Magnetic properties of the LL5 ordinary chondrite Chelyabinsk (fall of February 15, 2013)

Here we characterize the magnetic properties of the Chelyabinsk chondrite (LL5, S4, W0) and constrain the composition, concentration, grain size distribution, and mineral fabric of the meteorite's magnetic mineral assemblage. Data were collected from 10 to 1073 K and include measurements of low-field magnetic susceptibility (chi(0)), the anisotropy of chi(0), hysteresis loops, first-order reversal curves, Mossbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray microtomography. The REM and REM' paleointensity protocols suggest that the only magnetizations recorded by the chondrite are components of the Earth's magnetic field acquired during entry into our planet's atmosphere. The Chelyabinsk chondrite consists of light and dark lithologies. Fragments of the light lithology show log chi(0) = 4.57 +/- 0.09 (s.d.) (n = 135), while the dark lithology shows 4.65 +/- 0.09 (n = 39) (where chi(0) is in 10(-9) m(3) kg(-1)). Thus, Chelyabinsk is three times more magnetic than the average LL5 fall, but is similar to a subgroup of metal-rich LL5 chondrites (Paragould, Aldsworth, Bawku, Richmond) and L/LL5 chondrites (Glanerbrug, Knyahinya). The meteorite's room-temperature magnetization is dominated by multidomain FeNi alloys taenite and kamacite (no tetrataenite is present). However, below approximately 75 K remanence is dominated by chromite. The metal contents of the light and dark lithologies are 3.7 and 4.1 wt%, respectively, and are based on values of saturation magnetization.