This three-year award supports US-UK cooperative research among three investigators: Derek Sears at the University of Arkansas and Grenville Turner and Ian Lyon at the University of Manchester. The objective is to systematically measure the oxygen isotope composition of olivine (the major silicate mineral) in chondrules, the major structural component of chondrite meteorites. Chondrules and their formation are considered an important and widespread phenomenon in the early solar systems. The analysis of their composition and properties could be used to determine the origin and history of chondrite meteorites, the most common form of meteorites, and eventually contribute to our understanding of the origins of solar systems. The US investigator brings to this collaboration expertise in petrography and chemical characterization of chondrules. This is complemented by the British investigators' expertise in oxygen isotope measurements and their development of an ion microprobe method for determining the oxygen isotope ratios in chondrules.
