The Kunashak chondrite: chemical evidence of shock metamorphism.

The microprobe technique was used to analyze silicate phases (olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase), chromite grains, and sections of secondary melt glass in the light part of the Kunashak meteorite. It is concluded that the Kunashak chondrite (L6) experienced a powerful impact which was accompanied not only by fragmentation and brecciation of the matter but also by its intense repeated heating, in some places up to melting temperatures, with subsequent rapid cooling. Chemical evidence for shock metamorphism was found via analysis of the silicate part of the meteorite.