Siderophile-rich particles in the melt rocks at the E. Clearwater impact structure,Quebec: Their characteristics and relationship to the impacting body

The composition of the sampled melt rocks at the 22 km diameter E. Clearwater impact structure indicates the presence of 8% C-1 material. The meteoritic component is fractionated with refractory siderophiles, up to 30 times C-1 abundances, concentrated in ten to hundred micron-sized, magnetic particles. These particles consist of the Ni-sulphide, millerite, and what is assumed to be a mixture of refractory silicates and magnetite with grain sizes of <1 m. The larger particles have a core-rim structure with millerite and occasionally very minor galena and possibly pentlandite in the core. An origin as a combination of altered meteoritic metal and condensed meteoritic silicate is favored for the origin of the siderophile-rich particles. If 8% meteoritic material is taken as the average meteoritic contamination in the melt, then the E. Clearwater projectile may have impacted with a velocity of 17 km s^–1. Peak shock pressures would have been of the order of 300 GPa, sufficient to vaporize the silicate component but only melt the metal component of the projectile. As the meteoritic material was being driven down into vaporized/ melted target rocks during the initial stages of impact, the melted Fe, Ni metal underwent oxidation, Fe was removed, and meteoritic silicate material recondensed on the cooler, essentially Ni metal. As cavity excavation proceeded, these Ni metal, silicate-oxide particles were incorporated in the melt, their refractory nature prevented thermal digestion and sulphur in the melt reacted with the metal to produce millerite on final equilibration. If this hypothesis is correct, it suggests that the E. Clearwater projectile was a C-2 or C-3 chondrite, both of which are compatible with the trace element composition of the melt rocks. Clearwater Lake is a twin impact structure formed by an asteroid pair. It is still not clear, however, what type of projectile formed the 32 km diameter western structure, where the surface melt rocks contain no identifiable meteoritic signature.     

Identification of the projectile at the Brent crater,and further considerations of projectile types at terrestrial craters

Impact melt samples from drill hole B1-59 at the 3.8 km diameter Brent crater (Ontario) have been analysed for siderophile trace elements indicative of meteoritic contamination. Samples from the basal melt zone at 823–857 m depth are enriched in Ir, Os, Pd, Ni, Co, Cr and Se over basement, with the abundance pattern suggesting a chondritic projectile for Brent. From a Ni-Cr correlation of 10 melt samples an L or LL chondrite is inferred. The contribution of an ultramafic country rock (alnoite) in the melt is too small to significantly influence its $\text{Ni}\text{Cr}$ ratio. Glass-rich breccias from the allochthonous breccias filling the crater also contain a meteoritic component. Interelement ratios (e.g. $\text{Ni}\text{Cr}$) are, however, fractionated relative to the melt zone samples. This, as well as the low Au content of all Brent samples, is probably a product of alteration.Additional data on impact melts from the 65 km diameter crater Manicouagan still did not reveal a meteoritic component, as also for the Mistastin crater (28 km diameter) where Cr analyses set an upper limit of 1% of an achondritic projectile component in the melt. Irghizites (tektite like glasses) from the Zhamanshin impact structure have been found to contain high Ni and Co concentrations, and our data show that Ir is also enriched. It is however not possible to define the projectile-type. Enrichment of an Ivory Coast tektite in Ir is confirmed. There are large differences in siderophile element concentrations among tektites, with otherwise similar chemical composition.There are now four known craters formed by chondrites (Clearwater East, Lapparjärvi, Wanapitei, and Brent), with Brent being the smallest of these. For smaller craters the projectiles appear to be limited to iron or stony-iron meteorites, because of atmospheric destruction of relatively small stony meteorites. It appears, however, that all major classes of meteorites are represented among the projectiles at terrestrial impact craters.     

Meteoritic material at five large impact craters

Sixteen crater samples were analyzed by radiochemical neutron activation analysis for Ge, Ir, Ni, Os, Pd and Re. Two impact melt rock samples from Clearwater East (22 km) showed strong, uniform enrichments in all elements except Ge, corresponding to 7.4% C1 chondrite material. Interelement ratios suggest that the meteorite was a C1 (or C2) chondrite, not an iron, stony iron, or chondrite of another type. An Ivory Coast tektite (related to the 10 km Bosumtwi crater) was enriched in Ir + Os and Ni to about 0.04 and 1.6% of C1 chondrite levels, but in the absence of data on country rocks, the meteorite cannot yet be characterized.Impact melt rock samples from Clearwater West (32km), Manicouagan (70km), and Mistastin (28 km) showed no detectable meteoritic component. Upper limits, as Cl chondrite equivalent, were Os ≤ 2 × 10^?3% (~0.01 ppb), Ni ≤ 2 × 10^?1% (~20ppm). Possible causes are high impact velocity and/or a chemically inconspicuous meteorite (achondrite, Ir,Os-poor iron or stony iron). However, a more likely reason is that some fraction of the impact melt remains meteorite-free, especially at craters with central peaks.Clearwater East is the first terrestrial impact crater found to be associated with a stony meteorite. Apparently the consistent absence of stony projectiles at small craters (< 1 km diameter) reflects their destruction in the atmosphere, as proposed by Öpik.     

On the track of the elusive Sudbury impact: geochemical evidence for a chondrite or comet bolide

Siderophile and lithophile trace element data for 69 samples from the Sudbury impact crater fill (Onaping Formation) and quartz diorite offset dikes help constrain the sources of the established moderately elevated platinum group element signature associated with the impact structure. The siderophile element distribution of the crater fill requires contributions from bulk continental crust, mafic rocks and a chondritic component. A mantle component is absent, but the involvement of mid to lower crust is implied. After considering post‐impact hydrothermal alteration, melt heterogeneity and mafic target admixture, the projectile elemental ratios were determined on a more robust data subset. Chondrite discrimination diagrams of these ratios identify an ordinary or enstatite chondrite as the most probable source of meteoritic material in the Sudbury crater fill. However, the relative and absolute siderophile element distributions within the impact structure as well as bolide size models are congruent with the bolide being a comet that had a chondritic refractory component.     

The Lappajärvi meteorite crater,Finland: petrography,Rb-Sr,major and trace element geochemistry of the impact melt and basement rocks

Impact melt lithologies of the 77 m.y. old Finnish meteorite crater Lappajärvi as well as the Precambrian target rocks have been studied in detail, to identify and characterize different impact melt types (clast-poor, clast-rich, suevitic melt) and to study their chemical (major and trace elements) and isotopic (Rb-Sr) compositions in comparison to the composition of the target rocks.The Rb-Sr system of the whole melt body—including the suevitic melt—is shown to have been reequilibrated by the impact by extensive turbulent mixing of the various melted or vaporized target rocks. Chemical interactions (exchange of alkali elements, ⁸⁷Sr-redistribution) between feldspar clasts and impact melt surrounding them are the result of thermal metamorphism following the incorporation of target rock fragments of various degrees of shock metamorphism into the superheated melt. Exchange reactions between clasts and melt are determined by thermal activation, but the degree of shock metamorphism in the clasts plays an important role, too.Major and trace element distributions in impact melt and basement rocks indicate that the Lappajärvi melt body chemically is extremely homogeneous. Even volatile elements (such as Zn and Cu) were not strongly fractionated. Comparison of the abundances of siderophile elements in the impact melt (e.g., 118–177 ppm Cr, 195–340 ppm Ni, 6–12 ppb Ir) and calculated target rock mixture (79% mica schist, 11% granite-pegmatite, 10% amphibolite) (e.g., 85.6 ppm Cr, 54.8 ppm Ni, 0.5 ppb Ir) revealed the chondritic nature (C or H chondritic) of the meteoritic projectile. Less than 2% of the meteorite can be detected in the coherent melt, whereas the suevitic melt is uncontaminated by the projectile.     

FeNi metal in impact melt rocks of Lake Lappajärvi,Finland

Particles of FeNi metal ranging in size from a few mto 0.1 mm in diameter are a distinctive feature of the shock-generated melt rocks of Lake Lappajärvi. Irondeficient iron sulphide, pyrrhotite, is nearly always associated with the metal. Accessory phases are FeNiCo-sulphides, a phosphorus-bearing mineral (probably apatite), iron-rich aluminosilicates, and ilmenite. The content of Ni in the metal varies from less than 2% to more than 10%. There is evidence that the iron formed from molten globules which crystallized slowly and adjusted to low temperatures by solid state diffusion. The Ni concentration in the largest metal particles which appear to be least affected by alteration processes, and hence may represent the composition of the parent metal phase of the projectile, is, however, lower than in any reported meteoritic iron.     

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

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.     

Rb-Sr dating of the impact melt from East Clearwater,Quebec

The Rb-Sr composition of eight melt rock and three basement samples from the East Clearwater impact structure, Quebec, and two basement samples from the West Clearwater structure has been determined. The whole rock ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the melt samples, 0.7167–0.7253, are within the range of the basement samples, 0.7054–0.7322, and provide further evidence that the melt rocks represent shock-melted basement. A mineral isochron obtained from a relatively coarse grained melt rock gives an age of 287±26 Ma for the crystallization age of the melt. This is equivalent to K-Ar whole-rock ages of 285±30 Ma and 300±30 Ma and a Rb-Sr age of 266±15 Ma obtained on melt rocks from West Clearwater and confirms the previously generally held assumption that the East and West Clearwater structures resulted from the simultaneous impact of two bodies at 285–300 Ma ago.Contribution from the Earth Physics Branch No. 909     

Lunar crater Copernicus: search for debris of impacting body at Apollo 12 site

In an attempt to characterize meteoritic material at the Apollo 12 site, 4 KREEP concentrates from soil 12033 have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis. These contain a meteoritic component in which siderophile Ir, Re and Sb are depleted by about a factor of 2, while volatile Se, Zn, Ag and Bi are depleted by a factor of more than 5 relative to Au. This pattern does not closely resemble any major chondrite or iron meteorite group, but is very similar to that observed in high-alkali samples from Apollo 14. The meteoritic component in KREEP at both sites is therefore predominantly derived from Imbrian ejecta. However, a second, small component of primitive composition seems to be present in Apollo 12 KREEP, judging from the slight, uniform enrichments in Ir, Re, Sb, Se and Zn relative to Au. This component does not seem to be due to micrometeorites. If it is attributed to the Copernican projectile, the crater Copernicus may have been formed by a cometary nucleus, 4 km in diameter, with an impact velocity of 30–40 km/sec. These conclusions depend critically on the assumption that the meteoritic component in Apollo 12 KREEP is representative of the entire impact.     

Generation, mobilization and crystallization of impact-induced alkali-rich melts in granitic target rocks: Evidence from the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil

This paper provides important insights into the generation, extraction and crystallization of clast-laden impact melt rocks from the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil. Despite the mixed nature of the Araguainha target rocks (comprising a 2 km thick sequence of sedimentary rocks and underlying granitic basement), the exposed melt bodies are characterised by an alkali-rich granitic matrix embedding mineral and rock fragments derived only from the target granite. The melt rocks occur in the form of a massive impact melt sheet overlying the eroded central uplift structure, and as melt veins in the granite of the core of the central uplift. Bulk-rock major and trace element data (including platinum group elements) indicate that the precursor melts were generated locally, principally by partial melting of the target granite, without any contribution from the sedimentary sequence or the projectile. The dense network of melt veins was formed in isolation, by selective melting of plagioclase and alkali feldspar within the granite target. Plagioclase and alkali feldspar melted discretely and congruently, producing domains in the matrix of the melt veins, which closely match the stoichiometry of these minerals. The compositionally discrete initial melt phases migrated through a dense network of microfractures before being assembled into larger melt veins. Freezing of the melt veins was substantially fast, and the melt components were quenched in the form of alkali-feldspar and plagioclase schlieren in the matrix of the melt veins. The overlying impact melt rock is, in contrast, characterised by a granophyric matrix consisting of albite, sanidine, quartz, biotite and chlorite. In this case, melt components appear to have been more mobile and to have mixed completely to form a granitic parental melt. We relate the melting of the minerals to post-shock temperatures that exceeded the melting point of feldspars.     

Unmelted meteoritic debris in the Late Pliocene iridium anomaly: Evidence for the ocean impact of a nonchondritic asteroid

Ir-bearing particles have been recovered from 2 piston cores in the Antarctic Basin in the southeastern Pacific. In core E13-3 the particles closely correspond to the Late Pliocene Ir anomaly and have a fluence of ~100 mg cm^?2. In core E13-4, 120 km to the southwest, the particle fluence is ~4 mg/cm^?2. Particles with diameters from 0.5 to 4 mm contain at least 35% of the Ir in this horizon. Three types of particles have been identified: 1) vesicular, 2) basaltic, and 3) metal. The vesicular particles appear to be shock-melted debris derived from the oceanic impact of a howarditic asteroid containing a minor metal component. These particles have recrystallized from a melt and impact into the ocean has resulted in the incorporation of Na, K, Cl, and radiogenic Sr from the ocean water target. The basaltic clasts appear to be unmelted fragments of the original asteroid which may have separated from the main body prior to impact. Combined vesicular and basaltic particles are believed to have formed by collisions in the debris cloud. Estimates of the diameter of the projectile range from 100 to 500 m. By many orders of magnitude this is the most massive achondrite sampled by a single meteorite fall.     

Geochemistry and petrography of impact breccias and target rocks from the 145 Ma Morokweng impact structure, South Africa

Morokweng is a large, 145 Ma impact structure in the Northwest Province of South Africa. The impact origin of this structure and its melt rock has been confirmed by ample evidence of shock metamorphism in clasts within the melt rock and samples from granitoid basement below the melt body. The age of this structure is indistinguishable from the biostratigraphic age of the Jurassic-Cretaceous (J-K) boundary. The size of Morokweng, for which diameters ranging from 70 to 165 kilometers have been quoted before, and which has important implications regarding its relation to the J-K boundary, remains an open question.Here we present new results of a detailed petrographic and chemical investigation of impact melt rock and country rock samples. The granophyric melt rock is mostly unaltered and contains a large number of gabbroic and felsic clasts. The occurrence of baddeleyite, formed from high-temperature dissociation of primary zircon, indicates a high-temperature origin. The impact melt rock body, which in the cores investigated here has a thickness of at least 120 m, shows no statistically significant variation or trend in chemical composition with depth or geographic location. Chemical data for impact melt rock, breccia dike/vein breccia samples, granite, quartzite, and basic to mafic clasts were used in harmonic least squares mixing calculations to determine the source rock types and their proportions involved in the formation of the impact melt rock. Granite is the dominant target rock component (50 to 63% by weight; depending on target composition input to the mixing models), with significant (35 to 50%) mafic contributions, and a (possible) minor contribution of quartzite. New platinum group element (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt), Re, and Au data, as well as data for other siderophile elements (Cr, Co, Ni, and Ir), confirm the presence of up to ∼ 5% of a chondritic component in the melt rock. The indigenous contribution of the PGEs from the target rocks is negligible. Normalized PGE abundance patterns and interelement ratios of Morokweng impact melt rock indicate that the projectile was likely of ordinary chondritic (possibly L chondrite) composition, but the choice of the meteoritic compositional data influences this interpretation.     

Investigation and simulation of metallic spherules from lunar soils

Metallic spherules selected from the Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 sites were studied by optical techniques as well as the electron probe and scanning electron microscope. In addition, metallic spherules of similar composition were produced experimentally. The structure of the metallic lunar spherules indicates an origin by solidification of molten globules of metal. The experimentally produced spherules have external morphologies, metallographic structures and solidification rates (7 × 10² to 10⁶ ° C/sec) similar to the lunar spherules which have rapidly solidified. The majority of the lunar spherules are, however, either more slowly cooled or have been reheated in place with the lunar fragmental rocks, glass or soil. The heavy meteorite bombardment of the highlands is strongly reflected by the evidence of reheating and/or slow cooling of a majority of Apollo 14 and 16 spherules.The metallic spherules are probably produced from both lunar and meteoritic sources. Impact processes cause localized shock melting of metallic (and non-metallic) constituents at metal-sulfide phase interfaces in surface rocks and in the meteoritic projectile. The major source of metallic spherules is the metal phase present in the lunar rocks and soil. The large variation in spherule bulk compositions is attributed to the different meteoritic projectiles bombarding the Moon, metal phases of differing compositions in the lunar soils and rocks and to the experimental results which indicate that high S, high P alloys form two immiscible liquids when melted.     

Carbon-bearing phases in shock-induced melt zones of the Elga meteorite

The mineralogy and texture of shock-induced melt veinlets and melt pockets in silicate inclusions in the Elga IIE iron meteorite have been studied by reflected-light optical microscopy, EMPA, SEM, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. The results suggest that Elga experienced two discrete impact events. The earlier event involved the collision of a metallic projectile with a silicate target and resulted in partial melting and recrystallization of the silicate material, forming schreibersite and oxide rims between the metal and silicate. The later impact event resulted in melt pockets in the silicate inclusions and was associated with fragmentation, melting, and brecciation of the rims and displacement of some fragments into the melt pockets. These fragments are shown to contain carbon-bearing phases: siderite and amorphous sp ² carbon, which form carbon–oxide, siderite–oxide, and siderite–schreibersite associations. The fact that the carbon-bearing fragments are spatially constrained to shock breccia and melt zones indicates that these fragments are genetically related to the impact process and that their carbon-bearing phases are of cosmic origin.     

The composition and origin of metal in howardites

Howardites can be divided into two main groups, Ni-rich (>350ppm Ni) and Ni-poor (<150ppm Ni). In the Ni-rich group Ni occurs principally in metal grains associated with melt rocks and is largely derived from projectiles which caused the melting. The metal in Bununu, Kapoeta and Malvern melt rocks plots in the meteoritic Ni-Co range and in Bununu and Kapoeta is enriched in P. By contrast, most metal grains in primary lithic and crystal clasts in howardites are Ni-poor and plot mainly in the composition field of pristine lunar anorthosite metal. However, there are variations in the abundance and exact composition of primary metal from howardite to howardite and each therefore represents a discrete source region. The matrix metal in Bholgati, Bununu, and Kapoeta shows the diversity of compositions expected in a polymict breccia, with compositions plotting in and between the anorthositic and meteoritic Ni-Co fields. Other howardites show a more limited range of matrix metal compositions, because of limited metal-bearing clasts.Petersburg differs from other howardites in several ways. The metal in primary clasts has a unique $\text{Ni}\text{Co}$ ratio of about 40, which indicates derivation from a different reservoir from other howardite primary clasts. The metal in the matrix consists of large grains intergrown with silicates with compositions clustering tightly at 3.3% Ni, 0.2% Co. This is interpreted as equilibration, possibly as the result of deeper burial for Petersburg than for other howardites.     

Spherules from the Tunguska event site: Could they originate from the Tunguska Cosmic Body?

Soil layers at the Tunguska event site may have accumulated infalling extraterrestrial matter derived from the Tunguska Cosmic Body (TCB). Using mineralogical, textural, and chemical criteria, a set of metal and silicate spherules of probably cosmic origin was identified in the collection of spherules and rounded particles recovered from sites with high concentrations of magnetic spherules on a terrace above the floodplain of the Chunya River. The metal spherules consist of Ni(Cr)-bearing wüstite and magnetite with Ni-rich metal inclusions. The silicate spherules are glassy, cryptocrystalline, barred, and porphyritic melted micrometeorites, some of which contain metal droplets. The number of spherules counted in our samples is higher than the background level, indicating the possible presence of the TCB material.     

Origin of rapidly solidified metal-troilite grains in chondrites and iron meteorites

Inclusions of troilite and metallic Fe,Ni 0.2–4 mm in size with a dendritic or cellular texture were observed in 12 ordinary chondrites. Cooling rates in the interval 1400?950°C calculated from the spacing of secondary dendrite arms or cell widths and published experimental data range from 10^?7 to 10⁴°C/sec. In 8 of these chondrites, which are breccias containing some normal slow-cooled metal grains, the inclusions solidified before they were incorporated into the breccias. Their cooling rates of 1–300 °C/sec indicate cooling by radiation, or by conduction in contact with cold silicate or hot silicate volumes only 6–40 mm in size. This is quantitative evidence that these inclusions and their associated clasts were melted on the surface of a parent body (by impact), and were not formed at depth from an internally derived melt. In Ramsdorf, Rose City and Shaw, which show extensive reheating to ? 1000°C, Fe-FeS textures in melted areas are coarser and indicate cooling rates of 10^?1 to 10^?4°C/sec during solidification. This metal may have solidified inside hot silicate volumes that were 10–300 cm in size. As Shaw and Rose City are breccias of unmelted and melted material, their melted metal did not necessarily cool through 1000°C within a few m of the surface. Shock-melted, fine-grained, irregular intergrowths of metal and troilite formed in situ in many irons and some chondrites by rapid solidification at cooling rates of ? 10⁵°C/sec. Their kamacite and taenite compositions may result from annealing at ~250°C of metallic glass or exceedingly fine-grained quench products.     

Classification of and elemental fractionation among ureilites

Concentrations of Ni, Zn, Ga, Ge, Cd, In, Ir and Au in five ureilites can be combined with petrographie evidence to yield a well-defined suite extending from Goalpara (heavily shocked, low Ir concentration, low Ir/Ni ratio) through Haverö, Dyalpur, Novo-Urei to Kenna (moderately shocked, high Ir concentration, high Ir/Ni ratio). Arguments are presented indicating that this suite represents the sampling of a vertical section within the ureilitic parent body. The large range in Ir/Ni and Ir/Au ratios indicates greater efficiency of extraction of primitive, refractory metal in the Goalpara region than in the Kenna region, and implies that higher maximum temperatures prevailed in the former during the production of ureilitic ultramafic silicates by a partial melting process.

A major impact event injected a deposit of C-rich material into the ultramafic silicates. This C-rich material had a moderately high content of metal; there is no direct evidence that it contained volatiles other than the rare gases. High Ca contents of the ferromagnesian minerals indicate that the ultramafics were hot at the time the injection occurred; the zoning of these mineral grains also indicates high temperatures (ca. 1400 K) and low pressures (S 10atm) such that reaction between C and Fe₂SiO₄ could occur, but that cooling occurred too quickly to allow complete equilibration. The ureilitic C-rich material appears to represent an important type of primitive material.

Two siderophile-rich components are necessary to explain the relative siderophile trends in ureilites. We interpret the high-Ir component to be a refractory nebular condensate or residue that was retained during the partial melting event. The low-Ir component, which roughly resembles E4 chondrite siderophiles, is attributed to metal injected together with the vein material.     

Native silicon and iron silicides in the Dhofar 280 lunar meteorite

The Dhofar 280 lunar highland meteorite is the first one in which native silicon was identified in association with iron silicides. This association is surrounded by silicate material enriched in Si, Na, K, and S and occurs within an impact-melt matrix. Compared to the meteorite matrix, the objects with native Si and the silicate material around them show high Al-normalized concentrations of volatile elements and/or elements with low sensitivity to oxygen but are not any significantly enriched in refractory lithophile elements. Some lithophile elements (V, U, Sm, Eu, and Yb) seem to be contained in reduced forms, and this predetermines REE proportions atypical of lunar rocks and a very low Th/U ratio. The admixture of siderophile elements (Ni, Co, Ge, and Sb) suggests that the Si-bearing objects were contaminated with meteorite material and were produced by the impact reworking of lunar rocks. The high concentrations of volatile elements suggest that the genesis of these objects could be related to the condensation of silicate vapor generated during meteorite impacts. The reduction of silicon and other elements could take place in an impact vapor cloud, with the subsequent condensation of these elements together with volatile components. On the other hand, condensates of silicate vapor could be reduced by impact reworking of impact breccias. Impact-induced vaporization and condensation seem not to play any significant role in forming the composition of the lunar crust, but the contents of the products of such processes can be locally relatively high. The greatest amounts of silicate vapor were generated during significant impact events. For example, more than 70% of the total mass of lunar material evaporated in the course of impact events should have resulted from the collision of the Moon with a cosmic body that produced the Moon??s largest South Pole-Aitken basin.     

Chemical relationships among irghizites,zhamanshinites, Australasian tektites and Henbury impact glasses

Analytical data for 40 elements are presented for three irghizites (tektite-like forms) and two zhamanshinites (impact glasses) from the Zhamanshin impact structure (Lat. 49°N, Long. 61°E), 200 km north of the Aral Sea, Kazakstahn SSR, USSR. Comparative data for 10 Australasian tektites (3 javanites, 5 australites, an indochinite and a philippinite), Henbury impact glass and parental Henbury subgreywacke sedimentary rocks are also presented.There is close similarity in composition between the three silica-rich samples from Zhamanshin (two irghizites and one zhamanshinite) and the high Mg-Cr tektites from Java, except that the irghizites contain high Ni and Co contamination from the impacting body. The silica-rich zhamanshinite is nearly identical in composition to Henbury impact glass. The refractory trace elements and REE show close similarities among all 17 silica-rich samples, although the tektites show a smaller spread in composition compared with the samples from Zhamanshin. All the silica-rich samples have REE patterns consistent with derivation from terrestrial sedimentary rocks of post-Archean age. All are thoroughly terrestrial. The silica-poor zhamanshinite and irghizite have Al, Na, K, Ni, Cr, Th, U and REE abundances consistent with derivation from a basaltic andesite parent material.The close similarity in chemistry and age between the silica-rich samples from Zhamanshin and Javan tektites from the Australasian strewnfleld warrants a close examination of the Zhamanshin impact structure as a possible source region for the Australasian tektites.