Identification of the projectile component in the impact structures Rochechouart, France and Sääksjärvi, Finland: Implications for the impactor population for the earth

Abstract

A set of 11 impact melt rock samples from the Rochechouart impact structure, France and nine impact melt rock samples from Sääksjärvi impact structure, Finland were studied for their major and trace element compositions, including the abundances of the platinum group elements. The main goal of this study was to identify the projectile type(s) responsible for the formation of these two impact structures. The results confirmed previous studies that suggested extraterrestrial contamination in both the Rochechouart and Sääksjärvi impact melt rocks. The projectile types found for Rochechouart and Sääksjärvi are quite similar, and compatible with the composition of non-magmatic iron meteorites (IA and IIIC). This interpretation is based on: identical platinum group element patterns as well as peculiar Ni/Cr, Ni/Ir and Cr/Ir ratios, which can be explained by mixing of the different components of non-magmatic iron meteorites. This result indicates that, besides ordinary chondrites, non-magmatic iron may be among the most common material impacting the Earth, as they also represent the majority of the projectiles for craters smaller that 1.5 km. The abundance of non-magmatic irons as projectiles as well as their composition (olivine, pyroxene and iron) supports the assumption that a fraction of the S-type asteroids could by related to this type of material.