Dubrovnik meteorite, Molunat, Split-Dalmatia County, Croatiai

Regional Level Types
Dubrovnik meteorite	Meteorite Fall Location
Molunat	- not defined -
Split-Dalmatia County	County
Croatia	Country

Unequilibrated ordinary chondrite, brecciated (L3-6, pm; S3)
Fall, 20 February 1951; 1.9 kg, single stone

After a loud apparent thunderclap during rainy weather, a single stone stuck a tree and then embedded itself 30 cm deep into the ground. Upon inspection the interior of this brecciated meteorite contains abundant, often granular chondrules (up to 2mm in size), clasts, and inclusions within a fine-grained and sometimes glassy matrix. Most of the olivine (Fa23.5,av.) and Ca-poor pyroxene (Fs23,av.) is roughly equilibrated. However, compositional outliers include grains of extremely Fe-poor forsterite and enstatite, sensu strictu. Plagioclase (bytownite), troilite, and Fe-metal are also present. However, zoning of many silicate rims, the wide compositional range of spinels, the presence of 4 separate pyroxenes (up to 3 in single chondrules), the relative scarcity of orthopyroxene, and the presence of glass indicates that the meteorite is an unequilibrated member of the L (low iron) ordinary chondrite group. But it an unusual unequilibrated chondrite. It might be more completely described as a shocked and only partially reequilibrated breccia assembled from a mechanical mixture of (mostly) L chondritic aggregates — aggregates which had themselves been in various stages of equilibrium. In short, it is a polymict brecciated L3-6 chondrite. At a more granular level, the variety of compositions and textures of these incompletely equilibrated components — including some unusual spinel-plagioclase intergrowths — have drawn attention.

As of September 2015 there were a total of 44 witnessed falls of ordinary chondrites of petrologic type 3 (aka, unequilibrated ordinary chondrites or 'UOC') listed with the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. However, the Dubrovnik fall is the only UOC fall listed as exactly an 'L3-6'. The main mass has been held in the Dubrovnik Museum.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References