New constraints on the Slate Islands impact structure, Ontario, Canada

Conference report: Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution VI

The target rocks of the 30-32-km diameter Slate Islands impact structure in northern Lake Superior, Canada, are Archean supracrustal and igneous rocks and supracrustal Proterozoic rocks. Shatter cones, pseudotachylites, impact glasses, and microscopic shock metamorphic features were formed during the contact and compression phase of the impact process, followed, during excavation and central uplift, by polymict, clastic matrix breccias in the uplifted target, and by allogenic fall-back breccias (suevite and bunte breccia). Monomict, autoclastic breccias were mainly observed on Mortimer Island and the other outlying islands of the archipelago and were probably generated relatively late in the impact process (central uplift and/or crater modification). The frequency of low index planar shock metamorphic features in quartz was correlated with results from shock experiments to estimate shock pressures experienced by the target rocks. The resulting shock attenuation plan across the archipelago is irregular, probably because the shock wave did not expand from a point or spherical source, and because of the destruction of an originally more regular shock attenuation plan during the central uplift and crater modification stages of the impact process. No impact melt rock bodies have been positively identified on the islands. An impact melt may be present in the annular trough around the islands, though and-based on a weighted mixture of target rocks-may have an intermediate-mafic composition. No such impact melt was found on the archipelago. An Ar-40-Ar-39 release spectrum of a pseudotachylite provides an age of about 436 Ma for the impact structure, substantiating age constraints based on various stratigraphic considerations.

Breccia formation at a complex impact crater: Slate Islands, Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada

Associations between impact structures and meteorite occurrences are rare and restricted to very young structures. Meteorite fragments are often disrupted in the atmosphere, and in most cases, meteorite falls that have been decelerated by atmospheric drag do not form a crater. Furthermore, meteorites are rapidly weathered. In this context, the finding of shatter cones in Jurassic marly limestone in the same location as a recent (105 ± 40 ka) iron meteorite fall near the village of Agoudal (High Atlas Mountains, Morocco) is enigmatic. The shatter cones are the only piece of evidence of a meteorite impact in the area. The overlap of a meteorite strewn field with the area of occurrence of shatter cones led previous researchers to consider that the meteorite fall was responsible for the formation of shatter cones in the context of formation of one or several small (<100 m) impact craters that had since been eroded. Shatter cones are generally not reported in association with subkilometer‐diameter impact craters. Here, we present new field observations and an analysis of the distribution and characteristics of shatter cones, breccia, and meteorites in the Agoudal area. Evidence for local deformation not related to the structural High Atlas tectonics has been observed, such as a vertical to overturned stratum trending N150‐N160. New outcrops with exposures of shatter cones are reported and extend the previously known area of occurrence. The area of in situ shatter cones (~0.15 km2) and the strewn field of meteorites are distinct, although they show some overlap. The alleged impact breccia is revealed as calcrete formations. No evidence for a genetic relationship between the shatter cones and the meteorites can be inferred from field observations. The extent of the area where in situ shatter cones and macrodeformation not corresponding to Atlas tectonic deformation are observed suggest that the original diameter of an impact structure could have been between at least 1–3 km. For typical erosion rates in the Atlas region (~0.08 cm yr−1), the period of time required for the erosion of such a structure (1.25–3.75 Ma) is much larger than the age of the meteorite fall. This line of reasoning excludes a genetic link between the shatter cones and the meteorite fall and indicates that the observed shatter cones belong to an ancient impact structure that has been almost entirely eroded.

Recent investigations indicate the importance of meteorite impact as a process which has operated throughout geologic time to produce numerous originally circular structures as much as 50 km in diameter. One such structure, at Sudbury, Ontario, is associated with large volumes of internally derived igneous rock. Geological and experimental studies have demonstrated that rocks subjected to intense shock waves produced by hypervelocity meteorite impacts and by nuclear or chemical explosions develop distinctive and uniqueshock-metamorphic features, including: (1) high-pressure minerals such as coesite and stishovite; (2) crystal lattice deformation features such as isotropic feldspar (maskelynite) and « planar features » (shock lamellae) in quartz; (3) ultra-high-temperature reactions not produced by normal geological processes, such as decomposition of zircon to baddeleyite and melting of quartz to lechatelierite. These petrographic features, currently regarded as unequivocal evidence for meteorite impact, can be preserved and recognized even in very old and deeply eroded structures. Such features have now been observed in more than 50 « crypto-explosion » structures ranging in size from 2 km to more than 60 km in diameter. The recent discovery of shock-metamorphic features in rocks of the Sudbury structure, Ontario, indicates that this old and complex structure was also produced by a large meteorite impact. Petrographic shock effects are widespread in inclusions of « basement » rock in the Onaping « tuff », a unit now regarded as afallback breccia deposited in the original crater immediately after impact. Similar shock effects also occur in the footwall rocks around the basin, associated with shatter cones and unusual Sudbury-type breccias. Study of Sudbury specimens has establishedgrades of progressive shock metamorphism comparable to those recognized at younger impact structures (Brent, Ontario; Ries basin, Germany). Igneous activity associated with known meteorite impact structures takes two forms: The inferred development of the Sudbury structure was a complex process involving: (1) impact of an asteroidal body, forming a large (100-km) diameter crater with a central uplift; (2) subsidence of the central uplift and simultaneous emplacement of the Nickel Irruptive; (3) metamorphism, deformation, and erosion to its present appearance. The post-impact history of the Sudbury structure thus corresponds closely to that established for many ring-dike complexes and caldera subsidences. Similar compound impact-igneous structures, in which internal igneous activity is superimposed on a large impact crater, probably exist on both the earth and the moon. Future examination of « roofed lopoliths » and « ring-dike structures » for shock-metamorphic effects, combined with serious consideration of the geophysical effects produced by large-energy meteorite impacts, will be a productive field for cooperative studies by astrogeologists and igneous petrologists.

Shatter cones, an unusual type of fracturing produced by intense shock, are found widespread on the Slate Islands in northern Lake Superior. The islands have been interpreted as the central uplift of an eroded meteorite impact crater about 30 km in diameter. The cones are best developed in certain rock types: Keweenawan basalt flows and chilled margins of associated feeder dikes, and Archean diorite and foliated feldspar porphyry. At certain sites cones show an elongate cross section and anomalous orientation caused by foliation-induced elastic anisotropy in the host rock.In general the cones point upward and inward toward the centre of the Slate Islands group. After structural correction of some sites according to paleomagnetic data, there is increased convergence of cone axes to a central focus (the inferred impact point) that occurs at a height of about 1 km above the present land surface.

The Hico Structure is a pre-Pleistocene, post-Cretaceous impact structure centered 3 km north of the town of Hico in north-central Texas. Less eroded sections of the feature faithfully preserve an original 3 km-diameter “uplift surrounded by ring graben” pattern typical of impact structures larger than one kilometer. A shatter cone has been found within the central uplift. A larger circular anomaly 9 km in diameter surrounding the 3 km-diameter Hico Structure is visible on Landsat imagery, although no corresponding structural disturbance has been recognized in outcrop.

The Keurusselkä structure is one of Finland's 12 meteorite impact structures—one of the world's oldest (1150 ± 10 Ma) and the largest of its kind in Finland. Findings of numerous well‐formed shatter cones in a wide area have helped define and prove Keurusselkä's impact origin. Keurusselkä is deeply eroded, making estimating its size challenging. Thus, various size ranges are based on the distribution of shatter cones. This study provides an overview of the earlier published studies in light of the unpublished data resulting from 2003 to 2019 field surveys. Two shatter cone outcrops 15 km from each other were sampled during a field survey in 2019. Thin section samples from these sites were studied with a polarizing microscope, and shock metamorphic features were identified and measured with the universal stage. We also compared topographic and bathymetric Lidar (light detection and ranging) data with the existing geophysical data and shatter cone occurrences. In situ outcrops—Metsomäki 9.6 km toward the W and Martinniemi 5.7 km toward SE from the crater's center—delimit the maximum radius of shatter cones found so far. Studies resulted in planar fractures parallel to (0001) in Metsomäki shatter cones. We determine the size of 37.5 km as the apparent diameter of the Keurusselkä impact structure, whereas the 25 km in diameter semicircular feature represents faulted rim structures.

Shatter cones are the only distinct meso‐ to macroscopic recognition criterion for impact structures, yet not all is known about their formation. The Keurusselkä impact structure, Finland, is interesting in that it presents a multitude of well‐exposed shatter cones in medium‐ to coarse‐grained granitoids. The allegedly 27 km wide Keurusselkä impact structure was formed about 1150 Ma ago in rocks of the Central Finland Granitoid Complex. Special attention was paid in this work to possible relationships between shatter cones and local, as well as regionally occurring, fracture or joint systems. A possible shatter cone find outside the previously suggested edge of the structure could mean that the Keurusselkä impact structure is larger than previously thought. The spacing between joints/fractures from regional joint systems was influenced by the impact, but impact‐induced fractures strongly follow the regional joint orientation trends. There is a distinct relationship between shatter cones and joints: shatter cones occur on and against joint surfaces of varied orientations and belonging to the regional orientation trends. Planar fractures (PF) and planar deformation features (PDF) were found in three shatter cone samples from the central‐most part of the impact structure, whereas other country rock samples from the same level of exposure but further from the assumed center lack shock deformation features. PDF occurrence is enhanced within 5 mm of shatter cone surfaces, which is interpreted to suggest that shock wave reverberation at preimpact joints could be responsible for this local enhancement of shock deformation. Some shatter cone surfaces are coated with a quasi‐opaque material which is also found in conspicuous veinlets that branch off from shatter cone surfaces and resemble pseudotachylitic breccia veins. The vein‐filling is composed of two mineral phases, one of which could be identified as a montmorillonitic phyllosilicate. The second phase could not be identified yet. The original composition of the fill could not be determined. Further work is required on this material. Observed joints and fractures were discussed against findings from Barringer impact crater. They show that impact‐induced joints in the basement rock do not follow impact‐specific orientations (such as radial, conical, or concentric).

Rocks exposed within the uplifted central part of meteorite impact structures come from signifi cant stratigraphic depths, in some cases as much as several kilometers. On Earth, cen- tral uplifts are commonly the fi nal and only feature of an impact crater that remains after the rest of the structure is lost to erosion. However, the crater-forming process that results in the formation of intricate features such as central peak and peak rings is poorly understood. Much of our knowledge is based on extraterrestrial observations; as on Earth, there are very few unequivocal examples of impact craters with well-preserved peak and ring morphologies, because of erosion. In this study we describe the ~17-km-diameter Luizi structure (Katanga region, Democratic Republic of Congo), a moderate-sized complex crater, with an intermedi- ate ring (~5.2 km in diameter), and an ~2-km-wide circular central ring around a central depression. For the fi rst time, unique evidence of shock metamorphism, in the form of macro- scopic shatter cones and multiple sets of microscopic planar deformation features in quartz and feldspar grains, is described, confi rming the meteorite impact origin of the structure. Our observations at Luizi provide insights into the formation of mid-sized impact craters on Earth, adding to the evidence that, in the case of sedimentary target lithologies, structural ring struc- tures within the central uplift may form by the collapse of an unstable central peak. Given the preservation state of the Luizi crater, it cannot be excluded that structural rings may be a common feature for mid-size craters developed in layered target rocks.

Regional geological mapping of the glaciated surface of northwestern Victoria Island in the western Canadian Arctic revealed an anomalous structure in otherwise flat‐lying Neoproterozoic and lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks, located south of Richard Collinson Inlet. The feature is roughly circular in plan view, approximately 25 km in diameter, and characterized by quaquaversal dips of approximately 45°, decreasing laterally. The core of the feature also exhibits local vertical dips, low‐angle reverse faults, and drag folds. Although brecciation was not observed, shatter cones are pervasive in all lithologies in the central area, including 723 Ma old dikes that penetrate Neoproterozoic limestones. Their abundance decreases distally, and none was observed in surrounding, horizontally bedded strata. This circular structure is interpreted as a deeply eroded meteorite impact crater of the complex type, and the dipping strata as the remnants of the central uplift. The variation in orientation and shape of shatter cones point to variably oriented stresses with the passage of the shock wave, possibly related to the presence of pore water in the target strata as well as rock type and lithological heterogeneities, especially bed thickness. Timing of impact is poorly constrained. The youngest rocks affected are Late Ordovician (approximately 450 Ma) and the impact structure is mantled by undisturbed postglacial sediments. Regional, hydrothermal dolomitization of the Ordovician limestones, possibly in the Late Devonian (approximately 360 Ma), took place before the impact, and widespread WSW–ENE‐trending normal faults of probable Early Cretaceous age (approximately 130 Ma) apparently cross‐cut the impact structure.

This field guide was first written for the meeting of the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America (ES-SSA), held in La Malbaie in 2013. It has been slightly modified, mostly with new figures. The Charlevoix Seismic Zone is the locus of the highest seismic hazard in continental eastern Canada. At the heart of this zone is the ~54 km diameter Charlevoix impact structure. This structure, located less than 125 km east of Quebec City, is one of the most accessible large meteorite impact structures in eastern North America. The Charlevoix impact structure is singled out as it overprints Iapetus rift faults and the Logan's Line marking the edge of the Appalachian Orogen. The Charlevoix impact structure gives the region its singular landscape. The ~5 km wide peripheral ring trough forms a prominent open valley extending from St. Lawrence River (sea level) to a threshold at ~250 m altitude. The highest point in the valley is nearly 850 m below the ~1100 m mean elevation of the external Laurentian plateau. The highest point is also 550 m below the central uplift, 'Mont-des-Éboulements,' which stands 780 m above sea level. The overall morphology of the Charlevoix impact structure matches that of a complex impact crater. Shatter cones, mylolisthenite injections and shock-induced planar deformation microstructures in quartz and feldspar are widespread providing compelling evidence for the extent of shock metamorphism. The age of the impact is poorly constrained. Recently acquired 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb data from impact melt rock and pseudotachylite give a late-Ordovician age, which appears to be in better agreement with field relationships than the previously reported K-Ar Devonian-age. Based on historical and current earthquake rate, the Charlevoix Seismic Zone is a region of high seismic hazard. Since the arrivals of the first Europeans in the early 1600s, it has been subject to five earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger: in 1663 (M~7); 1791 (M ~6); 1860 (M ~6); 1870 (M ~6 ½); and 1925 (magnitude MS 6.2 ± 0.3). Recently, the magnitude of the 1663 earthquake was estimated to be as large as M 7.2 to 7.9! The field trip provides an opportunity to enjoy the panoramic view of the peripheral trough and ring structure and of the central uplift, and to visit key outcrops featuring shock-related features, including shatter cones, impact breccias, and related fault zones. The focus of the field trip is on the region's long fault reactivation history, dating back to the Iapetus Ocean rifting. The field trip also includes visiting outcrops of the St. Lawrence Platform Cambro-Ordovician sedimentary cover, allowing observation of the structural relationships with the Logan's Line marking the edge of the Appalachian Orogen. Field research in the Charlevoix region is also important because, paired with seismic hazard, the area is known for its landslide sensitivity; stops at St. Joseph-de-la-Rive feature a major landslide caused by the February 5th 1663 earthquake.

This field guide was first written for the meeting of the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America (ES-SSA), held in La Malbaie in 2013. It has been slightly modified, mostly with new figures. The Charlevoix Seismic Zone is the locus of the highest seismic hazard in continental eastern Canada. At the heart of this zone is the ~54 km diameter Charlevoix impact structure. This structure, located less than 125 km east of Quebec City, is one of the most accessible large meteorite impact structures in eastern North America. The Charlevoix impact structure is singled out as it overprints Iapetus rift faults and the Logan's Line marking the edge of the Appalachian Orogen. The Charlevoix impact structure gives the region its singular landscape. The ~5 km wide peripheral ring trough forms a prominent open valley extending from St. Lawrence River (sea level) to a threshold at ~250 m altitude. The highest point in the valley is nearly 850 m below the ~1100 m mean elevation of the external Laurentian plateau. The highest point is also 550 m below the central uplift, 'Mont-des-Éboulements,' which stands 780 m above sea level. The overall morphology of the Charlevoix impact structure matches that of a complex impact crater. Shatter cones, mylolisthenite injections and shock-induced planar deformation microstructures in quartz and feldspar are widespread providing compelling evidence for the extent of shock metamorphism. The age of the impact is poorly constrained. Recently acquired 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb data from impact melt rock and pseudotachylite give a late-Ordovician age, which appears to be in better agreement with field relationships than the previously reported K-Ar Devonian-age.

We have investigated the Ash Shutbah circular structure in central Saudi Arabia (21 degrees 37N 45 degrees 39E) using satellite imagery, field mapping, thin-section petrography, and X-ray diffraction of collected samples. The approximately 2.1km sized structure located in flat-lying Jurassic Tuwaiq Mountain Limestone has been nearly peneplained by erosional processes. Satellite and structural data show a central area consisting of Dhruma Formation sandstones with steep bedding and tight folds plunging radially outward. Open folding occurs in displaced, younger Tuwaiq Mountain Limestone Formation blocks surrounding the central area, but is absent outside the circular structure. An approximately 60cm thick, unique folded and disrupted orthoquartzitic sandstone marker bed occurring in the central area of the structure is found 140m deeper in undisturbed escarpment outcrops located a few hundred meters west of the structure. With exception of a possible concave shatter cone found in the orthoquartzite of the central area, other diagnostic shock features are lacking. Some quartz-rich sandstones from the central area show pervasive fracturing of quartz grains with common concussion fractures. This deformation was followed by an event of quartz dissolution and calcite precipitation consistent with local sea- or groundwater heating. The combination of central stratigraphic uplift of 140m, concussion features in discolored sandstone, outward-dipping concentric folds in the central area, deformation restricted to the rocks of the ring structure, a complex circular structure of 2.1km diameter that appears broadly consistent with what one would expect from an impact structure in sedimentary targets, and a possible shatter cone all point to an impact origin of the Ash Shutbah structure. In fact, the Ash Shutbah structure appears to be a textbook example of an eroded, complex impact crater located in flat-lying sedimentary rocks, where the undisturbed stratigraphic section can be studied in escarpment outcrops in the vicinity of the structure. (Less)

Geophysical and subsurface geologic data suggest that the Avak structure, which underlies the Arctic Coastal Plain 12 km southeast of Barrow, Alaska, is a hypervelocity meteorite or comet impact structure. The structure is a roughly circular area of uplifted, chaotically deformed Upper Triassic to Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks 8 km in diameter that is bounded by a ring of anastomosing, inwardly dipping, listric normal faults 12 km in diameter. A zone of gently outward-dipping sedimentary country rocks forms a discontinuous ring of within the peripheral ring of normal faults. Beyond these anticlines, the sedimentary rocks are almost flat-lying. Basement consists of strongly deformed Ordovician and Silurian argillite. Density and acoustic impedance con rasts between the argillite and the overlying strata produce gravity and seismic-reflection signatures that define a ring of anticlines around the disturbed zone and a structural high surrounded by an annular structural low at its center. In the adjacent Barrow gas fields, the tops of the informally named Neocomian unit and the gas-producing Lower Jurassic Barrow sand (local usage) lie at average subsea depths of 488 m and 670 m, respectively. In the Avak 1 well, drilled on the central high, the pebble shale and the Barrow sand lie near the surface, documenting more than 500 m of relative uplift at the high. The cores in this well have steep dips (30-90 degrees), mixed breccia with Franklinian argillite clasts 10 and 90 m above basement, quartz grains with shock mosaicism and multiple sets of shock lamellae, oriented concussion fractures in sand-size quartz grains, and shatter cones resembling those found in the peripheral zones of well-documented impact structures. In addition, above-background levels o fractured quartz grains in Barrow sand were found as far as 19 km beyond the rim of the Avak structure. Data concerning the age of the Avak structure are not definitive. If submarine landslide deposits in the upper part of the Aptian and Albian Torok Formation, in the subsurface 200 km to the east, were triggered by the Avak event, then the Avak meteorite struck a submerged marine shelf about 100 + or - 5 Ma. However, the impact features found at Avak (shatter cones, concussion fractures, shock lamellae and shock mosaicism in quartz grains, and widespread cataclasis) characterize the distal zones of meteorite impact structures. Fused rocks, plastic deformation, and shock-metamorphic minerals found in more proximal zones of impact structures are apparently missing. These observations, and the lack of Avak ejecta in cuttings and cores from the Torok Formation and Nanushuk Group (Albian to middle Cenomanian) in surrounding test wells, indicate that the impact event postdated these beds. In this case, the Avak meteorite struck a Late Cretaceous or Tertiary marine shelf or coastal plain between the Cenomanian (ca. 95 Ma), and deposition of the basal beds of the overlying late Pliocene and Quaternary Gubik Formation (ca. 3 Ma).