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Neptune Mountains meteorite, Neptune Mountains, Pensacola Mountains, Queen Elizabeth Land, Eastern Antarctica, Antarcticai
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
83° 15' South , 55° 0' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Meteorite Class:
Meteoritical Society Class:
Kรถppen climate type:
Iron meteorite, coarsest octahedrite (IAB,Ogg)
Find, 1964; 1.07 kg
The Neptune Mountains iron meteorite (7.0-7.4%Ni; ~0.5 %Co) was the fourth meteorite to be recovered from Antarctica. At the time, it was noted that the meteorite had probably had been glacially transported. It was found on a rock outcrop about 30 m above the ice base of nunatake by members of an U. S. Antarctic research expedition. Neptune Mountains Fe-Ni metal is almost entirely kamacite [taenite-and-plessite ~3 vol%]. Neumann bands and martensite are indicative of significant preterrestrial shock. While schreibersite is prominent, troilite and other accessory minerals [if present] have not been studied in any detail in the more accessible literature. While Buchwald (1975) reported that the meteorite was surprisingly intact upon his initial studies, later studies (1989) revealed several varied instances of chemical corrosion. Neptune Mountains' terrestrial exposure age (~110 ka) was one of the early indications that some Antarctic meteorites have lain on or underneath the ice for enormous periods of time. Under the current classification scheme, Neptune Mountains is listed in the very large IAB complex of iron meteorites.
A few years after the discovery of Neptune Mountains, Japanese scientists somewhat unexpectedly discovered nine more meteorites on the ice within a very small area. Since then, of course, a virtual eventual flood of Antarctic meteorites have been recovered.
What's in a name? Neptune Mountains seems to be a very appropriate name for a meteorite recovered from such an unusually cold and desolate location. As meteorites are almost always named after terrestrial landmarks, very few meteorites are given 'planetary' names, but a few are known (e.g., Venus and Marsland from the United States and Nuevo Mercurio from Mexico).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsMineral List
7 valid minerals.
Meteorite/Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| โ Akaganeite Formula: (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| โ Goethite Formula: Fe3+O(OH) |
| โ 'Limonite' |
| โ Maghemite Formula: (Fe3+0.67◻0.33)Fe3+2O4 |
| โ Native Iron Formula: Fe |
| โ Native Iron var. Kamacite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| โ Native Iron var. Martensite Formula: Fe |
| โ 'Plessite' |
| โ Schreibersite Formula: (Fe,Ni)3P |
| โ Taenite Formula: (Fe,Ni) |
| โ Troilite Formula: FeS Description: Sparse, but ovoid surface depression (2x3cM) due to atmospheric ablation present. |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| โ | Native Iron | 1.AE.05 | Fe |
| โ | var. Kamacite | 1.AE.05 | (Fe,Ni) |
| โ | var. Martensite | 1.AE.05 | Fe |
| โ | Taenite | 1.AE.10 | (Fe,Ni) |
| โ | Schreibersite | 1.BD.05 | (Fe,Ni)3P |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| โ | Troilite | 2.CC.10 | FeS |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| โ | Goethite | 4.00. | Fe3+O(OH) |
| โ | Maghemite | 4.BB.15 | (Fe3+0.67โป0.33)Fe3+2O4 |
| โ | Akaganeite | 4.DK.05 | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 ยท nH2O |
| Unclassified | |||
| โ | 'Limonite' | - | |
| โ | 'Plessite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | โ Akaganeite | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| H | โ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | โ Akaganeite | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| O | โ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | โ Maghemite | (Fe3+0.67◻0.33)Fe23+O4 |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | โ Schreibersite | (Fe,Ni)3P |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | โ Troilite | FeS |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | โ Akaganeite | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | โ Akaganeite | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| Fe | โ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | โ Native Iron | Fe |
| Fe | โ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | โ Maghemite | (Fe3+0.67◻0.33)Fe23+O4 |
| Fe | โ Schreibersite | (Fe,Ni)3P |
| Fe | โ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Fe | โ Troilite | FeS |
| Fe | โ Native Iron var. Martensite | Fe |
| Ni | Nickel | |
| Ni | โ Akaganeite | (Fe3+,Ni2+)8(OH,O)16Cl1.25 · nH2O |
| Ni | โ Native Iron var. Kamacite | (Fe,Ni) |
| Ni | โ Schreibersite | (Fe,Ni)3P |
| Ni | โ Taenite | (Fe,Ni) |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Antarctic MeteoritesGroup of Meteorite Fall Locations
Antarctic PlateTectonic Plate
- Ronne BasinWide Rift
Antarctica
- Transantarctic MountainsMountain Range
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
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References
www.uark.edu (n.d.) http://www.uark.edu/depts/cosmo/publications/pub%20by%20year/1979%20papers/sears%201979d.pdf
Buchwald, Vagn F., Clarke, Roy S., Jr., (1989) Corrosion of Fe-Ni alloys by Cl-containing akaganeite (ฮฒ-FeOOH): The Antarctic meteorite case. American Mineralogist, 74 (5-6) 656-667
Jarosewich, Eugene (1990) Chemical analyses of meteorites: A compilation of stony and iron meteorite analyses. Meteoritics, 25 (4) 323-337 doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1990.tb00717.x
