Atlanta meteorite, Winn Parish, Louisiana, USAi

Regional Level Types
Atlanta meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Winn Parish	Parish
Louisiana	State
USA	Country

Enstatite Chondrite, low-iron [EL6; S2], brecciated
1938 find, 5.5 kg

The Atlanta meteorite was sent to Harvey H. Nininger, the renown American (US) meteorite tracker in 1938 and is one of only 3 meteorites recovered in the state of Louisiana. Enstatite Chondrites are characterized by the dominant presence of the iron-poor Enstatite, accessory Fe-Ni metal and Troilite, plus a number of very reduced mineral phases. Many of these phases are extremely rare or unknown in terrestrial rocks. Atlanta belongs to the EL chemical group further characterized by the invariable presence of ferroan alabandite. Chondrites of petrologic Type EL6 are additionally characterized by abundant chondrules, homogenized olivine, and recrystallized fine-grained matrix. EL6 chondrites are by far the most abundant EL petrologic type.

Atlanta exhibits an unusual Troilite-rich clast and a Kamacite vein which are presumably due to early impact(s). Indeed, Rubin (1997) has argued that Atlanta and other EL breccias experienced high shock levels [S3-S5] which were subsequently overprinted by metamorphic heating and a later, somewhat milder S2 impact.

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References