Detection of terrestrial fluorine by proton induced gamma emission (PIGE): A rapid quantification for Antarctic meteorites

available online at http://meteoritics.org 759 © Meteoritical Society, 2003. Printed in USA. Detection of terrestrial fluorine by proton induced gamma emission (PIGE): A rapid quantification for Antarctic meteorites K. NOLL,1 M. DÖBELI,2 U. KRÄHENBÜHL,1* D. GRAMBOLE,3 F. HERRMANN,3 and C. KOEBERL4 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestr. 3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland 2Paul Scherrer Institute c/o ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland 3Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, Institut für Ionenstrahlphysik und Materialforschung, Postfach 510119, D-01314 Dresden, Germany 4Institute of Geochemistry, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Received 28 June 2002; revision accepted 10 April 2003) Abstract–The enrichment of fluorine on the surface of Antarctic meteorites is investigated by applying the nuclear reactions 19F(p, a )16O or 19F(p, p¢ )19F with the proton induced gamma emission (PIGE) technique, a class of nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). Results for the Antarctic meteorites ALHA77294, TIL 82409, LEW 86015, ALHA77003, and ALH 83108 are presented. Possible sources of terrestrial F are: volcanic exhalation, tephra layers (volcanic glass), continental soil dust, or sea spray. Material from blue-ice dust-band samples also shows concentrations of F that are significantly higher than the bulk concentrations of meteorites. Finally, a quick investigation for Antarctic meteorites by external PIGE is proposed, leading to a F-contamination index that supplements the qualitative ABC-weathering index.The enrichment of fluorine on the surface of Antarctic meteorites is investigated by applying the nuclear reactions 19F(p, a )16O or 19F(p, p¢ )19F with the proton induced gamma emission (PIGE) technique, a class of nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). Results for the Antarctic meteorites ALHA77294, TIL 82409, LEW 86015, ALHA77003, and ALH 83108 are presented. Possible sources of terrestrial F are: volcanic exhalation, tephra layers (volcanic glass), continental soil dust, or sea spray. Material from blue-ice dust-band samples also shows concentrations of F that are significantly higher than the bulk concentrations of meteorites. Finally, a quick investigation for Antarctic meteorites by external PIGE is proposed, leading to a F-contamination index that supplements the qualitative ABC-weathering index.