correlation of chemical and mineralogical weathering proxies with 14C terrestrial ages and the influence of soil chemistry. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40, 1215–1239.

Cahill J., Cohen B. A., Taylor L. A., and Nazarov M. A. (2001) Mineralogy and petrology of "new" lunar meteorite Dhofar 025 (abstract). In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XXXII, abstract no. 1840, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Cahill J. T., Floss C., Anand M., Taylor L. A., Nazarov M. A., and Cohen B. A. (2004) Petrogenesis of lunar highlands meteorites: Dhofar 025, Dhofar 081; Dar al Gani 262, and Dar al Gani 400. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 39, 503–530.

Cohen B. A., Taylor L. A., and Nazarov M. A. (2001) Impact melt compositions in lunar meteorite Dhofar 025 (abstract). In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XXII, abstract no. 1409, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Cohen B. A., Swindle T.D., Taylor L.A., and Nazarov M.A. (2002) 40Ar-39Ar ages from impact melt clasts in lunar meteorites Dhofar 025 and Dhofar 026 (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIII, abstract no. 1252, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Demidova S. I., Nazarov M. A., Taylor L. A., and Patchen A. (2003) Dhofar 304, 305, 306 and 307: New lunar highland meteorites from Oman (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIV, abstract no. 1285, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Demidova S. I., Nazarov M. A., Lorenz C. A., Kurat G., Brandstätter F., and Ntaflos Th. (2007) Chemical composition of lunar meteorites and the lunar crust. Petrology 15 (4), 386-407.

Fernandes V. A., Anand M., Burgess R., and Taylor L. A. (2004) Ar-Ar studies of Dhofar clast-rich feldspathic highland meteorites: 025, 026, 280, 303 (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV, abstract no. 1514, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Korotev R. L. (2005) Lunar geochemistry as told by lunar meteorites. Chemie der Erde 65, 297–346.

Korotev R. L., Jolliff B. L., Zeigler R. A., Gillis J. J., and Haskin L. A. (2003) Feldspathic lunar meteorites and their implications for compositional remote sensing of the lunar surface and the composition of the lunar crust, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 4895–4923.

Leont’eva, E.M., Matukov D.I., Nazarov M.A., Sergeev S.A., Shukolyukov Y.A., Brandstaetter F. (2005) First determination of the isotopic age of a lunar meteorite by the uranium-lead zircon method. Petrology 13, 193–196.

Nazarov M. A., Demidova S. I., Patchen A., and Taylor L. A. (2002) Dhofar 301, 302 and 303: Three new lunar highland meteorites from Oman (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII, abstract no. 1293, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Nazarov M. A., Demidova S. I., and Taylor L. A. (2003) Trace element chemistry of lunar highland meteorites from Oman (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIV, abstract no. 1636, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Nazarov M. A, Demidova S. I., Patchen A., and Taylor L. A. (2004) Dhofar 311, 730 and 731: New lunar meteorites from Oman

Nishiizumi K. and Caffee M. W. (2001) Exposure histories of lunar meteorites Dhofar 025, 026, and Northwest Africa 482 (abstract). 64th Meteoritical Society Meeting, CD-ROM no. 5411, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Shukolyukov Y. A., Nazarov M. A., Pätsch M., and Schultz L. (2001) Noble gases in three lunar meteorites from Oman (abstract). In Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII, abstract no. 1502, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Taylor L. A., Nazarov M. A., Cohen B. A., Warren P. H., Barsukova L. D., Clayton R. N., and Mayeda T. K. (2001) Bulk chemistry and oxygen isotopic compositions of lunar meteorites Dhofar 025 and Dhofar 026: A second-generation impact melt (abstract). In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XXXII, abstract no. 1985, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Warren P. H., Taylor L. A., Kallemeyn G., Cohen B. A., Nazarov M. A. (2001) Bulk-compositional study of three lunar meteorites: Enigmatic siderophile element results for Dhofar 026 (abstract). In Lunar and Planet. Sci. XXXII, abstract no. 2197, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston.

Warren P. H., Ulff-Møller F., and Kallemeyn G. W. (2005) “New” lunar meteorites: Impact melt and regolith breccias and large-scale heterogeneities of the upper lunar crust. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40, 989–1014.

Chemical Classification

Overview | Dhofar 025 et al.

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Prepared by:

Randy L. Korotev

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis

Please don't contact me about the meteorite you think you’ve found until you read this and this.

e-mail: korotev@wustl.edu

Last revised: 10-Jan-2008