The effect of terrestrial weathering on the magnetic properties of meteorites from the Atacama Desert
Once ordinary chondrites fall on Earth, Fe–Ni minerals and troilite they contain oxidize and transform into iron oxyhydroxides and/or iron oxides, which is expected to modify their magnetic properties. In this study, the effect of long-term terrestrial weathering on the magnetic properties (magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis parameters) of 117 H and L ordinary chondrites from the Atacama Desert (Chile), a region hosting the oldest meteorite collection in the world, was investigated. The measurements revealed a consistent weathering-induced decrease in the saturation magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of both H and L chondrites. The observed trends indicate a faster initial weathering of Fe–Ni minerals compared to troilite, their transformation into mostly paramagnetic iron oxyhydroxides, as well as the formation of magnetite in the later weathering stages.
Authors
- C. A. Lorenz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7826-3287)
- François Demory (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7526-9886)
- D. M. Kuzina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1626-4636)
- J. Gattacceca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1639-7140)
- H. Mertens
- R. Lacube
- H. Gouilloux
Institutions
- Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- Kazan Federal University (RU)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (FR)
- V.I. Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry (RU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Učënye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriâ Estestvennye nauki/Učënye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriâ Estestvennye nauki/Učenye zapiski Kazanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriâ Estestvennye nauki
- Published
- 2025-06-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.26907/2542-064x.2025.2.353-366
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31
Funders
- Russian Science Foundation