This mineral, which consists of isolated silicate tetrahedral, often occurs in ultramafic rocks and is present immediately above pyroxene in the discontinuous branch of Bowen's reaction series.
Grossman and Steele studied ameboid inclusions of this mineral in the Allende meteorite. Pallasite meteorites contain crystals of this mineral, which when exposed to aqueous silica transforms into serpentinite. On the surface, the Goldich dissolution series predicts that this mineral weathers to iddingsite, and elongated crystals of this material create fabrics in the "lattice-preferred orientation", creating a large source of seismic anisotropy in one layer. At a depth of around 410 kilometers, this mineral undergoes a phase transition to the polymorph (*) wadsleyite. The solid solution series for this mineral varies from the magnesium-rich forsterite to the iron-rich fayalite. This mineral is the predominant component of the upper mantle. This mineral, which consists of isolated silicate tetrahedral, often occurs in ultramafic rocks and is present immediately above pyroxene in the discontinuous branch of Bowen's reaction series. For 10 points, name this mineral whose gem-quality version is called peridot and is named for its green color.
Grossman and Steele studied ameboid inclusions of this mineral in the Allende meteorite.
olivine