Micrometer-resolution mapping of minerals in carbonaceous chondrite

Abstract:

Micrometer-scale mapping of rock sections is a tool of increasing importance in many areas of mineralogy and petrology. One of these areas is the mineralogy of carbonaceous chondrites, which contain a vast number of different minerals in small abundance and exhibit sub-mm scale variations of paragenesis. The combination of X-ray micro-focusing with ultrafast area detector techniques permits examination of such complex samples on (sub-)micrometer scale. However, the development of methods of time-efficient and accurate data evaluation is lagging. In particular, the identification of minor minerals or the detection of unknown phases poses challenges. However, it is often such minor or new phases which are of particular interest such as sub-micrometer scale presolar grains or early solar condensates. We present a strategy and first results of semi-automatic data analysis of 2D X-ray micro mappings towards a mineral paragenesis mapping which aims to detect also minor and rare species.