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1.
Abstract— Montanari et al. (1993) reported a positive Ir anomaly in the upper Eocene sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Hole 689B on the Maud Rise, Southern Ocean. Vonhof (1998) described microtektites and clinopyroxene-bearing (cpx) spherules associated with the Ir anomaly in Hole 689B and suggested that they belong to the North American and equatorial Pacific cpx strewn fields, respectively. We searched a suite of 27 samples taken through the spherule layer from Hole 689B, and we recovered 386 microtektites and 667 cpx spherules. We studied the petrography of the microtektites and cpx spherules and determined the major element compositions of 31 microtektites and 14 cpx spherules using energy dispersive x-ray analysis. We also determined the minor element compositions of eight microtektites using instrumental neutron activation analysis. We found that the peak abundance of cpx spherules is ～2 cm below the peak abundance of the microtektites (～128.7 m below sea floor), which suggests that the cpx spherule layer may be slightly older (～3–5 ka). The microtektites are mostly spherical and are generally transparent and colorless. They are similar to the North American microtektites in composition, the biggest differences being their generally lower Na2O and generally higher Zr, Ba, and Ir (up to 0.3 ppb) contents. We agree with Vonhof (1998) that the Hole 689B microtektites probably belong to the North American tektite strewn field. We calculate that the number of microtektites (>125 μm)/cm2 at Hole 689B is 52. This number is close to the concentration predicted by extrapolation of the trend of concentration vs. distance from the Chesapeake Bay structure, based on data from other North American microtektite-bearing sites. Thus, the North American strewn field may be at least four times larger than previously mapped. The Hole 689B cpx spherules range from translucent yellow to opaque black, but most are opaque tan to dark brown. They are generally spherical in shape and all are < 125 μm in diameter. Some contain Ni-rich spinels in addition to clinopyroxene microlites. The cpx spherules are petrographically and compositionally similar to cpx spherules previously found in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, equatorial Pacific, and eastern Indian Ocean. The abundance and widespread geographic occurrence of these spherules suggest that the strewn field may be global in geographic extent. Assuming a global extent, we estimate that there may be at least 25 billion metric tons of cpx spherules in the strewn field. Based on age, size, and geographic location, we speculate that the 100 km diameter Popigai crater in northern Siberia may be the source of the cpx spherule layer.  相似文献   

2.
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis suggests that multiple airbursts or extraterrestrial impacts occurring at the end of the Allerød interstadial resulted in the Younger Dryas cold period. So far, no reproducible, diagnostic evidence has, however, been reported. Quartz grains containing planar deformation features (known as shocked quartz grains), are considered a reliable indicator for the occurrence of an extraterrestrial impact when found in a geological setting. Although alleged shocked quartz grains have been reported at a possible Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layer in Venezuela, the identification of shocked quartz in this layer is ambiguous. To test whether shocked quartz is indeed present in the proposed impact layer, we investigated the quartz fraction of multiple Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layers from Europe and North America, where proposed impact markers have been reported. Grains were analyzed using a combination of light and electron microscopy techniques. All samples contained a variable amount of quartz grains with (sub)planar microstructures, often tectonic deformation lamellae. A total of one quartz grain containing planar deformation features was found in our samples. This shocked quartz grain comes from the Usselo palaeosol at Geldrop Aalsterhut, the Netherlands. Scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence imaging and transmission electron microscopy imaging, however, show that the planar deformation features in this grain are healed and thus likely to be older than the Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary. We suggest that this grain was possibly eroded from an older crater or distal ejecta layer and later redeposited in the European sandbelt. The single shocked quartz grain at this moment thus cannot be used to support the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.  相似文献   

3.
Here we present a study of the abundance and orientation of planar deformation features (PDFs) in the Vakkejokk Breccia, a proposed lower Cambrian impact ejecta layer in the North‐Swedish Caledonides. The presence of PDFs is widely accepted as evidence for shock metamorphism associated with cosmic impact events and their presence confirms that the Vakkejokk Breccia is indeed the result of an impact. The breccia has previously been divided into four lithological subunits (from bottom to top), viz. lower polymict breccia (LPB), graded polymict breccia (GPB), top sandstone (TS), and top conglomerate (TC). Here we show that the LPB contains no shock metamorphic features, indicating that the material derives from just outside of the crater and represents low‐shock semi‐autochthonous bombarded strata. In the overlying, more fine‐grained GPB and TS, quartz grains with PDFs are relatively abundant (2–5% of the grain population), and with higher shock levels in the upper parts, suggesting that they have formed by reworking of more distal ejecta by resurge of water toward the crater in a marine setting. The absence of shocked quartz grains in the TC indicates that this unit represents later slumps associated with weathering and erosion of the protruding crater rim. Sparse shocked quartz grains (<0.2%) were also found in sandstone beds occurring at the same stratigraphic level as the Vakkejokk Breccia 15–20 km from the inferred crater site. It is currently unresolved whether the sandstone at these distal sites is related to the impact or just contains rare reworked quartz grains with PDFs.  相似文献   

4.
Abstract— Australasian microtektites were discovered in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 1143A in the central part of the South China Sea. Unmelted ejecta were found associated with the microtektites at this site and with Australasian microtektites in Core SO95–17957–2 and ODP Hole 1144A from the central and northern part of the South China Sea, respectively. A few opaque, irregular, rounded, partly melted particles containing highly fractured mineral inclusions (generally quartz and some K feldspar) and some partially melted mineral grains, in a glassy matrix were also found in the microtektite layer. The unmelted ejecta at all three sites include abundant white, opaque grains consisting of mixtures of quartz, coesite, and stishovite, and abundant rock fragments which also contain coesite and, rarely, stishovite. This is the first time that shock‐metamorphosed rock fragments have been found in the Australasian microtektite layer. The rock fragments have major and trace element contents similar to the Australasian microtektites and tektites, except for higher volatile element contents. Assuming that the Australasian tektites and microtektites were formed from the same target material as the rock fragments, the parent material for the Australasian tektites and microtektites appears to have been a fine‐grained sedimentary deposit. Hole 1144A has the highest abundance of microtektites (number/cm2) of any known Australasian microtektite‐bearing site and may be closer to the source crater than any previously identified Australasian microtektite‐bearing site. A source crater in the vicinity of 22° N and 104° E seems to explain geographic variations in abundance of both the microtektites and the unmelted ejecta the best; however, a region extending NW into southern China and SE into the Gulf of Tonkin explains the geographic variation in abundance of microtektites and unmelted ejecta almost as well. The size of the source crater is estimated to be 43 ± 9 km based on estimated thickness of the ejecta layer at each site and distance from the proposed source. A volcanic ash layer occurs just above the Australasian microtektite layer, which some authors suggest is from a supereruption of the Toba caldera complex. We estimate that deposition of the ash occurred ?800 ka ago and that it is spread over an area of at least 3.7 times 107 km2.  相似文献   

5.
By dissolving 30–400 kg of marine limestone in HCl and HF acid, our group has previously recovered common relict chromite grains (approximately 63–250 μm) from ordinary chondritic micrometeorites that fell on ancient sea floors, up to 500 Myr old. Here, we evaluate if CM group carbonaceous chondritic material, which makes up an important fraction of the micrometeorite flux today, contains analogous grains that can be searched for in acid residues. We dissolved 8 g of CM2 meteorite Acfer 331 in HF, which yielded a characteristic assemblage of both transparent Mg‐Al‐ and opaque Cr‐spinels >28 μm. We find on average 4.6 and 130 Mg‐Al‐spinel grains per gram in the 63–250 and 28–63 μm size fractions, respectively. These grains are mostly pink or colorless, and often characterized by heterogeneous Cr‐content. Black, opaque Cr‐spinel grains are absent from the >63 μm fraction, but in the 28–63 μm fraction we find approximately 65 such grains per gram meteorite. The individual grains have a characteristic composition, with heterogeneous major element compositions (e.g., 44.4–61.7 wt% Cr2O3), but narrow ranges for maximum TiO2 (0.6–1.6 wt%) and V2O3 (0.5–1.0 wt%) concentrations. The content of spinel grains in the 28–63 μm fraction of CM meteorites appears comparable at the order of magnitude level with the content of >63 μm sized chromite grains in fossil L‐chondrites from Ordovician limestone. Our approach of recovering meteoritic spinel from sediment may thus be extended to include CM meteorites, but the smaller size fraction of the acid residues should be searched.  相似文献   

6.
NWA 10214 is an LL3‐6 breccia containing ~8 vol% clasts including LL5, LL6, and shocked‐darkened LL fragments as well as matrix‐rich Clast 6 (a new kind of chondrite). This clast is a dark‐colored, subrounded, 6.1 × 7.0 mm inclusion, consisting of 60 vol% fine‐grained matrix, 32 vol% coarse silicate grains, and 8 vol% coarse opaque grains. The large chondrules and chondrule fragments are mainly Type IB; one small chondrule is Type IIA. Also present are one 450 × 600 μm spinel‐pyroxene‐olivine CAI and one 85 × 110 μm AOI. Clast 6 possesses a unique set of properties. (1) It resembles carbonaceous chondrites in having relatively abundant matrix, CAIs, and AOIs; the clast's matrix composition is close to that in CV3 Vigarano. (2) It resembles type‐3 OC in its olivine and low‐Ca pyroxene compositional distributions, and in the Fe/Mn ratio of ferroan olivine grains. Its mean chondrule size is within 1σ of that of H chondrites. The O‐isotopic compositions of the chondrules are in the ordinary‐ and R‐chondrite ranges. (3) It resembles type‐3 enstatite chondrites in the minor element concentrations in low‐Ca pyroxene grains and in having a high low‐Ca pyroxene/olivine ratio in chondrules. Clast 6 is a new variety of type‐3 OC, somewhat more reduced than H chondrites or chondritic clasts in the Netschaevo IIE iron; the clast formed in a nebular region where aerodynamic radial drift processes deposited a high abundance of matrix material and CAIs. A chunk of this chondrite was ejected from its parent asteroid and later impacted the LL body at low relative velocity.  相似文献   

7.
Ejecta from the Connors Creek site in Michigan (500 km from the Sudbury Igneous Complex [SIC]), the Pine River site in western Ontario (650 km from the SIC), and the Coleraine site in Minnesota (980 km from the SIC) were petrographically and geochemically analyzed. Connors Creek was found to have approximately 2 m of ejecta, including shocked quartz, melt droplets, and accretionary lapilli; Pine River has similar deposits about 1 m in thickness, although with smaller lapilli; Coleraine contains only impact spherules in a 20 cm‐thick layer (impact spherules being similar to microkrystites or microtektites). The ejecta transition from chaotic deposits of massively bedded impactoclastic material with locally derived detritus at Connors Creek to a deposit with apparently very little detrital material that is primarily composed of melt droplets at Pine River to a deposit that is almost entirely composed of melt spherules at Coleraine. The major and trace element compositions of the ejecta confirm the previously observed similarity of the ejecta deposits to the Onaping Formation in the SIC. Platinum‐group element (PGE) concentrations from each of the sites were also measured, revealing significantly elevated PGE contents in the spherule samples compared with background values. PGE abundances in samples from the Pine River site can be reproduced by addition of approximately 0.2 wt% CI chondrite to the background composition of the underlying sediments in the core. PGE interelement ratios indicate that the Sudbury impact event was probably caused by a chondritic impactor.  相似文献   

8.
Abstract— During Leg 150 of the Ocean Drilling Project (ODP), two sites (903C and 904A) were cored that have sediments of the same biostratigraphic age as the upper Eocene tektite-bearing ejecta layer at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 612. Core 45X from ODP Site 904A (～4 km north of Site 612) contains a 5 cm thick tektite-bearing ejecta layer, and Core 56 from Site 903C (～8 km north-northwest of Site 904) contains a 2 cm thick layer of impact ejecta without any tektite or impact glass. Shocked quartz and feldspar grains, with multiple sets of planar deformation features (PDFs), and abundant coesite-bearing grains are present at both sites. The major oxide contents, trace element compositions, and rare earth element (REE) patterns of the Site 904 tektites are similar to those of the Site 612 tektites and to North American tektites (especially bediasites). The ?Sr and ?Nd values for one composite tektite sample from Site 904 fall within the range previously obtained for the Site 612 tektites, which defines a linear trend that, if extrapolated, would intersect the values obtained for North American tektites. The water contents of eight tektite fragments from Site 904 range from 0.017 to 0.098 wt%, and, thus, are somewhat higher than is typical for tektites. The heavy mineral assemblages of the 63–125 μm size fractions from the ejecta layers at Sites 612, 903, and 904 are all similar. Therefore, we conclude that the ejecta layer at all three sites is from the same impact event and that the tektites at Sites 904 and 612 belong to the North American tektite strewn field. Clinopyroxene-bearing (cpx) spherules occur below, or in the lower part of, the main ejecta layer at all three sites. At all three sites, the cpx spherules have been partly or completely replaced with pyrite that preserved the original crystalline textures. Site 612, 903, and 904 cpx spherules are similar to those found in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, central equatorial Pacific, western equatorial Pacific, and eastern Indian Ocean. The cpx event appears to have preceded the North American tektite event by 10–15 ka or less. The fining-upward sequence at all three sites and concentration of the denser, unmelted impact ejecta at the top of the tektite layer at Sites 612 and 904 suggest that the tektite-bearing ejecta layers are not the result of downslope redeposition and that the unmelted ejecta landed after the glass. Geographic variations in thickness of the tektite-bearing ejecta layer, the lack of carbonate clasts in the ejecta layer, and the low CaO content of the tektite glass suggest that the ejecta (including the tektite glass) were derived from the Chesapeake Bay structure rather than from the Toms Canyon structure. A sharp decline in microfossil abundances suggests that local environmental changes caused by the impact may have had adverse effects on benthic foraminifera, radiolaria, sponges, and fish as well as the planktic foraminifera.  相似文献   

9.
Abstract We obtained two‐dimensional concentration maps for the minor elements Fe and V in 21 spinel crystals in the Allende type B1 inclusion TS‐34 with a 4–5 μm resolution. Locally high concentrations of Fe occur along at least one edge of the spinels and decrease toward the center of the grains. Enrichment in V can also occur along edges or at corners. In general, there is no overall correlation of the Fe and V distributions, but in local regions of two grains, the V and Fe distributions are correlated, strongly suggesting a local source for both elements. In these two grains, opaque assemblages are present that appear to locally control the V distributions. This, coupled with previous work, suggests that prior to alteration, TS‐34 contained V‐rich metal. Oxidation of this metal during alteration can account for the edge/corner V enrichments, but provide only minor FeO contributions, explaining the overall lack of correlation between Fe and V. Most of the FeO appears to have been externally introduced along spinel boundaries during alteration. These alteration phases served as sources for diffusion of FeO into spinel. FeO distributions in spinel lead to a mean attenuation length of ?8 μm and, using literature diffusion coefficients in isothermal and exponential cooling approximations for peak temperatures in the range 600–700°C, this leads to a time scale for calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusion (CAI) alteration in the range of decades to centuries.  相似文献   

10.
Cover     
Complex corona of anorthite + olivine around primary spinel in angrite NWA 3164. Left‐hand side image is general view (backscattered electron image): the anorthite corona developed preferentially at the expense of spinel and extends far from the contact between spinel and clinopyroxene; locally, secondary clinopyroxene and spinel developed between the anorthite corona and primary olivine. Traces of calcite are observed within the late veins. Scale bar: 100 μm. The blue box indicates the enlarged inset (right‐hand side image) showing a detailed view (false‐color image) red: spinel; light green: olivine; dark green: clinopyroxene; violet: anorthite; pink: kamacite and iron oxide; blue: calcite. Olivine in the corona is partly enveloped by clinopyroxene. Small clinopyroxene grains and spinel fi lms formed between the secondary olivine and anorthite that developed around primary spinel. Scale bar: 20 μm. For details see Baghdadi et al. on pp. 1873–1893.  相似文献   

11.
Abstract— Crystalline lunar spherules (CLS) from three thin sections of Apollo 14 regolith breccias (14318,6; 14318,48 and 14315,20) have been examined. The objects have been classified and their abundances, size distributions, bulk compositions, and (where possible) plagioclase compositions determined. By number, 64% consist predominantly of very fine-grained equant plagioclase grains but can also contain larger (～50 μm) feldspar crystals (type X), while 22% contain plagioclase lathes in a fine-grained mafic mesostasis (type Y). Plagioclase in both spherule types displays bright yellow cathodoluminescence that is conspicuous among the blue CL of the normal feldspar of the breccias. Type Z spherules (5%) contain feldspar with blue CL and minor amounts of olivine and pyroxene. Type Q spherules (4%) contain feldspar with yellow CL but in a luminescent mesostasis (of quartz or feldspar?). A few spherules are mixtures of type Y and type X textures. Most type X spherules, and a few type Y spherules, have fine-grained opaque rims. Compound objects were also found and consist of two or more CLS that appear to have collided while still plastic or molten. The CLS are thought to be impact spherules that crystallized in free flight, their coarse textures suggesting fairly slow cooling rates (～ <1 °C/s). The abundance of the CLS resembles that of chondrules in the CM chondrite Murchison, and their cumulative size-frequency distributions are very similar to those of the chondrules in several meteorite classes. The bulk compositions of the CLS do not resemble regoliths at any of the Apollo sites, including Apollo 14, or any of the common impact glasses, but they do resemble the bulk compositions of several lunar meteorites and the impact glasses they contain. The Apollo 14 site is located on a region containing Imbrium ejecta, and we suggest that the CLS derive from the Imbrium impact. Ballistic calculations indicate that only impact events of this size on the Moon are capable of producing melt spherules with the required free flight times and slow cooling rates. Smaller impacts produce glassy spherules and agglutinates. As has been pointed out many times, the CLS have many properties in common with meteoritic chondrules. While much remains unclear, difficulties with a nebular origin and new developments in chondrule chronology, studies of asteroid surfaces and impact ejecta behavior, and the present observations indicate that meteoritic chondrules could have formed by impact.  相似文献   

12.
Abstract– The Chesapeake Bay impact structure, approximately 85 km in diameter, has been drilled in 2005–2006 at Eyreville (Virginia, USA), to a total depth of 1766 m. In the drill cores, the abundance of shock metamorphosed material is very variable with depth. Shocked mineral and lithic clasts, as well as melt particles, are most abundant in suevitic impact breccia section (1397–1451 m depth). Shocked quartz (i.e., quartz grains with planar fractures and/or planar deformation features) and melt particles, although rare, are also dispersed in the Exmore Formation unit (444–867 m depth). Other lithologies in the Eyreville drill cores show no clear evidence of shock metamorphism. Here, we report on the investigations of 40 samples from the impact breccia section. A total of more than 27,000 quartz grains were examined in about 200 clasts. The abundance of highly shocked clasts tends to decrease with increasing depth. Crystalline clasts derived from the crystalline basement are commonly only slightly shocked (contain generally <10 rel% of shocked quartz grains). The clasts of metamorphosed sediments show a low proportion of shocked quartz grains (mostly <10 rel%). Sedimentary clasts show a wide range of proportions of shocked quartz grains, with several of them being highly shocked clasts (most values between 0 and 40 rel%). Conglomerates show the highest proportion of shocked quartz grains of all types of clasts (up to 83 rel%). Polycrystalline quartz clasts are also commonly highly shocked (contain mostly between 10 and 40 rel% of shocked quartz grains). These hard nonporous clasts are possibly more liable to show evidence of shock. The investigations suggest that the intensity of shock metamorphism is the result of several parameters, such as original position in the target (both horizontal and vertical) and the properties of each lithology (e.g., grain size, porosity, and amount of matrix). According to the universal‐stage investigations, the dominant orientations of planar deformation features in quartz are , , and also .  相似文献   

13.
Thermoluminescence (TL) dating has been used to determine the age of the meteorite impact crater at Gebel Kamil (Egyptian Sahara). Previous studies suggested that the 45 m diameter structure was produced by a fall in recent times (less than 5000 years ago) of an iron meteorite impactor into quartz‐arenites and siltstones belonging to the Lower Cretaceous Gilf Kebir Formation. The impact caused the complete fragmentation of the impactor, and the formation of a variety of impactites (e.g., partially vitrified dark and light materials) present as ejecta within the crater and in the surrounding area. After a series of tests to evaluate the TL properties of different materials including shocked intra‐crater target rocks and different types of ejecta, we selected a suite of light‐colored ejecta that showed evidence of strong thermal shock effects (e.g., partial vitrification and the presence of high‐temperature and ‐pressure silica phases). The abundance of quartz in the target rocks, including the vitrified impactites, allowed TL dating to be undertaken. The variability of radioactivity of the intracrateric target rocks and the lack of direct in situ dosimetric evaluations prevented precise dating; it was, however, possible to constrain the impact in the 2000 BC–500 AD range. If, as we believe, the radioactivity measured in the fallback deposits is a reliable estimate of the mean radioactivity of the site, the narrower range 1600–400 BC (at the 2σ confidence level) can be realistically proposed.  相似文献   

14.
The ≤27 m thick Vakkejokk Breccia is intercalated in autochthon Lower Cambrian along the Caledonian front north of Lake Torneträsk, Lapland, Sweden. The spectacular breccia is here interpreted as a proximal ejecta layer associated with an impact crater, probably ~2–3 km in size, located below Caledonian overthrusts immediately north of the main breccia section. The impact would have taken place in a shallow‐marine environment ~520 Ma ago. The breccia comprises i) a strongly disturbed lower polymict subunit with occasional, in themselves brecciated, crystalline mega‐clasts locally exceeding 50 m surrounded by contorted sediments; ii) a middle, commonly normally graded, crystalline‐rich, polymict subunit, in turn locally overlain by iii) a thin fine‐grained quartz sandstone, <30 cm thick. The upper sandstone is sporadically either overlain, or replaced, by a conglomerate. In progressively more distal parts of the ejecta layer, the lower subunit is better described as only slightly disturbed strata. The lower subunit is suggested to have formed by ejecta bombardment of the strata surrounding the impact crater, even causing some net outwards mobilization of the sediments. The middle subunit and the uppermost quartz sandstone are considered resurge deposits. The top conglomerate may be caused by subsequent wave reworking and slumping of material from the elevated rim. Quartz grains showing planar deformation features are present in the graded polymict subunit and the upper sandstone, that is, the inferred resurge deposits.  相似文献   

15.
Extraterrestrial chrome spinel and chromite extracted from the sedimentary rock record are relicts from coarse micrometeorites and rarely meteorites. They are studied to reconstruct the paleoflux of meteorites to the Earth and the collisional history of the asteroid belt. Minor element concentrations of Ti and V, and oxygen isotopic compositions of these relict minerals were used to classify the meteorite type they stem from, and thus to determine the relative meteorite group abundances through time. While coarse sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome-spinel (SEC) grains from ordinary chondrites dominate through the studied time windows in the Phanerozoic, there are exceptions: We have shown that ~467 Ma ago, 1 Ma before the breakup of the L chondrite parent body (LCPB), more than half of the largest (>63 μm diameter) grains were achondritic and originated from differentiated asteroids in contrast to ordinary chondrites which dominated the meteorite flux throughout most of the past 500 Ma. Here, we present a new data set of oxygen isotopic compositions and elemental compositions of 136 grains of a smaller size fraction (32–63 μm) in ~467 Ma old pre-LCPB limestone from the Lynna River section in western Russia, that was previously studied by elemental analysis. Our study constitutes the most comprehensive oxygen isotopic data set of sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chrome spinel to date. We also introduce a Raman spectroscopy-based method to identify SEC grains and distinguish them from terrestrial chrome spinel with ~97% reliability. We calibrated the Raman method with the established approach using titanium and vanadium concentrations and oxygen isotopic compositions. We find that ordinary chondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–63 μm fraction than achondrites. While abundances of achondrites compared to ordinary chondrites are lower in the 32–63 μm size fraction than in the >63 μm one, achondrites are approximately three times more abundant in the 32–62 μm fraction than they are in the present flux. We find that the sources of SEC grains vary for different grain sizes, mainly as a result of parent body thermal metamorphism. We conclude that the meteorite flux composition ~467 Ma ago ~1 Ma before the breakup of the LCPB was fundamentally different from today and from other time windows studied in the Phanerozoic, but that in contrast to the large size fraction ordinary chondrites dominated the flux in the small size fraction. The high abundance of ordinary chondrites in the studied samples is consistent with the findings based on coarse extraterrestrial chrome-spinel from other time windows.  相似文献   

16.
Abstract– We examined 378 micrometeorites collected from deep‐sea sediments of the Indian Ocean of which 175, 180, and 23 are I‐type, S‐type, and G‐type, respectively. Of the 175 I‐type spherules, 13 contained platinum group element nuggets (PGNs). The nuggets occur in two distinct sizes and have distinctly different elemental compositions: micrometer (μm)‐sized nuggets that are >3 μm contain dominantly Ir, Os, and Ru (iridium‐platinum group element or IPGE) and sub‐μm (or nanometer)‐sized (<1 μm) nuggets, which contain dominantly Pt, Rh, and Pd (palladium—PGE or PPGE). The μm‐sized nuggets are found only one per spherule in the cross section observed and are usually found at the edge of the spherule. By contrast, there are hundreds of nanometer‐sized nuggets distributed dominantly in the magnetite phases of the spherules, and rarely in the wüstite phases. Both the nugget types are found as separate entities in the same spherule and apparently, nugget formation is a common phenomenon among I‐type micrometeorites. However, the μm‐sized nuggets are seen in fewer specimens (～2.5% of the observed I‐type spherules). In all, we analyzed four nuggets of μm size and 213 nanometer‐sized nuggets from 13 I‐type spherules for platinum group elements. Chemically, the μm‐sized PGNs contain chondritic ratios of Os/Ir, but are depleted in the more volatile PGE (Pt, Rh, and Pd) relative to chondritic ratios. On the other hand, the nanometer‐sized nuggets contain dominantly Pt and Rh. Importantly, the refractory PGEs are conspicuous by their absence in these nanometer nuggets. Palladium, the most volatile PGE is highly depleted (<1.1%) with respect to chondritic ratios in the μm‐sized PGNs, and is observed in only 17 of 213 nanometer nuggets with concentrations that are just above the detection limit (≥0.2%). Distinct fractionation of the PGE into IPGE (Ir, Os, Ru) and PPGE seems to take place during the short span of atmospheric entry. These observations suggest several implications: (1) The observation of fractionated PGE in an Fe‐Ni system gives rise to the possibility that Earth’s core could contain fractionated PGE. (2) The present data support the processes suggested for the fractionated PGE patterns observed in the ejecta of ancient meteorite impacts. (3) Meteoric metals released in the troposphere could contain fractionated PGNs in large numbers.  相似文献   

17.
We report on the microscopic impactor debris around Kamil crater (45 m in diameter, Egypt) collected during our 2010 geophysical expedition. The hypervelocity impact of Gebel Kamil (Ni‐rich ataxite) on a sandstone target produced a downrange ejecta curtain of microscopic impactor debris due SE–SW of the crater (extending ~300,000 m2, up to ~400 m from the crater), in agreement with previous determination of the impactor trajectory. The microscopic impactor debris include vesicular masses, spherules, and coatings of dark impact melt glass which is a mixture of impactor and target materials (Si‐, Fe‐, and Al‐rich glass), plus Fe‐Ni oxide spherules and mini shrapnel, documenting that these products can be found in craters as small as few tens of meters in diameter. The estimated mass of the microscopic impactor debris (<290 kg) derived from Ni concentrations in the soil is a small fraction of the total impactor mass (~10 t) in the form of macroscopic shrapnel. That Kamil crater was generated by a relatively small impactor is consistent with literature estimates of its pre‐atmospheric mass (>20 t, likely 50–60 t).  相似文献   

18.
Abstract— –The CH/CB‐like chondrite Isheyevo consists of metal‐rich (70–90 vol% Fe,Ni‐metal) and metal‐poor (7–20 vol% Fe,Ni‐metal) lithologies which differ in size and relative abundance of Fe,Ni‐metal and chondrules, as well as proportions of porphyritic versus non‐porphyritic chondrules. Here, we describe the mineralogy and petrography of Ca,Al‐rich inclusions (CAIs) and amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs) in these lithologies. Based on mineralogy, refractory inclusions can be divided into hibonite‐rich (39%), grossite‐rich (16%), melilite‐rich (19%), spinel‐rich (14%), pyroxene‐anorthite‐rich (8%), fine‐grained spinel‐rich CAIs (1%), and AOAs (4%). There are no systematic differences in the inclusion types or their relative abundances between the lithologies. About 55% of the Isheyevo CAIs are very refractory (hibonite‐rich and grossite‐rich) objects, 20–240 μm in size, which appear to have crystallized from rapidly cooling melts. These inclusions are texturally and mineralogically similar to the majority of CAIs in CH and CB chondrites. They are distinctly different from CAIs in other carbonaceous chondrite groups dominated by the spinel‐pyroxene ± melilite CAIs and AOAs. The remaining 45% of inclusions are less refractory objects (melilite‐, spinel‐ and pyroxene‐rich CAIs and AOAs), 40–300 μm in size, which are texturally and mineralogically similar to those in other chondrite groups. Both types of CAIs are found as relict objects inside porphyritic chondrules indicating recycling during chondrule formation. We infer that there are at least two populations of CAIs in Isheyevo which appear to have experienced different thermal histories. All of the Isheyevo CAIs apparently formed at an early stage, prior to chondrule formation and prior to a hypothesized planetary impact that produced magnesian cryptocrystalline and skeletal chondrules and metal grains in CB, and possibly CH chondrites. However, some of the CAIs appear to have undergone melting during chondrule formation and possibly during a major impact event. We suggest that Isheyevo, as well as CH and CB chondrites, consist of variable proportions of materials produced by different processes in different settings: 1) by evaporation, condensation, and melting of dust in the protoplanetary disk (porphyritic chondrules and refractory inclusions), 2) by melting, evaporation and condensation in an impact generated plume (magnesian cryptocrystalline and skeletal chondrules and metal grains; some igneous CAIs could have been melted during this event), and 3) by aqueous alteration of pre‐existing planetesimals (heavily hydrated lithic clasts). The Isheyevo lithologies formed by size sorting of similar components during accretion in the Isheyevo parent body; they do not represent fragments of CH and CB chondrites.  相似文献   

19.
Abstract— Spherules and irregular shard-like particles consisting of authigenic mineral phases have been identified in the Acraman impact ejecta horizon preserved within the late Proterozoic shales of the Adelaide Geosyncline, South Australia. The spherules (150 μm to 1 mm diameter) range in shape from near-spherical through ellipsoidal to extended ellipsoidal-dumbbell. The distinctive morphology of the spherules and shard-like particles and their restriction to the ejecta horizon, suggest that they were deposited initially as glassy bodies which subsequently have been pseudomorphed by more stable authigenic phases like calcite, quartz, albite, and barite.  相似文献   

20.
We examined 16 white opaque inclusions exposed on two polished slices of a Muong Nong‐type Australasian tektite from Muong Phin, Laos. The inclusions usually consist of a core, surrounded by a froth layer, and a quartz neoblast layer. The cores are composed primarily of a mixture of silica glass, coesite, and quartz in varying proportions. A thin (up to ~4 μm) layer of SiO2‐poor glass enriched in FeO, MgO, CaO, Al2O3, and TiO2 is observed as a bright halo in backscattered electron images around the quartz neoblasts and in places contains μm‐sized crystals, which may be Fe,Mg‐rich spinel. The distribution and textural relationships between the coesite‐bearing inclusions and the tektite matrix point to an in situ formation of the coesite due to an impact, rather than to infall, from a nearby impact, into tektite melt produced by the aerial burst of a bolide. The quartz neoblasts probably formed by crystallization of silica melt squeezed out of the inclusion core during the development of the froth layer. The bright halo may be the result of silica diffusing from the adjacent tektite melt into the growing quartz neoblasts. We propose that the survival of coesite was possible due to the froth layer that acted as a heat sink during bubble expansion and then as a thermal insulator.  相似文献   

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