Insights into L4 ordinary chondrites from the Gueltat Zemmour fall, Morocco: Modal mineralogy, chondrule characteristics, and magnetic signatures

The Gueltat Zemmour meteorite, an L4 ordinary chondrite that fell in southern Morocco on 21 August 2018, was investigated through petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical, and magnetic analyses. X-ray diffraction indicates a modal composition dominated by forsteritic olivine, enstatite, plagioclase, troilite, and Fe-Ni metal phases. Chondrules represent approximately 82% of the surface area, with porphyritic olivine-pyroxene and porphyritic olivine as the dominant types. Gamma spectrometry confirmed short-lived cosmogenic radionuclides consistent with a recent fall. Magnetic hysteresis properties and preserved tetrataenite indicate slow cooling during parent-body metamorphism, while the sulfide assemblage and elemental ratios reflect reducing conditions and minimal secondary alteration. Together, the results confirm Gueltat Zemmour as an equilibrated L4 chondrite and provide new insight into the thermal history and redox state of L-group parent bodies.