In meteorite, Alberta researchers discover 2 minerals never before seen on Earth
Global News
A meteorite expert from the University of Alberta was part of a team of researchers that discovered at least two new minerals never before seen on earth.
A meteorite expert from the University of Alberta was part of a team of researchers that discovered at least two new minerals never before seen on earth.
The discovery was made in a 15-tonne meteorite found in Somalia, the ninth-largest meteorite ever found.
The two minerals came from a 70-gram piece that was sent to the U of A for classification. A potential third mineral is also being looked at.
“Whenever you find a new mineral, it means that the geological conditions, the chemistry of the rock, was different than what’s been found before,” said Chris Herd, a professor in the department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection.
“That’s what makes this exciting: In this particular meteorite you have two officially described minerals that are new to science.
“That’s my expertise — how you tease out the geologic processes and the geologic history of the asteroid this rock was once part of,” Herd said. “I never thought I’d be involved in describing brand new minerals just by virtue of working on a meteorite.”
The new minerals have been named elaliite and elkinstantonite. They were identified by Andrew Locock, head of the U of A’s electron microprobe laboratory, because each had been synthetically created before.
Elaliite is named after the meteorite itself because it was found near El Ali, in Somalia. Herd named the second mineral after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a distinguished planetary scientist.