METAL SILICATE MIXTURES - SPECTRAL PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS TO ASTEROID TAXONOMY

The reflectance spectra of combinations of olivine, orthopyroxene, and iron meteorite metal show systematic variations in spectral properties which can be used to constrain many of the physical and chemical properties of the assemblages. The presence of metal most noticeably affects band area ratios, peak:peak and peak:minimum reflectance ratios, and band widths. These parameters are also affected to varying degress by the abundance and grain size of the metal and silicates and the composition of the silicates. Band width and band areas are useful for determining metal abundance in olivine+metal and orthopyroxene+metal assemblages, respectively. Mafic silicate grain size variations are best determined using band depth criteria. Band centers are most useful for determining mafic silicate composition. -from Authors