<Abstract>

 Professor Eiji Ohtani, graduate school student Shin Ozawa and research fellow Masaaki Miyahara (Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University) found a high-pressure polymorph of SiO2, coesite and stishovite in a lunar meteorite (Asuka-881757). Quartz, which is a rare mineral in lunar rocks, was also identified in the lunar meteorite. This novel result is brought by collaborative research with colleagues from Ibaraki University, the University of Tokyo and Chiba Institute of Technology. Our study reveals the coexistence of coesite, stishovite and quartz in samples derived from the Moon for the first time. We can achieve this result by investigating the lunar meteorite using several most advanced microprobe analysis devices such as a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) installed at Tohoku University as common facilities. Our study is published in a scientific journal “Proceedings for National Academy of Science (PNAS)” on December 27, 2010. PNAS assign our article for research highlight as one of the most interesting articles in the volume.

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[Contact]
Professor Eiji Ohtani
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
TEL/FAX: +81-22-795-6662
E-mail: ohtani*m.tohoku.ac.jp　(Replace * with @)