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Aguas Zarcas
Basic information Name: Aguas Zarcas
     This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: There is no official abbreviation for this meteorite.
Observed fall: Yes, confirmed fall
Year fell: 2019
Country: Costa Rica
Mass:help 27 kg
Classification
  history:
Meteoritical Bulletin:  MB 108  (2020)  CM2
Recommended:  CM2    [explanation]

This is 1 of 635 approved meteorites classified as CM2.   [show all]
Search for other: Carbonaceous chondrites, Carbonaceous chondrites (type 2), CM chondrites, and CM-CO clan chondrites
Comments: Approved 30 May 2019
Revised 31 May 2019: corrected fall date
Writeuphelp
Writeup from MB 108:

Aguas Zarcas        10°23’29.03"N, 84°20’28.58"W

Alajuela, Costa Rica

Confirmed fall: 2019 Apr 23

Classification: Carbonaceous chondrite (CM2)

History: (G.J. Soto; P. Madrigal, O. Lücke, Escuela Centroamericana de Geología, Universidad de Costa Rica; M. Farmer, Arizona) At 21:07 local time on 23 April 2019, a meteorite fall was reported in Aguas Zarcas, San Carlos county, Alajuela province, Costa Rica. The fireball traveled WNW to ESE and was caught on cameras of the National Seismological Network (RSN) at the summit of Poás and Turrialba volcanoes, and from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI). Sightings were reported from Quepos (Central Pacific) in the south and north to La Palmera in San Carlos. The first piece recovered, 1152 g, crashed through a house at 10°23’29.03"N, 84°20’28.58"W. A dog house was hit by a 280 g piece at 10°24’9.35"N 84°21’51.26"W. The BRAMON (Brazilian Meteors Observation Network), UNESP (São Paulo State University) and USP (University of São Paulo) teams determined the atmospheric trajectory of the bolide from four security videos and dashcam cameras. The bolide had an entry angle of 73° relative to the ground, traveling 20.7 km in the 4-s analyzed interval, with an atmospheric velocity of 14 km/s. Analysis shows a projected elliptical strewn-field with major axis length of 6.3 and minor axis of 3.3 km. Hundreds of stones were recovered within the projected strewn-field. The bolide orbit was determined, with the follow preliminary elements: semi-major axis 2.7 AU, eccentricity 0.63, inclination 3.09°, pericenter longitude of 185.3° and ascending node 33.4°. Current total recovered mass is around 27 kg, of which ~11 kg was collected before rain fell over the fall site.

Physical characteristics: (L. Garvie, ASU) Hundreds of fusion-crusted stones ranging from 0.1 to 1868 g. Stones under ~50 g are typically angular to blocky and lack regmaglypts. Also found were several plate-like, oriented stones. For example, one oriented plate is 13 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Many stones are oriented with a domed leading edge and well-developed roll-over lip along the rim of the trailing edge. Larger stones, especially those near 1 kg, show broad regmaglypts, some well developed. The fusion crust on several of the trailing edge surfaces is iridescent. Pre-rain material crushed in a few ml of water emits a powerful "Murchison-like" odor, though with a more prominent compost-like scent.

Petrography: (L. Garvie, ASU) The interior of the stones is uniformly dark gray and studded with small light-colored speckles. Stones are brecciated and dominated by two lithologies: chondrule poor, constituting ~80 areal% of the broken surfaces examined (~2 kg of material), and chondrule rich. Chondrules constitute ~10 areal% of the chondrule-poor lithology and ~40 areal% in the chondrule-rich lithology. Some broken surfaces show clasts of the chondrule-rich lithology in the chondrule-poor type. Clasts with lower chondrule to matrix ratio also present; for example, one 3 g half stone shows <1 areal% chondrules. A probe mount of the dominant chondrule-poor lithology (sample area 1.5 × 2.2 cm) shows scattered small chondrules (mean 275 μm, n=40), with prominent fine-grained rims. Rare chondrules to 2 mm. Fe-Ni metal, which is Cr-bearing, was only found as rounded grains in one 100-μm type I chondrule. The section contains several Al-rich CAIs to 300 μm. The matrix is dominated by two components of roughly equal proportions: anhedral clumps (typically 50 microns) that are Fe and S rich (e.g., 37.5 wt% Fe and 5.8 wt% S, with microprobe total of 93%), surrounded by fine-grained material poorer in Fe and S (e.g., 12.8 wt% Fe, 13.9 wt% Mg, and 0.5 wt% S, with microprobe total of 80.0%). Powder XRD from five stones (one chondrule rich) shows patterns dominated by serpentine. In two stones, the serpentine 001 reflection sits on a broad peak centered at 0.843 nm. Reflections for tochilinite and calcite occur in all patterns. The intensities of olivine and pyroxene reflections were generally low, but most prominent in the chondrules-rich stone.

Geochemistry: Oxygen isotopes (K. Ziegler, UNM): 7 pre-rain fragments analyzed by laser fluorination gave δ18O= 10.342, 10.807, 11.591, 12.314, 12.249, 12.669, 9.748; δ17O= 2.381, 2.932, 3.360, 3.843, 3.995, 3.959, 2.143; Δ17O=-3.080, -2.775, -2.759, -2.659, -2.472, -2.730, -3.004 (linearized, all per mil, TFL slope=0.528). Microprobe (L. Garvie, ASU): Fa0.4-41.0, n=10.

Classification: Geochemistry and oxygen isotopic data consistent with CM2.

Specimens: 248 g ASU; MFarmer - 6.5 kg; Achim Karl - 2.5 kg; Robert Ward - 3.2 kg; Kevin Kichinka - 489 g.

Data from:
  MB108
  Table 0
  Line 0:
State/Prov/County:Alajuela
Date:2019 Apr 23
Latitude:10°23'29.03"N
Longitude:84°20'28.58"W
Mass (g):27000
Pieces:hundreds
Class:CM2
Shock stage:low
Classifier:L. Garvie, ASU; K. Ziegler, UNM
Type spec mass (g):248
Type spec location:ASU
Main mass:The 1071 g first mass is still with the finder. A second larger mass of 1868 g is also with the finder.
Comments:Submitted by L. Garvie
Plots: O isotopes:  
Institutions
   and collections
ASU: Center for Meteorite Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, United States; Website (institutional address; updated 14 Jan 2012)
UNM: Institute of Meteoritics MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 USA, United States; Website (institutional address; updated 12 Feb 2015)
USP: Museu de Geociências - USP Rua do Lago, 562 CEP: 05508-080 Butantã - SP Brazil, Brazil; Website (institutional address; updated 16 Feb 2024)
MFarmer: Michael Farmer, P.O. Box 86059, Tucson, AZ 85754-6059, United States; Website (private address)
Catalogs:
References: Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108 (2020) Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 55, 1146-1150
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Photos:
CreditPhotos
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    (Caution, these are of unknown reliability)
chen wang   
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Guchen Chen   
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Ryan Upchurch   
Volker Heinrich   
Wojciech Moscinski   
Woreczko Jan & Wadi                  
Ziyao Wang            
Public domain photographs:
Laurence Garvie   
Geography:

Costa Rica
Coordinates:
     Recommended::   (10° 23' 29"N, 84° 20' 29"W)

Statistics:
     This is the only approved meteorite from Alajuela, Costa Rica
     This is 1 of 2 approved meteorites from Costa Rica
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