Determination of Rb-Sr age for separated chondrules from the Allegan chondrite

Rb-Sr isotopic study as well as petrologic investigations have been done on sixteen individul chondrule samples separated from the Allegan (H5) chondrite. The Rb-Sr chondrule isochron does not define a very precise age (4.42±0.17 Ga) and 87Sr/86Sr initial ratio (0.6997±0.0014) due to the very small variation in Rb/Sr ratio for the chondrules, whereas the model ages give a much more speciffic value (4.42±0.02 Ga). These ages may probably be indicative of the time of primary process (es) (e.g. chondrule formation) rather than secondary (metamorphic reheating) or tertiary (shock heating) processes in and/or on the H-chodrite parent body (or bodies). Chemical compositions of oliveines (Fa=17.5mol%, mean deviation (MD)=1.3%) and orthopyoxenes (Fs=15.4mol%, MD=3.2%) are moderately homogenized among the chondrules, while certains chemically uneguilibrated features are also distinctly preserved in this chondrite. Homogeneity of the mineral compositions, therefore, could not have been caused by thermal metamorphism but were probably inherited from processes prior to aggregation of the components. The overall implications of the chondrule isochron and model ages in relation to the petrological features and in comparison with Rb-Sr data of other chondrites of different chemical groups and petrologic types are discussed.