Abstract
Fractionation effects related to evaporation and condensation had a major impact on the current elemental and isotopic composition of the Solar System. Although isotopic fractionation of moderately volatile elements has been observed in tektites due to impact heating, the exact nature of the processes taking place during hypervelocity impacts remains poorly understood. By studying Fe in microtektites, here we show that impact events do not simply lead to melting, melt expulsion and evaporation, but involve a convoluted sequence of processes including condensation, variable degrees of mixing between isotopically distinct reservoirs and ablative evaporation during atmospheric re-entry. Hypervelocity impacts can as such not only generate isotopically heavy, but also isotopically light ejecta, with δ56/54Fe spanning over nearly 5‰ and likely even larger variations for more volatile elements. The mechanisms demonstrated here for terrestrial impact ejecta modify our understanding of the effects of impact processing on the isotopic evolution of planetary crusts.
Highlights
Fractionation effects related to evaporation and condensation had a major impact on the current elemental and isotopic composition of the Solar System
When the protosolar dust cloud evolved into the rocky terrestrial planets, the asteroids and planetesimals accreting to these planets were significantly depleted in moderately volatile elements as the result of these processes[1]
Terrestrial ejecta, which formed during hypervelocity impacts that were especially prevalent during the early Solar System, are interesting for studying the effects of evaporation that occurred during these events
Summary
Fractionation effects related to evaporation and condensation had a major impact on the current elemental and isotopic composition of the Solar System. Isotopic fractionation of moderately volatile elements has been observed in tektites due to impact heating, the exact nature of the processes taking place during hypervelocity impacts remains poorly understood. Terrestrial ejecta, which formed during hypervelocity impacts that were especially prevalent during the early Solar System, are interesting for studying the effects of evaporation that occurred during these events. Such impacts generate ejected silicate melt with broadly upper crustal compositions as a result of extreme heat and pressure. Drilling Project (DSDP), as well as from piston cores by a variety of oceanographic institutes in over 60 locations in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans and adjacent seas[12,13], and from several sediment accumulation traps in Antarctica[14,15,16,17]
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