Raman Study of the Slobodka Ordinary Chondrite

We carried out a detailed study of the texture, mineralogy, and spectroscopic properties of the Slobodka ordinary chondrite meteorite. Previous descriptions differ on the classification of this meteorite, so we re‐evaluated its petrologic type and shock stage. The observed texture and mineral chemistry are most consistent with the L4 chondrites. It records features of strong shock metamorphism mostly consistent with shock stage S4, including irregular and planar fractures, undulatory extinction, and mosaicism in olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase. The distribution of shock damage was further evaluated at the mesoscale, revealing significant heterogeneity: regions of shock stage S4 are located near shock melt veins, a few selected areas indicate shock stage S3, and areas farther away from shock melt veins exhibit shock stage S2. The application of a range of in‐situ analytical techniques, including Raman spectroscopy and electron back‐scatter diffraction as well as microprobe, revealed the presence of five preserved high‐pressure phases within the investigated sample of Slobodka, namely albitic jadeite, tuite, majorite, wadsleyite, and xieite. Together, these findings demonstrate that Slobodka preserves textural and mineralogical characteristics indicative of the highly energetic impact that likely fragmented the parent body of the L‐chondrites.

The authors are grateful to Wencke Wegner for assistance with the EPMA analyses. We are also grateful for the help from Michalis Sakalis for technical assistance during the SEM analyses at the Hellenic Survey of Geology & Mineral Exploration (HSGME) and the director of HSGME Demetrios Tarenidis for allowing MS to perform the analyses at no cost. We thank Alan Rubin and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments, which improved the original manuscript.