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Toufassour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Basic information | Name: Toufassour This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name. Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite. Observed fall: No Year found: 2007 Country: Morocco Mass: ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classification history: |
This is 1 of 263 approved meteorites classified as Mesosiderite. [show all] Search for other: Mesosiderites, Metal-rich meteorites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comments: | Approved 17 Oct 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writeup![]() |
Writeup from MB 94:
Toufassour 29°39’.135 N, 07°44’.958 W Toufassour, Tata, Morocco Find: 16 November 2007 Mesosiderite History: A small impact structure about 3 m in diameter was found in the vicinity of the village of Toufassour (Tata, Morocco). A number of stones have been collected since 2003 by nomads and sold to dealers in Erfoud. In particular two stones totaling 3 kg and a number of fragments were sold by one nomad, but the most significant mass (an ~70 kg stone) was found by a woman hunting for meteorites. More recently many small stones were collected by Moroccan scientists (IZU. Agadir) around the impact structure: Three pieces of 61.0, 15.5 and 13.1 grams and fragments ranging 1 to 5 grams, totaling about 320 grams. Total mass exceeds ~73.3 kg. Physical characteristics: The fusion crust is absent and the surface appears dark brown. Larger nodules of metal protrude here and there, and larger inclusions of silicates are seen, as greenish spots. Many of the smaller specimens were rich in metal, the phase, which best resisted weathering. Petrography: (A. Ibhi and H. Nachit, IZU, and A. Jambon, O. Boudouma and D. Badia, UPVI) Mode (wt%): kamacite and (minor) sulfide, (partly oxidized) = 27, pyroxene = 56, plagioclase = 20, silica = 5, and chromite = 0.9. Rutile and schreibersite are also present. Mineral compositions and geochemistry (EMPA): Pyroxene FeO/MnO = 27, En70Fs26Wo4 to En59Fs33Wo8. Chromite Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.76. Plagioclase Ab7, An93. Kamacite, Ni = 6%. Merrillite contains significant amounts of MgO. Classification: Mesosiderite. Moderately to significantly weathered, depending on the grain size. Type specimens: 2 polished thin sections and 89.6 g at IZU, one polished thin section and 22 g at UPVI. An anonymous dealer holds 300 g. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Data from: MB94 Table 1 Line 7: |
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Institutions and collections |
UPVI: Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI),Case 110, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France (institutional address; updated 5 Oct 2014) IZU: Laboratory of Petrology, Mineralogy and Materials, Ibn Zohr University, Faculty of Sciences, Agadir, BP 8106, Morocco (institutional address; updated 12 Feb 2011) |
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Catalogs: |
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References: | Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 94, MAPS 43, 1551-1588 (2008)
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Geography:![]() |
Statistics: This is 1 of 16 approved meteorites from Guelmim-Es-Semara, Morocco (plus 2 unapproved names) This is 1 of 2012 approved meteorites from Morocco (plus 35 unapproved names) (plus 1 impact crater) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Proximity search: |