Ca-rich majorite derived from high-temperature melt and thermally stressed hornblende in shock veins of crustal rocks from the Ries impact crater (Germany)

Shock veins up to 1.1 mm thick were found within non-porous lithic clasts from suevite breccia of the Nördlinger Ries impact structure. These veins were studied by optical microscopy in transmitted and reflected light and by scanning electron microscopy. In shocked amphibolites, two types of Ca-rich majorite occur within and adjacent to the veins. The first type crystallized from shock-induced melts within the veins. Si contents of these majorites suggest dynamic pressure of ~15–17 GPa, implying minimum temperatures in the range of ~2,150–2,230°C. The second type of majorite was formed adjacent to the shock veins within pargasitic hornblende. This majorite contains significant amounts of H₂O (0.7–0.9 wt%). Based on the textural setting, the shrinkage cracks and the chemical compositions of both phases, a solid-state mechanism is deduced for the hornblende to majorite phase transition. Both genetic types of Ca-rich majorite are described for the first time from a terrestrial impact crater. Along with stishovite, majorite constitutes the second silicate mineral displaying sixfold coordination of Si at Ries. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy, jadeite + coesite and jadeite + grossular were identified within local melt glasses of alkali feldspar and plagioclase composition, respectively. Stishovite aggregates, produced by solid-state reaction, along with shock-induced high-pressure melt glasses of almandine composition were also detected in shock veins of a garnet-cordierite-sillimanite restite. The quenched, homogeneous almandine glasses point to melting temperatures of more than ~2,500°C for the veins. Our findings demonstrate that terrestrial shock veins can give valuable information on shock-induced mineral transformations and transient high pressures of host rocks during a natural impact event.