Shock Melt Veins Research Articles

Uranium-Lead Systematics of Lunar Basaltic Meteorite Northwest Africa 2977.

Northwest Africa (NWA) 2977 is a lunar basaltic meteorite that was found in 2005 and has been classified as an olivine cumulate gabbro. This meteorite contains a shock melt vein (SMV) induced by an intense shock event. We report herein on an in-situ analysis of phosphates in the host gabbro and the shock vein for the U-Pb dating of NWA 2977 using an ion microprobe, NanoSIMS. The majority of the analyzed phosphates, in both the SMV and host-rock, lie on a linear regression in 238U/206Pb-207Pb/206Pb-204Pb/206Pb three-dimensional space, indicating a total Pb/U isochron age of 3.15±0.12 Ga (95% confidence level), which is consistent ages determined in previous isotopic studies of NWA 2977 (Sm-Nd age of 3.10±0.05 Ga, Rb-Sr age of 3.29±0.11 Ga, and Pb-Pb baddeleyite age of 3.12±0.01 Ga), and identical to the age of the U-Pb phosphate in a paired meteorite NWA 773, 3.09±0.20 Ga, derived from our dataset. There was no clear difference in the formation age between the phosphates found in the SMV and host-rock, although the shape and size of the grains and the Raman spectra show the evidence of intense shock metamorphism. Based on these findings, the cooling rate of the phosphate was very rapid, constrained to be larger than 140 K/s.

Investigation of the shocked Viñales ordinary chondrite (L6) meteorite fall – Implications for shock classification, fragmentation, and collision dynamics

The effects of collisions on the evolution of asteroids, ranging from local fracturing to brecciation or even to catastrophic disruption, depend primarily on the encounter velocities. Here we present a refined view of the mineralogy and texture of the recent fall Viñales, an L6 ordinary chondrite meteorite. It preserves features that require at least one energetic impact, including numerous shock melt veins of variable thickness. We report the identification of two high-pressure phases, majorite and albitic jadeite, limited to just one of these shock melt veins. Viñales is a moderately shocked sample, shock stage S4, that experienced a complex and spatially variable pressure-temperature-time history with a low (but non-zero) probability of preservation of high-pressure phases.

Evidence for impact shock and regolith transportation on CM, CI, and CV chondrite parent asteroids

AbstractWe explore impact shock processing of the regolith of parent asteroids of carbonaceous chondrites, which has not been considered a major process for hydrous carbonaceous chondrites. We describe shock‐produced minerals and features found in brecciated CI, CM, and CV chondrites, including agglutinates, a glassy melt pod, a shock melt vein, and melted sulfides. We also reexamine cognate clasts present in the Vigarano CV3 chondrites which appear to derive from asteroid ponds and exhibit cross‐bedded dish structures.

Formation and decomposition of vacancy-rich clinopyroxene in a shocked eucrite: New insights for multiple impact events

Impact is a fundamental process shaping the formation and evolution of planets and asteroids. It is inevitable that some materials on the surface of planets and asteroids have been impacted for many times. However, unambiguous petrological records for multiple post-formation impact events are rarely described. Here, we report that the thin shock melt veins of the shocked eucrite Northwest Africa 8647 are dominated by a fine-grained intergranular or vermicular pigeonite and anorthite assemblage, rather than compact vacancy-rich clinopyroxene. Vacancy-rich clinopyroxene in the veins instead is ubiquitous as irregularly-shaped, relict grains surrounded by intergranular or vermicular pigeonite and anorthite assemblage. The silica fragments entrained in shock melt veins contain a coesite core and a quartz rim. The occurrences of vacancy-rich clinopyroxene and coesite can be best explained by two impact events. The first impact event produced the shock melt veins and lead to the formation of vacancy-rich clinopyroxene and coesite. The second impact event heated the fine-grained melt veins and lead to the widespread partial decomposition of vacancy-rich clinopyroxene and the partial back-transformation of coesite. This paper is the first report of the decomposition reaction of shock-induced vacancy-rich clinopyroxene in extraterrestrial materials. We propose that widespread decomposition and/or back-transformation of high-pressure minerals in shocked meteorites can be considered as important records of multiple impact events.

Unique evidence of fluid alteration in the Kakowa (L6) ordinary chondrite

Meteorites preserve evidence of processes on their parent bodies, including alteration, metamorphism, and shock events. Here we show that the Kakowa (L6) ordinary chondrite (OC) preserves both shock-melt veins and pockets of detrital grains from a brecciated and altered object, including corundum, albite, silica, fayalite, forsterite, and margarite in a Pb- and Fe-rich matrix. Preservation of the observed mineralogy and texture requires a sequence of at least two impacts: first, a high-velocity collision formed the shock melt veins containing the high-pressure minerals ringwoodite, wadsleyite, majorite, and albitic jadeite; later, a low-velocity impact formed fractures and filled them with the detrital material. Oxygen and Pb isotope ratios suggest an OC origin for these detrital minerals. Although fluid alteration is common in carbonaceous chondrites, the discovery of margarite with an OC oxygen isotopic signature is novel. Kakowa extends both the impact and alteration history of L6 ordinary chondrites in general.

Petrology and mineralogy of an igneous clast in the Northwest Africa 1685 (LL4) chondrite: Comparison with alkali‐rich igneous clasts in LL‐chondritic breccias

AbstractWe have conducted petrological and mineralogical studies on an igneous clast in the Northwest Africa (NWA) 1685 (LL4) chondrite. This meteorite was described in the Meteoritical Bulletin as containing clasts similar to alkali‐rich clasts in LL chondritic breccias Yamato (Y)‐74442 (LL4), Bhola (LL3‐6), and Krähenberg (LL5). We carefully compared the textures, as well as mineral and matrix compositions, of the NWA 1685 clast with those of the previously described alkali‐rich clasts in the LL chondritic breccias. Olivine grains are embedded in glassy matrix and have no chemical zoning. Shock melt veins and fractures were observed only in olivine grains and did not continue into matrix. Potassium abundance of matrix glasses of the NWA 1685 clast is lower than those of alkali‐rich igneous clasts in Y‐74442, Bhola, and Krähenberg, indicating that the igneous clasts in NWA 1685 are different from the alkali‐rich clasts previously reported in the LL chondritic breccias. The NWA 1685 clast might have formed during an impact melting and quenching event on the LL‐chondrite parent body, and then been incorporated into a breccia.

The classification of Parauapebas Meteorite: Petrological, mineralogical and elemental compositions and physical properties

The Parauapebas meteorite, an ordinary chondrite, was investigated through a systematic classification method, applying non-destructive analytical techniques: Electron Microprobe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE), Cathodoluminescence (CL), and Optical Microscopy (OM). The goal was to achieve a complete and detailed chemical and petrological description of the official Parauapebas meteorite (MB 107). Additionally an inter-technique comparison was included for the bulk chemical composition obtained by means of the X-ray fluorescence PIXE and XRF techniques. The measured elemental compositions were compared to XRF and INAA average values reported in previous works on chondrites. The physical properties, such as density and magnetic susceptibility, of Parauapebas meteorite were also included as a tool for the chemical group classification. The meteorite is rich in iron metal, except into the silicates, thus Parauapebas is an H chemical group chondrite. Nevertheless some elemental compositions were found within the range of L chemical group chondrites. It presents two different lithologies with homogeneous chemistry observed in the analyzed thin sections, which point the meteorite as a genomict breccia (indicated by shock melt veins) formed by petrologic type 4 and 5. A shock stage S3/S4 is indicated by the olivine crystals with undulatory extinction, irregular and some planar fractures and a weak mosaicism, Neumann lines in iron-nickel, in addition to the presence of shock melt veins and pockets. The weathering degree is the lowest (W0), since the fragment was recovered soon after the fall.

Petrology and mineralogy of the Viñales meteorite, the latest fall in Cuba.

The new Cuban chondrite, Viñales, fell on February first, 2019 at Pinar del Rio, northwest of Cuba (22°37'10″N, 83°44'34″W). A total of about 50-100 kg of the meteorite were collected and the masses of individual samples are in a range 2-1100 g. Two polished thin sections were studied by optical microscope, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis in this study. The meteorite mainly consists of olivine (Fa24.6), low-Ca pyroxene (Fs20.5), and troilite and Fe-Ni metal, with minor amounts of feldspar (Ab82.4-84.7). Three poorly metamorphosed porphyritic olivine-pyroxene and barred olivine chondrules are observed. The homogeneous chemical compositions and petrographic textures indicate that Viñales is a L6 chondrite. The Viñales has fresh black fusion crust with layered structure, indicating it experienced a high temperature of ∼1650°C during atmospheric entry. Black shock melt veins with width of 100-600 μm are pervasive in the Viñales and olivine, bronzite, and metal phases are dominate minerals of the shock melt vein. The shock features of major silicate minerals suggest a shock stage S3, partly S4, and the shock pressure could be >10 GPa.

Structure Analysis of Natural Wangdaodeite—LiNbO3-Type FeTiO3

This paper reports the first structure refinement of natural wangdaodeite, LiNbO3-type FeTiO3 from the Ries impact structure. Wangdaodeite occurs together with recrystallized ilmenite clasts in shock melt veins which have experienced peak shock pressures of between 17 and 22 GPa. Comparison of natural and synthetic wangdaodeite points toward a correlation between the distortion of ferrate- and titanate-polyhedra and the c/a ratio of the unit cell. The Raman spectrum of wangdaodeite is calculated based on the refined structure. Comparison to the reported spectrum of the type-material shows that the Raman peak at 738–740 cm−1 is indicative for this phase, whereas other features in type-wangdaodeite are tentatively assigned to disordered ilmenite.

Back‐transformation mechanisms of ringwoodite and majorite in an ordinary chondrite

AbstractWe investigated the back‐transformation mechanisms of ringwoodite and majorite occurring in a shock‐melt vein (SMV) of the Yamato 75267 H6 ordinary chondrite during atmospheric entry heating. Ringwoodite and majorite in the shock melt near the fusion crust have back‐transformed into olivine and enstatite, respectively. Ringwoodite (Fa~18) occurs in the SMV as a fine‐grained polycrystalline assemblage. Approaching the fusion crust, fine‐grained polycrystalline olivine becomes dominant instead of ringwoodite. The back‐transformation from ringwoodite to olivine proceeds by incoherent nucleation and by an interface‐controlled growth mechanism: nucleation occurs on the grain boundaries of ringwoodite, and subsequently olivine grains grow. Majorite (Fs16–17En82–83Wo1) occurs in the SMV as a fine‐grained polycrystalline assemblage. Approaching the fusion crust, the majorite grains become vitrified. Approaching the fusion crust even more, clino/orthoenstatite grains occur in the vitrified majorite. The back‐transformation from majorite to enstatite is initiated by the vitrification, and growth continues by the subsequent nucleation in the vitrified majorite.

Terrestrial alteration mineral assemblages in the NWA 10416 olivine phyric shergottite

We report on the alteration history of the olivine-phyric, highly depleted (HD) shergottite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 10416, paying particular attention to the origin of the aqueous alteration seen affecting the meteorite’s olivine megacrysts. The rock’s interior displays 1 mm, zoned, altered olivine megacrysts set in a groundmass of clinopyroxene, unzoned olivine, and interstitial plagioclase and maskelynite. Synchrotron micro X-ray diffraction (µ-XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that plagioclase and maskelynite have been partially replaced by kaolinite. The relict olivine megacryst cores display a unique concentric colouration for martian meteorites, having central amber-coloured zones surrounded by a brown mantle zone, with the rims remaining clear and unaltered. This colouration is a result of fluid alteration and partial replacement, with hydration. TEM analysis revealed the ∼200 nm scale banded and largely amorphous nature of the alteration, but with some (∼20%) relict crystalline olivine patches. Although the coloured olivine zones show cation and anion site vacancies compared to stoichiometric olivine, a relict igneous compositional trend is preserved in the megacrysts, from Mg-rich altered cores (Mg# = 76) to unaltered stoichiometric rims (Fo53). Synchrotron Fe-K X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that the coloured zones of the megacryst have different Fe oxidation values. High ferric contents are present in the brown mantle zones (Fe3+/ΣFe ≤ 0.92) and the amber zones (Fe3+/ΣFe ≤ 0.30), whereas the clear rims are ferrous. This suggests alteration occurred in an oxidising environment and that the sharp contrast in colour of the megacryst (brown to clear) is a record of a relict fluid reaction front.In order to test the terrestrial or extraterrestrial origin of the alteration, olivine material from a shock-melt vein was analysed by TEM. The analysis revealed 0.952 nm curved d-spacing’s from clay alteration undisturbed by any shock effects, strongly suggesting a terrestrial origin. The d-spacing values most likely represent a collapsed saponite or vermiculite, showing that in some places olivine has been replaced by crystalline clay.Oxygen isotope analysis of bulk (Δ17O = 0.309 ± 0.009 (2σ) ‰) and amber-coloured megacryst material (=0.271 ± 0.002 (2σ) ‰), are also consistent with terrestrial alteration. We propose a model in which, during the meteorite’s time in Northwest Africa, low-temperature, likely acidic, groundwater exploited fractures. The fluid altered the olivine megacrysts in a way that was controlled by the pre-existing, igneous compositional zonation, with Mg-rich olivine being more susceptible to alteration in this fluid environment. The plagioclase and maskelynite were also altered to a high degree. After the alteration event it is likely that NWA 10416 had a significant residence time in Northwest Africa, accounting for terrestrial calcite and the dehydration of some clay phases.

Parauapebas meteorite from Pará, Brazil, a “hammer” breccia chondrite

Abstract The Parauapebas meteorite, third official meteorite discovered in the Brazilian Amazon region, is a “hammer meteorite” which fell on December 9th, 2013, in the city of Parauapebas, Para State, Brazil. Mineralogy is dominated by forsterite, enstatite, iron, troilite, and tetrataenite. Albite, chromite, diopside, augite, pigeonite, taenite, and merrillite are minor components. Two main clasts are separated by black shock-induced melt veins. One clast exhibits an abundance of chondrules with well-defined margins set on a recrystallized matrix composed mostly of forsterite and enstatite, consistent with petrologic type 4 chondrites. The other clast displays chondrules with outlines blurring into the groundmass as evidence of increasing recrystallization, consistent with petrologic type 5 chondrites. The clasts of petrologic type 4 have a fine-grained texture compared to those of type 5. It is a genomict breccia (indicated by shock melt veins) with the clasts and matrix of the same compositional group, but different petrologic types, H4 and H5. The melted outer crust of the Parauapebas meteorite is comprised of forsterite with interstitial dendritic iron oxide, and is rich in irregular vesicles, which are evidence of the rapid formation of the crust. The type specimen is deposited in the Museum of Geosciences of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

High-Pressure Phases in the Dhofar 922 L6 Chondrite: Crystallization of Olivine–Ringwoodite Aggregates and Jadeite from Melt

Abstract—High-pressure phases (ringwoodite, maskelynite, and jadeite) present as coarse-grained fragments in the shock-melt vein of the Dhofar 922 L6 chondrite were studied by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Ringwoodite and jadeite crystallized from melted plagioclase and olivine fragments, respectively, at the cooling–decompression stage. We assume that the high contents of Fe and Mg in maskelynite–jadeite aggregates are due to a miscibility gap in the hedenbergite–jadeite and diopside–jadeite joins at ~600 and ~700 ºC, respectively. The P–T conditions of the formation of shock-melt veins are estimated at >19 GPa and >2150–2300 ºC.

Discovery of nanophase iron particles and high pressure clinoenstatite in a heavily shocked ordinary chondrite: Implications for the decomposition of pyroxene

Although pure metallic iron (i.e. that with an Fe content of greater than 99%) commonly occurs in achondrites, and within the returned soil from asteroids or the Lunar surface, it is rarely found in ordinary chondrites meteorites. Abundant nanophase iron particles (np-Fe0) were identified in pyroxene glass, within the shock melt vein of Grove Mountains (GRV) 022115, which is an ordinary (L6) chondrite, with a shock stage determined as S5. The association of np-Fe0, highly defective high pressure clinoenstatite (HP-CEn), silica glass, as well as vesicles, embedded in a pyroxene glass selvage within the shock melt vein in this meteorite suggests that these phases formed as the result of decomposition of the host pyroxene grain, a process induced by the shock event that affected GRV 022115. The reaction to account for this mineral breakdown can be written as: FeSiO3 → Fe + SiO2 + 1/2O2 ↑ (MgSiO3 remain in the HP-CEn). The pressure and temperature condition attending this reaction are estimated at 20–23 GPa and over 1800 °C, as indicated by the surrounded high-pressure mineral assemblage: ringwoodite, majorite, and magnesiowüstite. This study provides evidence to the formation of np-Fe0 derived from pyroxene, and HP-CEn quenched metastably in such shocked vein could preserve the metastable phase transitions history record.

New observations on high‐pressure phases in a shock melt vein in the Villalbeto de la Peña meteorite: Insights into the shock behavior of diopside

AbstractThe petrology and mineralogy of shock melt veins in the L6 ordinary chondrite host of Villalbeto de la Peña, a highly shocked, L chondrite polymict breccia, have been investigated in detail using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and electron probe microanalysis. Entrained olivine, enstatite, diopside, and plagioclase are transformed into ringwoodite, low‐Ca majorite, high‐Ca majorite, and an assemblage of jadeite‐lingunite, respectively, in several shock melt veins and pockets. We have focused on the shock behavior of diopside in a particularly large shock melt vein (10 mm long and up to 4 mm wide) in order to provide additional insights into its high‐pressure polymorphic phase transformation mechanisms. We report the first evidence of diopside undergoing shock‐induced melting, and the occurrence of natural Ca‐majorite formed by solid‐state transformation from diopside. Magnesiowüstite has also been found as veins injected into diopside in the form of nanocrystalline grains that crystallized from a melt and also occurs interstitially between majorite‐pyrope grains in the melt‐vein matrix. In addition, we have observed compositional zoning in majorite‐pyrope grains in the matrix of the shock‐melt vein, which has not been described previously in any shocked meteorite. Collectively, all these different lines of evidence are suggestive of a major shock event with high cooling rates. The minimum peak shock conditions are difficult to constrain, because of the uncertainties in applying experimentally determined high‐pressure phase equilibria to complex natural systems. However, our results suggest that conditions between 16 and 28 GPa and 2000–2200 °C were reached.

Raman spectroscopy of high-pressure phases in shocked L6 chondrite NWA 5011

In the paper we present results of studies of thick shock melt veins in NWA 5011 L6 chondrite. The veins contain a wide variety of high-pressure phases that correspond to contrast values of pressure-temperature parameters on equilibrium phase diagrams. Olivine was transformed to ringwoodite and wadsleyte, orthopyroxene to majorite, akimotoite, and bridgmanite glass, maskelenite is converted to jadeite (+SiO2) and lingunite, apatite to tuite, and chromite to the phase with the calcium ferrite (mCF-FeCr2O4) structure. ) The peak PT shock parameters for NWA 5011 seem highest among the ones for other shocked chondrites according to wide occurrence of lingunite and bridgmanite glass and are considerable higher than 25 GPa and 2500 K. Akimotoite crystals in a quenched matrix of shock melt veins were found for the first time. Probably, they initially crystallized as bridgmanite, since akimotoite is not a liquidus phase in related systems. Plagioclase-chromite aggregates have been established, which characterize the late stages of the shock process and are formed during successive crystallization from isolated pockets of the impact melt.

A vacancy‐rich, partially inverted spinelloid silicate, (Mg,Fe,Si)2(Si,□)O4, as a major matrix phase in shock melt veins of the Tenham and Suizhou L6 chondrites

AbstractA new high‐pressure silicate, (Mg,Fe,Si)2(Si,□)O4 with a tetragonal spinelloid structure, was discovered within shock melt veins in the Tenham and Suizhou meteorites, two highly shocked L6 ordinary chondrites. Relative to ringwoodite, this phase exhibits an inversion of Si coupled with intrinsic vacancies and a consequent reduction of symmetry. Most notably, the spinelloid makes up about 30–40 vol% of the matrix of shock veins with the remainder composed of a vitrified (Mg,Fe)SiO3 phase (in Tenham) or (Mg,Fe)SiO3‐rich clinopyroxene (in Suizhou); these phase assemblages constitute the bulk of the matrix in the shock veins. Previous assessments of the melt matrices concluded that majorite and akimotoite were the major phases. Our contrasting result requires revision of inferred conditions during shock melt cooling of the Tenham and Suizhou meteorites, revealing in particular a much higher quench rate (at least 5 × 103 K s−1) for veins of 100–500 μm diameter, thus overriding formation of the stable phase assemblage majoritic garnet plus periclase.

Formation parameters of high-pressure minerals in the Dhofar 717 AND 864 chondrite meteorites

This paper presents the results of a Raman spectroscopic study of shock melt veins in L6 chondritic meteorites Dhofar 717 and 864, and conclusions about the PT-parameters recorded in these meteorites after the impact event. The primary minerals of the host chondrite include olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, chromite, phosphates, troilite, and kamasite. Shock melt veins up to 1 cm thick contain fragments of the high- pressure minerals ringwoodite, wadsleyite, majorite, akimotoite, jadeite, lingunite, and tuite and quenched melt consisting of majorite, ringwoodite, troilite, and kamasite. The mineral associations of the Dhofar 717 and 864 chondrites indicate high peak PT-parameters of the impact in the region of stability of majorite (>20 GPa and >2500 K) and bridgmanite (>25 GPa and >2500 K). The presence of lingunite also directly indicates a peak pressure in the area of stability of the bridgmanite.

Shock‐induced phase transformation of anorthitic plagioclase in the eucrite meteorite Northwest Africa 2650

AbstractAnorthite is an important constituent mineral in basaltic achondrites from small celestial bodies. Its high‐pressure phase transformation in shocked meteorites has not been systematically studied. In this study, we report the diverse phase transformation behaviors of anorthite in a shocked eucrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 2650, which also contains coesite, stishovite, vacancy‐rich clinopyroxene, super‐silicic garnet, and reidite. Anorthite in NWA 2650 has transformed into anorthite glass (anorthite glassy vein, maskelynite, and glass with a schlieren texture and vesicles), tissintite and dissociated into three‐phase assemblage grossular + kyanite + silica glass. Different occurrences of anorthite glass might have formed via the mechanism involving shear melting, solid‐state transformation, and postshock thermally melting, respectively. Tissintite could have crystallized from a high‐pressure plagioclase melt. The nucleation of tissintite might be facilitated by relict pyroxene fragments and the early formed vacancy‐rich clinopyroxene. The three‐phase assemblage grossular, kyanite, and silica glass should have formed from anorthitic melt at high‐pressure and high‐temperature conditions. The presence of maskelynite and reidite probably suggests a minimum peak shock pressure up to 20 GPa, while the other high‐pressure phases indicate that the shock pressure during the crystallization of shock melt veins might vary from >8 GPa to >2 GPa with a heterogeneous temperature distribution.

Formation Parameters of High-Pressure Minerals in the Dhofar 717 and 864 Chondrite Meteorites

This paper presents the results of a Raman spectroscopic study of shock melt veins in L6 chondritic meteorites Dhofar 717 and 864, and conclusions about the P–T parameters recorded in these meteorites after the impact event. The primary minerals of the host chondrite include olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, chromite, phosphates, troilite, and kamasite. Shock melt veins up to 1 cm thick contain fragments of the high-pressure minerals ringwoodite, wadsleyite, majorite, akimotoite, jadeite, lingunite, and tuite and quenched melt consisting of majorite, ringwoodite, troilite, and kamasite. The mineral associations of the Dhofar 717 and 864 chondrites indicate high peak PT parameters of the impact in the region of stability of majorite (>20 GPa and >2500 K) and bridgmanite (>25 GPa and >2500 K). The presence of lingunite also directly indicates a peak pressure in the area of stability of the bridgmanite.