Wehrlite is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene.
Photomicrograph of a thin section of wehrlite, in cross-polarised light

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites.

The nomenclature allows up to a few percent of orthopyroxene. Accessory minerals include ilmenite, chromite, magnetite and an aluminium-bearing mineral (plagioclase, spinel or garnet).[1]

Wehrlites occur as mantle xenoliths and in ophiolites. Another occurrence is as cumulate in gabbro and norite layered intrusions.[1] Some meteorites can also be classified as wehrlites (e.g. NWA 4797).[2]

Wehrlite is named after Alois Wehrle.[3] He was born 1791 in Kroměříž, Czech Republic (then Kremsier in Mähren) and was a professor at the "Ungarische Bergakademie" (Hungarian Mining School) in Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia (then Schemnitz, Kingdom of Hungary).[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Glossary: Wehrlite". Imperial College. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "NWA 4797" (PDF). curator.jsc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Department of Mineralogy and Petrography". uni-miskolc.hu. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "ADB:Wehrle, Alois". WikiSource. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
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