June 23, 2021: Few years back, in 2015, a solid piece of debris ‘Meteorite’ fell near a village in Assam.
Reportedly, a team of students and researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have analysed about the above mentioned meteorite which could hold clues about the composition of the mantle and offer insights into how Earth was formed.
The Earth's surface is composed of three layers - the crust, mantle and core. The crust is the outermost layer, mantle is the largest and most massive layer and the core is located below the crust.
According to the study, the shocked meteorite had struck Kamargaon village on November 13, 2015.
The researchers' study stated that the Earth's mantle was formed from a similar material that constitutes the Assam meteorite, which is mostly made up of a substance known as Olivine.
Olivine is a rock-forming mineral found in dark-coloured igneous rocks and has a very high crystallisation temperature compared to other minerals. It is considered an important mineral in Earth's mantle.
Speaking to India Today Dr Sujoy Ghosh, one of the researchers said, "This is the first time that researchers have found compositions in a meteorite that is found when Olivine is melted at high temperatures and pressures, confirming that the chemical found in the mantle is also present in the asteroid belt".
“These meteorites have survived high-pressure and high-temperature events during their formation and fall on Earth due to the planet's gravitational pull", Ghosh added.
Researchers said that the meteorite was classified as an L6 chondrite.
Researchers used a high-resolution electron microscope to image and scan the meteorite and conduct a set of complex analyses on a nanometer scale to find evidence of the complex chemical reaction that forms the Earth's mantle.
Researchers found that Olivine breaks down into Bridgmanite and Magnesiowustite in the Earth's lower mantle, which is one of the most important reactions that largely control the properties in the Earth's interior.