Analysis of hot springs and associated deposits in Yellowstone National Park using ASTER and AVIRIS remote sensing

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and the Airborne Visible/IR Image Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were used to characterize hot spring deposits in the Lower, Midway, and Upper Geyser Basins of Yellowstone National Park from the visible/near infrared (VNIR) to thermal infrared (TIR) wavelengths. Field observations of these basins provided the critical ground-truth for comparison with the remote sensing results. Fourteen study sites were selected based on diversity in size, deposit type, and thermal activity. Field work included detailed site surveys such as land cover analysis, photography, Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection, radiometric analysis, and VNIR spectroscopy. Samples of hot spring deposits, geyser deposits, and soil were also collected. Analysis of ASTER data provided broad scale characteristics of the hot springs and their deposits, including the identification of thermal anomalies. AVIRIS high spectral resolution short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy provided the ability to detect hydrothermally altered minerals as well as a calibration for the multispectral SWIR ASTER data. From the image analysis, differences in these basins were identified including the extent of thermal alteration, the location and abundance of alteration minerals, and a comparison of active, near-extinct, and extinct geysers. We determined the activity level of each region using a combination of the VNIR-SWIR-TIR spectral differences as well as the presence of elevated temperatures, detected by the TIR subsystem of ASTER. The results of this study are applicable to the exploration of extinct mineralized hydrothermal deposits on both Earth and Mars.     

Spectral and petrologic analyses of basaltic sands in Ka'u Desert (Hawaii) – implications for the dark dunes on Mars

Dark aeolian deposits on Mars are thought to consist of volcanic materials due to their mineral assemblages, which are common to basalts. However, the sediment source is still debated. Basaltic dunes on Earth are promising analogs for providing further insights into the assumed basaltic sand dunes on Mars. In our study we characterize basaltic dunes from the Ka'u Desert in Hawaii using optical microscopes, electron microprobe, and spectral analyses. We compare the spectra of terrestrial and Martian dune sands to determine possible origins of the Martian dark sediments. Our results show that the terrestrial sands consist primarily of medium to coarse sand‐sized volcanic glass and rock fragments as well as olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase minerals. Grain shapes range from angular to subrounded. The sample composition indicates that the material was derived from phreatomagmatic eruptions partially with additional proportions of rock fragments from local lava flows. Grain shape and size indicate the materials were transported by aeolian processes rather than by fluvial processes. Spectral analyses reveal an initial hydration of all terrestrial samples. A spectral mineralogical correlation between the terrestrial and Martian aeolian sands shows a similarity consistent with an origin from volcanic ash and lava. We suggest that the Martian deposits may contain similar abundances of volcanic glass, which has not yet been distinguished in Martian spectral data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Subophitic lithologies in KREEP-rich poikilitic impact melt rocks from Cayley Plains,Apollo 16 — remnants of a volcanic highland crust?

KREEP-rich poikilitic impact melt rocks 65777,11, 65015,88, and 62235,66 are the only mafic impact melt rocks from Cayley Plains stations, Apollo 16, from which areas of subophitic texture can be reported.The bulk chemistry of these unique subophitic areas and the surrounding poikilitic matrices, as well as mineral compositions (olivine, plagioclase, pyroxene, Fe-Ni metal) were determined by electron microprobe analysis. All subophitic areas could be undoubtedly identified as impact melt rockclasts. Inclusion 65777,11 II is of uniquely KREEP-rich composition, 62235,66 II can be classified as anorthositic. Therefore our attempt to identify pristine volcanic basement rocks of the Cayley regions among these inclusions of basaltic texture failed.However, the absence of pristine volcanic target rock fragments and the existence of KREEP-rich and anorthositic impact melt clasts in KREEP-rich impact melt rocks from Cayley Plains favors the theory that the Cayley Plains formation is part of the ejecta blanket from a large basin-type impact crater (Imbrium?), which is underlain by anorthositic material (Nectaris ejecta?), and has been reworked by local impacts in post-Imbrian times.     

Evidence for magma hybridization for the voluminous 29.5 Ma Wah Wah Springs Formation, Utah and Nevada, U.S.A.

The 29.5 Ma Wah Wah Springs Formation which erupted from the Indian Peak Caldera has an estimated volume of > 3900 km³ making it one of the largest ignimbrites on earth. The magma was calc-alkaline, dacitic (68 wt. % SiO₂) and phenocryst-rich (38 vol.%). Phenocrysts include plagioclase (An 47), magnesio-hornblende, Mg-biotite, quartz, Fe-Ti oxides, diopsidic-augite, and rare Ca-poor pyroxene, in order of decreasing abundance. Apatite, zircon and pyrrhotite occurs as inclusions within phenocrysts. Atmospheric glass losses (1040 km³) account for bulk-rock compositions that have SiO₂ contents ranging from 63 to 67 wt.%. Glass compositions are high-silica rhyolite.Phenocrysts equilibrated at temperatures ranging from about 790 to 850°C and oxygen fugacities approximately 2.6 log units above the QFM buffer. Confining pressure estimates using the aluminum-in-hornblende geobarometer calibrated for calc-alkaline volcanic rocks suggest a mean pressure of 230±50 MPa corresponding to 7.5±1.5 km depth. These estimates are consistent with caldera formation accompanying emplacement.Crystal compositions for phenocrysts and mineral inclusions within phenocrysts are remarkably homogeneous throughout the outflow tuff, although minor zoning does occur. Given the dacitic composition of the magma, the weakly zoned phenocryst population cannot be modeled to produce the observed high-silica glass (melt) indicating open-system behavior for the magma. The high-silica rhyolite glass is interpreted to be an artifact of efficient magma mixing accompanying addition of highly evolved magma, or melt to intermediate composition magma. Mixing was followed by magma hybridization. Additional support for this hybridization model includes: (1) physically and chemically distinct populations of augite; (2) minor but unbiquitous resorbed plagioclase, biotite and hornblende phenocrysts; and (3) reverse zoning in some of the plagioclase euhedra within pumice lapilli.     

Chicxulub impact ejecta from Albion Island, Belize

Impact ejecta from the Albion Formation are exposed in northern Belize. The ejecta come from the outer portion of the continuous ejecta blanket of the Chicxulub crater, which is located 360 km to the northwest. The basal unit of the Albion Formation is a 1-m-thick clay and dolomite spheroid bed composed of up to four discrete flows. The clay spheroids are altered impact glass, and the dolomite spheroids are accretionary lapilli. The upper unit is a 15-m-thick coarse diamictite bed containing altered glass, large accretionary blocks, striated, polished, and impacted cobbles, and rare shocked quartz. The abundance of accretionary clasts, evidence for atmospheric drag sorting, and the presence of multiple flows in the Albion Formation indicate that atmospheres play an important role in the formation of the outer portions of continuous ejecta blankets of large craters.     

Hydrothermal alteration of plagioclase microphenocrysts and glass in basalts from the East Pacific Rise near 13°N: An SEM-EDS study

The interactions of seafloor hydrothermal fluid with igneous rocks can result in leaching elements from the rocks,creating potential ore-forming fluids and influencing the chemical compositions of near-bottom seawater.The hydrothermal alteration of plagioclase microphenocrysts and basaltic glass in the pillow basalts from one dredge station(103°57.62′′W,12°50.55′N,water depth 2480 m)on the East Pacific Rise(EPR)near 13°N were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope(SEM)and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS).The results show that the edges of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the basaltic glass fragments are altered but the pyroxene and olivine microphenocrysts in the interior of the pillow basalts appear to be unaffected by the hydrothermal fluids.In addition,our results show that the chemical alteration at the rims of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the edges of basaltic glass fragments can be divided into separate types of alteration.The chemical difference in hydrothermal alteration of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the basaltic glass indicate that different degrees of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction have taken place at the surface of the pillow basalts.If the degree of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction is relatively minor,Si,Al,Ca and Na diffuse from the inside of the solid phase out and as a result these elements have a tendency to accumulate in the edge of the plagioclase microphenocrysts or basaltic glass.If the degree of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction is relatively strong,Si,Al,Ca and Na also diffuse from the inside of solid phase out but these elements will have a relatively low concentration in the edge of the plagioclase microphenocrysts or basaltic glass.Based on the chemical variation observed in the edges of plagioclase microphenocrysts and basaltic glass,we estimate that the content of Si,Al and Fe in the edges of plagioclase microphenocrysts can have a variation of 10.69%,17.59%and 109%,respectively.Similarly,the Si,Al and Fe concentrations in the edges of basaltic glass can have a variation of 9.79%,16.30%and 37.83%,respectively,during the interaction of hydrothermal fluids and seafloor pillow basalt.     

A 3.5 Ga record of water-limited, acidic weathering conditions on Mars

The secondary mineral budget on Earth is dominated by clay minerals, Al-hydroxides, and Fe-oxides, which are formed under the moderate pH, high water-to-rock ratio conditions typical of Earth's near-surface environment. In contrast, geochemical analyses of rocks and soils from landed missions to Mars indicate that secondary mineralogy is dominated by Mg (± Fe, Ca)-sulfates and Fe-oxides. This discrepancy can be explained as resulting from differences in the chemical weathering environment of Earth and Mars. We suggest that chemical weathering processes on Mars are dominated by: (1) a low-pH, sulfuric acid-rich environment in which the stoichiometric dissolution of labile mineral phases such as olivine and apatite (± Fe–Ti oxides) is promoted; and (2) relatively low water-to-rock ratio, such that other silicate phases with slower dissolution rates (e.g., plagioclase, pyroxene) do not contribute substantially to the secondary mineral budget at the Martian surface. Under these conditions, Al-mobilization is limited, and the formation of significant Al-bearing secondary phases (e.g., clays, Al-hydroxides, Al-sulfates) is inhibited. The antiquity of rock samples analyzed in-situ on Mars suggest that water-limited acidic weathering conditions have more than likely been the defining characteristic of the Martian aqueous environment for billions of years.     

天然麻粒岩高温流变实验研究

本实验在气体介质三轴高温流变仪上,采用怀安瓦窑口麻粒岩,在温度900～1200℃、围压300 MPa、应变速率10~(-4)～10~(-6)/s条件下,开展高温流变实验.实验样品麻粒岩由斜长石(52%)、单斜辉石和斜方辉石(40%)、石英(3%)、磁铁矿和钛铁矿(5%)组成,矿物平均粒度为:斜长石294μm、单斜辉石和斜方辉石282μm、石英97μm、磁铁矿和钛铁矿109μm.利用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪分析获得变形后样品的水含量约为0.17±0.05wt%.实验样品的强度随温度升高而降低,随应变速率降低而降低.基于力学数据,采用稳态流变方程,获得实验样品在900～1000℃时的应力指数为8.1～12.9,在1050～1150℃时的应力指数为4.8～5.8,平均值5.2.应力指数随着温度升高而降低.显微结构和成分分析表明,在900℃时麻粒岩出现矿物压扁与定向拉长特征,样品以位错滑移和微破裂变形为主;在950～1000℃时,麻粒岩样品中颗粒边界变得圆滑,表现出位错攀移特征,辉石和磁铁矿边缘出现微量熔体;在1050～1200℃时麻粒岩出现部分熔融,而且随着温度和实验时间(应变)增加,熔体含量增加,熔体结晶出微粒斜长石、辉石和橄榄石,部分辉石通过固体反应生成橄榄石.颗粒边界熔体和矿物反应促进了扩散作用,导致位错攀移和熔体引起的扩散蠕变共同控制了麻粒岩的高温流变.     

Lunar magnetic anomalies detected by the Apollo substatellite magnetometers

Properties of lunar crustal magnetization thus far deduced from Apollo subsatellite magnetometer data are reviewed using two of the most accurate presently available magnetic anomaly maps — one covering a portion of the lunar near side and the other a part of the far side.

The largest single anomaly found within the region of coverage on the near-side map correlates exactly with a conspicuous, light-colored marking in western Oceanus Procellarum called Reiner Gamma. This feature is interpreted as an unusual deposit of ejecta from secondary craters of the large nearby primary impact crater Cavalerius. An age for Cavalerius (and, by implication, for Reiner Gamma) of 3.2 ± 0.2 × 10⁹ y is estimated. The main (30 × 60 km) Reiner Gamma deposit is nearly uniformly magnetized in a single direction, with a minimum mean magnetization intensity of 7 × 10⁻² G cm³/g (assuming a density of 3 g/cm³), or about 700 times the stable magnetization component of the most magnetic returned samples. Additional medium-amplitude anomalies exist over the Fra Mauro Formation (Imbrium basin ejecta emplaced 3.9 × 10⁹ y ago) where it has not been flooded by mare basalt flows, but are nearly absent over the maria and over the craters Copernicus, Kepler, and Reiner and their encircling ejecta mantles.

The mean altitude of the far-side anomaly gap is much higher than that of the near-side map and the surface geology is more complex, so individual anomaly sources have not yet been identified. However, it is clear that a concentration of especially strong sources exists in the vicinity of the craters Van de Graaff and Aitken. Numerical modeling of the associated fields reveals that the source locations do not correspond with the larger primary impact craters of the region and, by analogy with Reiner Gamma, may be less conspicuous secondary crater ejecta deposits. The reason for a special concentration of strong sources in the Van de Graaff-Aitken region is unknown, but may be indirectly related to the existence of strongly modified crustal terrain which also occurs in the same region. The inferred directions of magnetization for the several sources of the largest anomalies are highly inclined with respect to one another, but are generally depleted in the north-south direction. The north-south depletion of magnetization intensity appears to continue across the far-side within the region of coverage.

The mechanism of magnetization and the origin of the magnetizing field remain unresolved, but the uniformity with which the Reiner Gamma deposit is apparently magnetized, and the north-south depletion of magnetization intensity across a substantial portion of the far side, seem to require the existence of an ambient field, perhaps of global or larger extent. The very different inferred directions of magnetization possessed by nearly adjacent sources of the Van de Graaff-Aitken anomalies, and the depletion in their north-south component of magnetization, do not favor an internally generated dipolar field oriented parallel to the present spin axis. A variably oriented interplanetary magnetizing field that was intrinsically strong or locally amplified by unknown surface processes is least inconsistent with the data.     

Chemistry and mineralogy of outcrops at Meridiani Planum

Analyses of outcrops created by the impact craters Endurance, Fram and Eagle reveal the broad lateral continuity of chemical sediments at the Meridiani Planum exploration site on Mars. Approximately ten mineralogical components are implied in these salt-rich silicic sediments, from measurements by instruments on the Opportunity rover. Compositional trends in an apparently intact vertical stratigraphic sequence at the Karatepe West ingress point at Endurance crater are consistent with non-uniform deposition or with subsequent migration of mobile salt components, dominated by sulfates of magnesium. Striking variations in Cl and enrichments of Br, combined with diversity in sulfate species, provide further evidence of episodes during which temperatures, pH, and water to rock ratios underwent significant change. To first order, the sedimentary sequence examined to date is consistent with a uniform reference composition, modified by movement of major sulfates upward and of minor chlorides downward. This reference composition has similarities to martian soils, supplemented by sulfate anion and the alteration products of mafic igneous minerals. Lesser cementation in lower stratigraphic units is reflected in decreased energies for grinding with the Rock Abrasion Tool. Survival of soluble salts in exposed outcrop is most easily explained by absence of episodes of liquid H₂O in this region since the time of crater formation.     

Mineralogy and chemistry of modern orogenic lavas — some statistics and implications

Island arc and continental margin (i.e. western Americas) lavas are divided (based on raw data from literature) into basalts (defined by absence of Ca-poor pyroxene, dominated by quartz-normative tholeiites); basaltic andesites and andesites (subdivided on basis of breaks in SiO₂ histogram and taken as <56% and 56–63% SiO₂; Ca-poor pyroxene present; amphibole and biotite absent); and hornblende (±biotite) lavas, which prove to be mainly relatively silicic andesites. Relative proportions of these types are (576 samples): 23% basalts, 29% basaltic andesites; 30% andesites; 18% hornblende andesites. The compilation emphasizes the dominance of calcic plagioclase (labradorite-anorthite) amongst the phenocryst phases. Pyroxenes are largely augite and hypersthene (En_60–75); olivine (Fo_65–85) is common through all compositions. There is an overall close similarity in chemistry and mineralogy between continental margin and island arc lavas, although small consistent differences are apparent (e.g. K₂O, TiO₂, P₂O₅).Modal data indicate that 70% of lavas are phenocryst-rich (20–60 vol.%), and that phenocryst contents show a bimodal distribution. Statistically and petrologically significant correlations are found between mineralogy and rock chemistry, most notably between total rock Al₂O₃ and modal phenocrystic plagioclase (found in all data groups, except hornblende andesites). This, and related data and correlations, indicate that the majority of orogenic magmas are modified by crystal fractionation (including crystal accumulation) processes dominated by plagioclase, and interpreted to occur under relatively low pressures. Dominance of plagioclase suggests phenocryst precipitation occurs typically in water-undersaturated magmas.     

Crystallization of tholeiitic basalt in Alae Lava Lake,Hawaii

The eruption of Kilauea Volcano August 21–23, 1963, left 600,000 cubic meters of basaltic lava in a lava lake as much as 15 meters deep in Alae pit crater. Field studies of the lake began August 27 and include repeated core drilling, measurements of temperature in the crust and melt, and precise level surveys of the lake surface. The last interstitial melt in the lake solidified late in September 1964; by mid August 1965 the maximum temperature was 690°C at a depth of 11.5 meters. Pumice air-quenched from about 1140°C contains only 5 percent crystals — clinopyroxene, cuhedral olivine (Fo ₈₀), and a trace of plagioclase, (An ₇₀). Drill cores taken from the zone of crystallization in the lake show that olivine continued crystallizing to about 1070°C; below that it reacts with the melt, becoming corroded and mantled by pyroxene and plagioclase. Below 1070°C, pyroxene and plagioclase crystallized at a constant ratio. Ilmenite first appeared at about 1070°C and was joined by magnetite at about 1050°C; both increased rapidly in abundance to 1000°C. Apatite first appeared as minute needles in interstitial glass at 1000°C. Both the abundance and index of refraction of glass quenched from melt decreased nearly linearly with falling temperature. At 1070°C the quenched lava contains about 65 percent dark-brown glass with an index of 1.61; at 980°C it contains about 8 percent colorless glass with an index of 1.49. Below 980°C, the percentage of glass remained constant. Progressive crystallization forced exsolution of gases from the melt fraction; these formed vesicles and angular pores, causing expansion of the crystallizing lava and lifting the surface of the central part of the lake an average of 19.5 cm. The solidified basalt underwent pneumatolitic alteration, including deposition of cristobalite at 800°C, reddish alteration of olivine at 700°C, tarnishing of ilmenite at 550°C, deposition of anhydrite at 250°C, and deposition of native sulfur at 100°C. Ferric-ferrous ratios suggest that oxidation with maximum intensity between 550°C and 610°C moved downward in the crust as it cooled; this was followed by reduction at a temperature of about 100°C. The crystallized basalt is a homogeneous fine-grained rock containing on the average 48.3 percent by volume intergranular pyroxene (augite > pigeonite), 34.2 percent plagioclase laths (An_{60 70}), 7.9 percent interstitial glass, 6.9 percent opaques (ilmenite > magnetite), 2.7 percent olivine (Fo_{70 80}), and a trace of apatite. Chemical analyses of 18 samples, ranging from initially quenched pumice to lava cored more than a year after the eruption from the center and from near the base of the lake, show little variation from silica-saturated tholeiitic basalt containing 50.4 percent SiO₂, 2.4 percent Na₂O, and 0.54 percent K₂O. Apparently there was no significant crystal settling and no appreciable vapor-phase transport of these components during the year of crystallization. However, seven samples of interstitial liquid that had been filter-pressed into gash fractures and drill holes from partly crystalline mush near the base of the crust show large differences from the bulk composition of the solidified crust—lower MgO, CaO, and Al₂O₃; and higher total iron, TiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O, P₂O₅, and F, and, in most samples, SiO₂. The minor elements Ba, Ga, Li, Y, and Yb and possibly Cu tend to be enriched in the filter-pressed liquids, and Cr and possibly Ni tend to be depleted.     

Evolution of tholeiitic diabase sheet systems in the eastern United States: examples from the Culpeper Basin, Virginia-Maryland, and the Gettysburg Basin, Pennsylvania

High-TiO₂, quartz-normative (HTQ) tholeiite sheets of Early Jurassic age have intruded mainly Late Triassic sedimentary rocks in several early Mesozoic basins in the eastern United States. Field observations, petrographic study, geochemical analyses and stable isotope data from three HTQ sheet systems in the Culpeper basin of Virginia and Maryland and the Gettysburg basin of Pennsylvania were used to develop a general model of magmatic differentiation and magmatic-hydrothermal interaction for HTQ sheets. The three sheet systems have remarkably similar major-oxide and trace-element compositions. Cumulus and evolved diabase in comagmatic sheets separated by tens of kilometers are related by igneous differentiation. Differentiated diabase in all three sheets have petrographic and geochemical signatures and fluid inclusions indicating hydrothermal alteration beginning near magmatic temperatures and continuing to relatively low temperatures. Sulfur and oxygen isotope data are consistent with a magmatic origin for the hydrothermal fluid.The three sheet systems examined apparently all had a similar style of crystal-liquid fractionation that requires significant lateral migration of residual magmatic liquid. The proposed magmatic model for HTQ sheets suggests that bronzite-laden magma was intruded in an upper crustal magma chamber, with bronzite phenocrysts collecting in the lower part of the magma chamber near the feeder dike. Early crystallization of augite and Ca-poor pyroxene before significant plagioclase crystallization resulted in density-driven migration of lighter residual magmatic liquids along lateral and vertical pressure gradients towards the upper part of the sheet. The influence of water on the physical properties of the residual liquid, including density, viscosity and liquidus temperature, may have facilitated the lateral movement more than 15 km up dip in the sheets. Exsolution of a Cl- and S-rich metal-bearing aqueous fluid from residual magma resulted in concentration and redistribution of incompatible and aqueoussoluble elements in late-stage differentiated rocks. This proposed hydrothermal mechanism has important economic implications as it exerts a strong control on the final distribution of noble metals in these types of diabase sheets.     

Multispectral thermal infrared mapping of the 1 October 1988 Kupaianaha flow field,Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

Multispectral thermal infrared radiance measurements of the Kupaianaha flow field were acquired with the NASA airborne Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) on the morning of 1 October 1988. The TIMS data were used to map both the temperature and emissivity of the surface of the flow field. The temperature map depicted the underground storage and transport of lava. The presence of molten lava in a tube or tumulus resulted in surface temperatures that were at least 10° C above ambient. The temperature map also clearly defined the boundaries of hydrothermal plumes which resulted from the entry of lava into the ocean. The emissivity map revealed the boundaries between individual flow units within the Kupaianaha field. In general, the emissivity of the flows varied systematically with age but the relationship between age and emissivity was not unique. Distinct spectral anomalies, indicative of silica-rich surface materials, were mapped near fumaroles and ocean entry sites. This apparent enrichment in silica may have resulted from an acid-induced leaching of cations from the surfaces of glassy flows. Such incipient alteration may have been the cause for virtually all of the emissivity variations observed on the flow field, the spectral anomalies representing areas where the acid attack was most intense.     

Dynamic modeling suggests terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub crater is caused by target heterogeneity

We investigate the cause of terrace zone asymmetry in the Chicxulub impact crater using dynamic models of crater formation. Marine seismic data acquired across the crater show that the geometry of the crater's terrace zone, a series of sedimentary megablocks that slumped into the crater from the crater rim, varies significantly around the offshore half of the crater. The seismic data also reveal that, at the time of impact, both the water depth and sediment thickness varied with azimuth around the impact site. To test whether the observed heterogeneity in the pre-impact target might have affected terrace zone geometry we constructed two end-member models of upper-target structure at Chicxulub, based on the seismic data at different azimuths. One model, representing the northwest sector, had no water layer and a 3-km thick sediment layer; the other model, representing the northeast sector, had a 2-km water layer above a 4-km sediment layer. Numerical models of vertical impacts into these two targets produced final craters that differ substantially in terrace zone geometry, suggesting that the initial water depth and sediment thickness variations affected the structure of the terrace zone at Chicxulub. Moreover, the differences in terrace zone geometry between the two numerical models are consistent with the observed differences in the geometry of the terrace zone at different azimuths around the Chicxulub crater. We conclude that asymmetry in the pre-impact target rocks at Chicxulub is likely to be the primary cause of asymmetry in the terrace zone.     

Hematite spherules in basaltic tephra altered under aqueous, acid-sulfate conditions on Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii: Possible clues for the occurrence of hematite-rich spherules in the Burns formation at Meridiani Planum, Mars

Iron-rich spherules (> 90% Fe₂O₃ from electron microprobe analyses) ∼10-100 μm in diameter are found within sulfate-rich rocks formed by aqueous, acid-sulfate alteration of basaltic tephra on Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii. Although some spherules are nearly pure Fe, most have two concentric compositional zones, with the core having a higher Fe / Al ratio than the rim. Oxide totals less than 100% (93-99%) suggest structural H₂O and/or OH^− 1. The transmission Mössbauer spectrum of a spherule-rich separate is dominated by a hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) sextet whose peaks are skewed toward zero velocity. Skewing is consistent with Al³⁺ for Fe³⁺ substitution and structural H₂O and/or OH^− 1. The grey color of the spherules implies specular hematite. Whole-rock powder X-ray diffraction spectra are dominated by peaks from smectite and the hydroxy sulfate mineral natroalunite as alteration products and plagioclase feldspar that was present in the precursor basaltic tephra. Whether spherule formation proceeded directly from basaltic material in one event (dissolution of basaltic material and precipitation of hematite spherules) or whether spherule formation required more than one event (formation of Fe-bearing sulfate rock and subsequent hydrolysis to hematite) is not currently constrained. By analogy, a formation pathway for the hematite spherules in sulfate-rich outcrops at Meridiani Planum on Mars (the Burns formation) is aqueous alteration of basaltic precursor material under acid-sulfate conditions. Although hydrothermal conditions are present on Mauna Kea, such conditions may not be required for spherule formation on Mars if the time interval for hydrolysis at lower temperatures is sufficiently long.     

Magnetic field and shock effects and remanent magnetization in a hypervelocity impact experiment

The impact of aluminum projectiles onto high-alumina terrestrial basalt blocks at 13–15 km s^?1 in the presence of a variable magnetic field has been studied. Low-frequency search coil data show that plasma is produced. causing local compression of the ambient field. Although field production is expected, it was not detectable with the existing apparatus. Measurements of the remanence of the shocked basalt show that magnetization was acquired in the material near the craters. The acquired remanence is predominantly soft, but also contains a component not demagnetized by 500 Oe AC field treatment. Material shocked in a 10-Oe vertical field exhibits inverse dependence of magnetization upon distance from the crater center. Examination of the shocked basalt in thin section reveals a general lack of shock metamorphism in the material surrounding the crater, except for the presence of a high-pressure melt glass which was splashed onto the crater walls. Micro-probe analyses show that the glass is a whole-rock melt of fairly uniform composition, and is contaminated with aluminum from the projectile. The mineralogical data support the view that the acquired magnetization is shock remanence, since negligible shock heating occurred in the magnetized material. These results bear on the problem of lunar magnetism, suggesting that shock effects or possibly thermoremanence in ejecta fragments may be responsible for part of the magnetization of the lunar surface.     

Magnesioferrite from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary,Caravaca, Spain

Magnesioferrite grading toward magnetite has been identified as a very small but meaningful constituent of the basal iron-rich portion of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary clay at the Barranco del Gredero section, Caravaca, Spain. This spinel-type phase and others of the spinel group, found in K-T boundary clays at many widely separated sites, have been proposed as representing unaltered remnants of ejecta deposited from an earth-girdling dust cloud formed from the impact of an asteroid or other large bolide at the end of the Cretaceous period. The magnesioferrite occurs as euhedral, frequently skeletal, micron-sized octahedral crystals. The magnesioferrite contains29 ± 11 ppb Ir, which accounts for only part of the Ir anomaly at this K-T boundary layer(52 ± 1 ppb Ir). Major element analyses of the magnesioferrite show variable compositions. Some minor solid solution exists toward hercynite-spinel and chromite-magnesiochromite. A trevorite-nichromite (NiFe₂O₄-NiCr₂O₄) component is also present. The analyses are very similar to those reported for sites at Furlo and Petriccio, Umbria, Italy.On the basis of the morphology and general composition of the magnesioferrite grains, rapid crystallization at high temperature is indicated, most likely directly from a vapor phase and in an environment of moderate oxygen fugacity. Elemental similarity with metallic alloy injected into rocks beneath two known impact craters suggests that part of the magnesioferrite may be derived from the vaporized chondritic bolide itself, or from the mantle; there is no supporting evidence for its derivation from crustal target rocks.     

A comparison of Miocene and Archean rhyolite hyaloclastites: Evidence for a hot and fluid rhyolite lava

In this paper, we compare the geology and petrography of Miocene and Archean submarine rhyolite hyaloclastites. The hyaloclastites are sparsely (10% or less) plagioclase- (± quartz and pyroxene-) phyric. The hyaloclastites consist of a feeder dyke from which branch lava lobes and irregularly shaped lava pods. The lava bodies consist of a holocrystalline core with microlitic texture, grading outward into a flow-layered rim zone and, finally, into obsidian. The proportion of plagioclase and pyroxene microlites decreases outward. Some layers of the rim zone may be pumiceous (vesicularity up to 50%, vesicle size 1 mm or less), but most of the lava has less than 5% vesicles one or a few cm long. The obsidian shows perlitic fracture patterns. The lava bodies grade through an in-situ breccia into a hyaloclastite composed of angular obsidian granules and, in many cases, of fragments of lava lobes.Evidence for alteration at high temperature is as follows: in the Archean rhyolite hyaloclastites, plagioclase microlites are overgrown by quartz-albite spherulites. Furthermore, parts of the Miocene and Archean hyaloclastite have been cemented and granules have been marginally replaced by quartz and albite. Hyaloclastite cemented at high temperature locally shows columnar joints. At low temperatures, obsidian has been hydrated and/or has been replaced by clay minerals, zeolites, chlorite or prehnite. “Chess-board” albite and fibroradial prehnite in Archean hyaloclastite is possibly a pseudomorph after zeolites.The sparsely porphyritic nature of the lava and the absence of microlites from the quenched glass suggests that the thyolite hyaloclastites extruded at high (near liquidus) temperature. Furthermore pumice is present only locally, in the flow-layered rim zone and in fragments derived from that zone. These features suggest that vesiculation was inhibited by the weight of the water column. High temperature and possibly the volatile (H₂O) content explain the relatively low viscosity and shear strength of the lava, and resulted in the flow morphology particular to this type of hyaloclastic rhyolite flows.