40Ar‐39Ar age determinations of lunar basalt meteorites Asuka 881757, Yamato 793169, Miller Range 05035, La Paz Icefield 02205, Northwest Africa 479, and basaltic breccia Elephant Moraine 96008

Abstract— ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar data are presented for the unbrecciated lunar basaltic meteorites Asuka (A‐) 881757, Yamato (Y‐) 793169, Miller Range (MIL) 05035, LaPaz Icefield (LAP) 02205, Northwest Africa (NWA) 479 (paired with NWA 032), and basaltic fragmental breccia Elephant Moraine (EET) 96008. Stepped heating ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar analyses of several bulk fragments of related meteorites A‐881757, Y‐793169 and MIL 05035 give crystallization ages of 3.763 ± 0.046 Ga, 3.811 ± 0.098 Ga and 3.845 ± 0.014 Ga, which are comparable with previous age determinations by Sm‐Nd, U‐Pb Th‐Pb, Pb‐Pb, and Rb‐Sr methods. These three meteorites differ in the degree of secondary ⁴⁰Ar loss with Y‐793169 showing relatively high Ar loss probably during an impact event ?200 Ma ago, lower Ar loss in MIL 05035 and no loss in A‐881757. Bulk and impact melt glass‐bearing samples of LAP 02205 gave similar ages (2.985 ± 0.016 Ga and 2.874 ± 0.056 Ga) and are consistent with ages previously determined using other isotope pairs. The basaltic portion of EET 96008 gives an age of 2.650 ± 0.086 Ga which is considered to be the crystallization age of the basalt in this meteorite. The Ar release for fragmental basaltic breccia EET 96008 shows evidence of an impact event at 631 ± 20 Ma. The crystallization age of 2.721 ± 0.040 Ga determined for NWA 479 is indistinguishable from the weighted mean age obtained from three samples of NWA 032 supporting the proposal that these meteorites are paired. The similarity of ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar ages with ages determined by other isotopic systems for multiple meteorites suggests that the K‐Ar isotopic system is robust for meteorites that have experienced a significant shock event and not a prolonged heating regime.     

Laser argon‐40‐argon‐39 age studies of Dar al Gani 262 lunar meteorite

Abstract— The laser ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating technique has been applied to the Dar al Gani (DaG) 262 lunar meteorite, a polymict highland regolith breccia, to determine the crystallisation age and timing of shock events experienced by this meteorite. Laser stepped‐heating analyses of three dominantly feldspathic fragments (DaG‐1, DaG‐2, and DaG‐3) revealed the presence of trapped Ar, mostly released at intermediate and high temperatures, with an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar value of ～2.8. Trapped Ar is most likely released from melt glass present as small veins within the fragments. The ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar ages determined for the three fragments are ～3.0 Ga for DaG‐1 and DaG‐2 and 2.0 Ga for DaG‐3 and probably relate to major impact events. Laser spot analyses were performed on a feldspathic clast, an impact crystalline melt basalt (ICMB), and the matrix in a polished section of DaG 262. The feldspathic and ICMB clasts have low contents of trapped Ar compared with that in the matrix. The feldspathic clast shows a wide range of ages from 3.0 to 1.7 Ga similar to those obtained by stepped heating. The younger age is interpreted as a minimum age for the last major event that assembled this meteorite. The ICMB shows two age clusters at 3.37 and 3.07 Ga, where the older age may be that of the impact event that formed the impact melt. Several cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) ages were obtained as expected for a polymict regolith breccia. The CRE ages are 106 and 141 Ma for the feldspathic clast and the ICMB, respectively. One of the feldspathic fragments, DaG‐2, shows a range between 200–400 Ma. These CRE ages, which are similar to those determined for returned samples of the lunar regolith, indicate that the different components of DaG 262 experienced preexposure prior to assemblage of the meteorite.     

Ion microprobe uranium‐lead dating of zircons from the Lappajärvi impact crater,western Finland

Abstract— The lake Lappajärvi impact crater lies in Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian metasedimentary rocks, on the western side of the Central Finland granitoid complex (～1.9 Ga). Two conflicting ages have been reported for the meteorite impact: an age of 77.3 ± 0.4 Ma on the basis of Ar‐Ar whole‐rock data from impact melt samples and a paleomagnetic age of 195 Ma. During studies on impact crater indicator minerals at Lappajärvi, zircons with an atypical appearance were found in suevite boulders. These zircons seemed to have been affected by impact shock metamorphism and it was considered that they would be good candidates for ion microprobe U‐Pb dating, allowing a new and independent age estimate for the impact event at Lappajärvi. Four spot analyses on two black‐coated zircons plotted close to the upper intercept end of the concordia curve giving an approximate age of 1.8 Ga for the source rock. Seventeen analyses were done on three dull zircon grains showing patchy impact‐related partial recrystallization. Most of these data fell fairly well on a single discordia line with intercept ages of 73.3 ± 5.3 Ma and 1854 ± 51 Ma. However, five of the data spots near the lower intercept end fell on the younger side of the line. This was interpreted to indicate post‐impact loss of lead. Importantly, the new ion microprobe U‐Pb age of 73.3 ± 5.3 Ma is in a very good agreement with the previously reported Ar‐Ar age.     

A new high‐precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Rochechouart impact structure: At least 5 Ma older than the Triassic–Jurassic boundary

The Rochechourt impact structure in south‐central France, with maximum diameter of 40–50 km, has previously been dated to within 1% uncertainty of the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, at which time ~30% of global genera became extinct. To evaluate the temporal relationship between the impact and the Triassic–Jurassic boundary at high precision, we have re‐examined the structure's age using multicollector ARGUS‐V ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mass spectrometry. Results from four aliquots of impact melt are highly reproducible, and yield an age of 206.92 ± 0.20/0.32 Ma (2σ, full analytical/external uncertainties). Thus, the Rochechouart impact structure predates the Triassic–Jurassic boundary by 5.6 ± 0.4 Ma and so is not temporally linked to the mass extinction. Rochechouart has formerly been proposed to be part of a multiple impact event, but when compared with new ages from the other purported “paired” structures, the results provide no evidence for synchronous impacts in the Late Triassic. The widespread Central Atlantic Magmatic Province flood basalts remain the most likely cause of the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction.     

Establishing a 14.6 ± 0.2 Ma age for the Nördlinger Ries impact (Germany)—A prime example for concordant isotopic ages from various dating materials

Abstract– ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of recrystallized K‐feldspar melt particles separated from partially molten biotite granite in impact melt rocks from the approximately 24 km Nördlinger Ries crater (southern Germany) yielded a plateau age of 14.37 ± 0.30 (0.32) Ma (2σ). This new age for the Nördlinger Ries is the first age obtained from (1) monomineralic melt (2) separated from an impact‐metamorphosed target rock clast within (3) Ries melt rocks and therewith extends the extensive isotopic age data set for this long time studied impact structure. The new age goes very well with the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step‐heating and laser probe dating results achieved from mixed‐glass samples (suevite glass and tektites) and is slightly younger than the previously obtained fission track and K/Ar and ages of about 15 Ma, as well as the K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data obtained in the early 1990s. Taking all the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age data obtained from Ries impact melt lithologies into account (data from the literature and this study), we suggest an age of 14.59 ± 0.20 Ma (2σ) as best value for the Ries impact event.     

A Middle‐Late Triassic 40Ar/39Ar age for the Paasselkä impact structure (SE Finland)

Abstract– ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of recrystallized feldspar glass particles separated from clast‐rich impact melt rocks from the approximately 10 km Paasselkä impact structure (SE Finland) yielded a Middle to Late Triassic (Ladinian‐Karnian) pseudo‐plateau age of 228.7 ± 3.0 (3.4) Ma (2σ). This new age makes Paasselkä the first known Triassic impact structure dated by isotopic methods on the Baltic Shield. The new Paasselkä impact age is, within uncertainty, coeval with isotopic ages recently obtained for the Lake Saint Martin impact structure in Canada, indicating a new Middle to Late Triassic impact crater population on Earth. The comparatively small crater size, however, suggests no relationship between the Paasselkä impact and a postulated extinction event at the Middle/Late Triassic boundary.     

Boltysh,another end‐Cretaceous impact

Abstract— The Chixculub impact occurred at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary, and although several other Late Cretaceous and Paleogene impact craters have, at times, been linked with the K/T boundary, isotope geochronology has demonstrated that all have significantly different ages. The currently accepted age of the 24 km diameter Boltysh crater, a K‐Ar whole‐rock age, places it in the Coniacian at 88 ± 3 Ma. However, comprehensive Ar‐Ar dating of a range of melt samples yields a mean age of 65.17 ± 0.64 Ma, within errors of the K/T boundary. Several of the fresh samples exhibit signs of excess argon but this seems to be concentrated in rapidly crystallized glass‐rich samples. The Ar‐Ar age confirms an earlier fission track measurement and thus two dating techniques have yielded an age within errors of the K/T boundary for this crater. Crucially, although the ages of Boltysh and Chixculub are within errors, they may not have formed synchronously. Craters of 24 km diameter occur much more commonly than impacts of Chixculub dimensions, but their proximity does raise the important question of how many impacts there might have been close to the K/T boundary.     

A Late Mesoproterozoic 40Ar/39Ar age for a melt breccia from the Keurusselkä impact structure,Finland

Field investigations in the eroded central uplift of the ≤30 km Keurusselkä impact structure, Finland, revealed a thin, dark melt vein that intersects the autochthonous shatter cone‐bearing target rocks near the homestead of Kirkkoranta, close to the center of the impact structure. The petrographic analysis of quartz in this melt breccia and the wall rock granite indicate weak shock metamorphic overprint not exceeding ~8–10 GPa. The mode of occurrence and composition of the melt breccia suggest its formation as some kind of pseudotachylitic breccia. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of dark and clast‐poor whole‐rock chips yielded five concordant Late Mesoproterozoic miniplateau ages and one plateau age of 1151 ± 10 Ma [± 11 Ma] (2σ; MSWD = 0.11; P = 0.98), considered here as the statistically most robust age for the rock. The new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age is incompatible with ~1.88 Ga Svecofennian tectonism and magmatism in south‐central Finland and probably reflects the Keurusselkä impact, followed by impact‐induced hydrothermal chloritization of the crater basement. In keeping with the crosscutting relationships in the outcrop and the possible influence of postimpact alteration, the Late Mesoproterozoic ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of ~1150 Ma should be treated as a minimum age for the impact. The new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar results are consistent with paleomagnetic results that suggested a similar age for Keurusselkä, which is shown to be one of the oldest impact structures currently known in Europe and worldwide.     

Northwest Africa 482: A crystalline impact‐melt breccia from the lunar highlands

Abstract— Northwest Africa 482 (NWA 482) is a crystalline impact‐melt breccia from the Moon with highlands affinities. The recrystallized matrix and the clast population are both highly anorthositic. Clasts are all related to the ferroan anorthosite suite, and include isolated plagioclase crystals and lithic anorthosites, troctolites, and spinel troctolites. Potassium‐, rare‐earth‐element‐, and phosphorus‐bearing (KREEP) and mare lithologies are both absent, constraining the source area of this meteorite to a highland terrain with little to no KREEP component, most likely on the far side of the Moon. Glass is present in shock veins cutting through the sample and in several large melt pockets, indicating a second impact event. There are two separate events recorded in the ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar system: one at ～3750 Ma, which completely reset the K‐Ar system, and one at ?2400 Ma, which caused only partial degassing. These events could represent, respectively, crystallization of the impact‐melt breccia and later formation of the glass, or the formation of the glass and a later thermal event. The terrestrial age of the meteorite is 8.6 ± 1.3 ka. This age corresponds well with the modest amount of weathering in the rock, in the form of secondary phyllosilicates and carbonates. Based on terrestrial age and location, lithology, and chemistry, NWA 482 is unique among known lunar meteorites.     

New impact‐melt rock from the Roter Kamm impact structure,Namibia: Further constraints on impact age,melt rock chemistry,and projectile composition

Abstract— A new locality of in situ massive impact‐melt rock was discovered on the south‐southwestern rim of the Roter Kamm impact structure. While the sub‐samples from this new locality are relatively homogeneous at the hand specimen scale, and despite being from a nearby location, they do not have the same composition of the only previously analyzed impact‐melt rock sample from Roter Kamm. Both Roter Kamm impact‐melt rock samples analyzed to date, as well as several suevite samples, exhibit a granitic‐granodioritic precursor composition. Micro‐chemical analyses of glassy matrix and Al‐rich orthopyroxene microphenocrysts demonstrate rapid cooling and chemical disequilibrium at small scales. Platinum‐group element abundances and ratios indicate an ordinary chondritic composition for the Roter Kamm impactor. Laser argon dating of two sub‐samples did not reproduce the previously obtained age of 3.7 ± 0.3 (1s?) for this impact event, based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of a single vesicular impact‐melt rock. Instead, we obtained ages between 3.9 and 6.3 Ma, with an inverse isochron age of 4.7 ± 0.3 Ma for one analyzed sub‐sample and 5.1 ± 0.4 Ma for the other. Clearly a post‐5 Ma impact at Roter Kamm remains indicated, but further analytical work is required to better constrain the currently best estimate of 4–5 Ma. Both impactor and age constraints are clearly obstructed by the inherent microscopic heterogeneity and disequilibrium melting and cooling processes demonstrated in the present study.     

Petrography,geochemistry, and argon‐40/argon‐39 ages of impact‐melt rocks and breccias from the Ames impact structure,Oklahoma: The Nicor Chestnut 18‐4 drill core

Abstract— The 15 km diameter Ames structure in northwestern Oklahoma is located 2.75 km below surface in Cambro‐Ordovician Arbuckle dolomite, which is overlain by Middle Ordovician Oil Creek Formation shale. The feature is marked by two concentric ring structures, with the inner ring of about 5 km diameter probably representing the collapsed remnant of a structural uplift composed of brecciated Precambrian granite and Arbuckle dolomite. Wells from both the crater rim and the central uplift are oil‐ and gas‐producing, making Ames one of the economically important impact structures. Petrographic, geochemical, and age data were obtained on samples from the Nicor Chestnut 18‐4 drill core, off the northwest flank of the central uplift. These samples represent the largest and best examples of impact‐melt breccia obtained so far from the Ames structure. They contain carbonate rocks, which are derived from the target sequence. The chemical composition of the impact‐melt breccias is similar to that of target granite, with variable carbonate admixture. Some impact‐melt rocks are enriched in siderophile elements indicating the possible presence of a meteoritic component. Based on stratigraphic arguments, the age of the crater was estimated at 470 Ma. Previous ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating attempts of impact‐melt breccias from the Dorothy 1–19 core yielded plateau ages of about 285 Ma, which is in conflict with the stratigraphic age. The new ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar age data obtained on the melt breccias from the Nicor Chestnut core by ultraviolet (UV) laser spot analysis resulted in a range of ages with maxima around 300 Ma. These data could reflect processes related either the regional Nemaha Uplift or resetting due to hot brines active on a midcontinent‐wide scale, perhaps related to the Alleghenian and Ouachita orogenies. The age data indicate an extended burial phase associated with thermal overprint during Late Pennsylvanian‐Permian.     

Thermal and irradiation history of lunar meteorite Dhofar 280

Dhofar 280 recorded a complex history on the Moon revealed by high‐resolution ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating. Thermal resetting occurred less than 1 Ga ago, and the rock was exposed to several impact events before and afterwards. The cosmic ray exposure (CRE) age spectrum indicates a 400 ± 40 Ma CRE on the lunar surface. A unique feature of this lunar sample is a partial loss of cosmogenic ³⁸Ar, resulting in a (low‐temperature) CRE age plateau of about 1 Ma. This was likely caused by the same recent impact event that reset the (low‐temperature) ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar age spectrum and preceded the short transit phase to Earth of ≤1 Ma. Dhofar 280 may be derived from KREEP‐rich lunar frontside terrains, possibly associated with the Copernicus crater or with a recent impact event on the deposits of the South Pole–Aitken basin. Although Dhofar 280 is paired with Dhofar 081, their irradiation and thermal histories on the Moon were different. An important trapped Ar component in Dhofar 280 is “orphan” Ar with a low ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratio. It is apparently a mixture of two components, one endmember with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar = 17.5 ± 0.2 and a second less well‐constrained endmember with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ≤10. The presence of two endmembers of trapped Ar, their compositions, and the breccia ages seem to be incompatible with a previously suggested correlation between age or antiquity and the (⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar)_trapped ratio (Eugster et al. 2001; Joy et al. 2011a). Alternatively, “orphan” Ar of this impact melt breccia may have an impact origin.     

High resolution U‐Pb ages of Ca‐phosphates in Apollo 14 breccias: Implications for the age of the Imbrium impact

Previous age estimates of the Imbrium impact range from 3770 to 3920 Ma, with the latter being the most commonly accepted age of this basin‐forming event. The occurrence of Ca‐phosphates in Apollo 14 breccias, interpreted to represent ejecta formed by this impact, provides a new opportunity to date the Imbrium event as well as refining the impact history of the Moon. We present new precise U‐Pb analyses of Ca‐phosphates from impact breccia sample 14311 that are concordant and give a reliable weighted average age of 3938 ± 4 Ma (2σ). Comparison with previously published U‐Pb data on phosphate from Apollo 14 samples indicate that all ages are statistically similar and suggest phosphates could have been formed by the same impact at 3934 Ma ± 3 Ma (2σ). However, this age is older than the 3770 to 3920 Ma range determined for other samples and also interpreted as formed during the Imbrium impact. This suggests that several impacts occurred during a 20–30 Ma period around 3900 Ma and formed breccias sampled by the Apollo missions.     

Evidence for multiple 4.0–3.7 Ga impact events within the Apollo 16 collection

In a histogram of lunar impact ages from the Apollo 16 site, there is a spike circa 3.9 Ga that has been interpreted to represent either a large number of nearly synchronous events or an abundance of samples that were affected slightly differently by the event that produced the Imbrium basin. To further scrutinize those age relationships, we extracted six centimeter‐sized clasts of impact melt from ancient regolith breccia 60016 and performed petrological and geochronological (⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar) analyses. Three clasts have similar poikilitic textures, while others have porphyritic, aphanitic, or intergranular textures. Compositions and abundances of relict minerals are different in all six clasts and variously imply Mg‐suite and ferroan anorthosite target sequences. Estimated bulk compositions of four clasts are similar to previously defined group 1 Apollo 16 impact melt rocks, while the other two have higher Al₂O₃ and lower FeO+MgO compositions. All six clasts have similar K₂O and P₂O₅ concentrations, which could have been derived from a KREEP‐bearing component among target sequences. Eighteen ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses of the six clasts produced an age range from 3823 ± 75 to 4000 ± 23 Ma, consistent with estimates for the proposed late heavy bombardment. Four clasts have multiple temperature steps that define plateau ages. These ages are distinct, so they cannot be explained by a single impact event, such as the one that produced the Imbrium impact basin. The conclusion that these represent distinct ages remains after considering the possibility of artifacts in defining plateaus.     

Laser probe argon-40/argon-39 dating of coesite- and stishovite-bearing pseudotachylytes and the age of the Vredefort impact event

Abstract— Age determinations have been made on pseudotachylytic rocks from the controversial Vredefort structure of South Africa using the laser microprobe ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating technique. Coesite- and stishovitebearing veins in a quartzite from the Central Rand Group of the collar rocks were dated using a 10-μm diameter focused ultra-violet laser beam. These yielded a weighted mean age of 2027 ± 18 Ma (2σ). Six pseudotachylytes, sampled from four different locations within the Outer Granite Gneiss of the core, were dated using an 50–100-μm diameter focused infrared laser beam. These pseudotachylytes exhibit altered vein margins with apparent ages considerably younger than ages obtained from the fresher centres of veins. The best weighted mean pseudotachylyte matrix age obtained was 2018 ± 14 Ma (2σ). Most of the clasts within the pseudotachylyte matrices retain significantly older (e.g., Archean) ages, indicative of their parent rock history. Our results show that five of the seven dated samples possess matrix ages of ～2000 Ma, similar to the age of the Granophyre (Walraven et al., 1990), a supposed impact melt rock (French and Nielsen, 1990). The dating of coesite- and stishovite-bearing veins equates the shock event with pseudotachylyte formation, generation of the Granophyre and creation of the Vredefort structure. The results affirm that the Vredefort Dome is a meteorite impact structure and show that it formed at 2018 ± 14 Ma (2σ).     

A Carnian 40Ar/39Ar age for the Paasselkä impact structure (SE Finland)—An update

A recrystallized band of pale feldspathic impact melt in a gneissic impact breccia from the approximately 10 km Paasselkä impact structure in southeast Finland was dated via ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar step‐heating. The newly obtained plateau age of 228.7 ± 1.8 (2.2) Ma (2σ) (MSWD = 0.32; p = 0.93) is equal to the previously published pseudoplateau age of 228.7 ± 3.0 (3.4) (2σ) for the impact event. According to the current international chronostratigraphic chart and using the most recent published suggestions for the K decay constants, a Carnian (Late Triassic) age for the Paasselkä impact structure of 231.0 ± 1.8 (2.2) Ma (2σ) is calculated and considered the most precise and accurate age for this impact structure. The new plateau age for Paasselkä confirms the previous dating result but is, based on its internal statistics, much more compelling.     

40Ar‐39Ar chronology of lunar meteorites Northwest Africa 032 and 773

Abstract— The ⁴⁰Ar‐³⁹Ar dating technique has been applied to the lunar meteorites Northwest Africa 032 (NWA 032), an unbrecciated mare basalt, and Northwest Africa 773 (NWA 773), (composed of cumulate and breccia lithologies), to determine the crystallization age and timing of shock events these meteorites may have experienced. Stepped heating analyses of several different samples of NWA 032 gave complex age spectra but indistinguishable total ages with a mean of 2.779 ± 0.014 Gyr. Possible causes of the complex age spectra obtained from NWA 032 include recoil of ³⁹Ar, or the presence of pre‐shock ⁴⁰Ar incorporated into shock‐melt veins. The effects of shock veins were investigated by laser fusion of 20 small samples expected to contain varying proportions of the shock veins. The laser ages show a narrow age distribution between 2.61–2.86 Gyr and a mean of 2.73 ± 0.03 Gyr, identical to the total age of ?2.80 Gyr obtained for the bulk sample. Diffusion calculations based on the stepped heating data indicate that Ar release can be reconciled by release from feldspar (and possibly shock veins) at low temperatures followed by pyroxene at higher temperatures. The exposure age of NWA 032 is 212 ± 11 Myr, and it contains low trapped solar Ar. Stepped heating of cumulate and breccia portions of NWA 773 also give a relatively young age of 2.91 Gyr. The presence of trapped Ar in the breccia makes the age determination of this component less precise, but release of Ar appears to be from the same mineral phase, assumed to be plagioclase, in both lithologies. A marked difference in exposure age between the 2 lithologies also exists, with the breccia having spent 81 Myr longer at the lunar surface; this finding is consistent with the higher trapped Ar content of this lithology. Assuming that 2.80 Gyr and 2.91 Gyr are the crystallization ages of NWA 032 and NWA 773 respectively, these two meteorites are the youngest lunar mare basalts available for study.     

An Early Jurassic age for the Puchezh‐Katunki impact structure (Russia) based on 40Ar/39Ar data and palynology

The Puchezh‐Katunki impact structure, 40–80 km in diameter, located ~400 km northeast of Moscow (Russia), has a poorly constrained age between ~164 and 203 Ma (most commonly quoted as 167 ± 3 Ma). Due to its relatively large size, the Puchezh‐Katunki structure has been a prime candidate for discussions on the link between hypervelocity impacts and extinction events. Here, we present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from step‐heating analysis of five impact melt rock samples that allow us to significantly improve the age range for the formation of the Puchezh‐Katunki impact structure to 192–196 Ma. Our results also show that there is not necessarily a simple relationship between the observed petrographic features of an impact melt rock sample and the obtained ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectra and inverse isochrons. Furthermore, a new palynological investigation of the postimpact crater lake sediments supports an age significantly older than quoted in the literature, i.e., in the interval late Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian, in accordance with the new radioisotopic age estimate presented here. The new age range of the structure is currently the most reliable age estimate of the Puchezh‐Katunki impact event.     

Multiple impact events on the L-chondritic parent body: Insights from SIMS U-Pb dating of Ca-phosphates in the NWA 7251 L-melt breccia

Here we report in situ secondary ionization mass spectrometry Ca-phosphate U-Pb ages for an L-impact melt breccia (NWA 7251), which are integrated with petrological and mineral chemical studies of this meteorite. NWA 7251 is a heavily shocked rock that is composed mainly of the chondrite host, impact melt portion, and melt veins (crosscutting and pervasive type). The host is an L4 chondrite that has been shocked to S4. The impact melt portion has a fine-grained igneous texture, and is composed mainly of olivine, low-Ca pyroxene, high-Ca pyroxene, and albitic glass. The impact melt was generated at pressure of >30–35 GPa and temperature of >1300–1500 °C during an impact event. The Ca-phosphate grains in the host were affected by a shock heating event. Most of the Ca-phosphate grains in the melt were neocrystallized, but relatively large grains enclosed by or adjacent to metal veins or melt globules are likely inherited. The U-Pb isotopic systematics of Ca-phosphates in NWA 7251 yield an upper intercept age of 4457 ± 56 Ma and a lower intercept age of 574 ± 82 Ma on the normal U-Pb concordia diagram. The age of 4457 ± 56 Ma is interpreted to be related to an early shocking event rather than the thermal metamorphism of the parent body. The impact melt and veins in NWA 7251 were generated at 574 ± 82 Ma, resulting from disruption of the L chondrite parent body.     

Linking shock textures revealed by BSE,CL, and EBSD with U‐Pb data (LA‐ICP‐MS and SIMS) from zircon from the Araguainha impact structure,Brazil

A silicious impact melt rock from polymict impact breccia of the northern part of the alkali granite core of the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil, has been investigated. The melt rock is thought to represent a large mass of impact‐generated melt in suevite. In particular, a diverse population of zircon grains, with different impact‐induced microstructures, has been analyzed for U‐Pb isotopic systematics. Backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence images reveal heterogeneous intragrain domains with vesicular, granular, vesicular plus granular, and vesicular plus (presumably) baddeleyite textures, among others. The small likely baddeleyite inclusions are not only preferentially located along grain margins but also occur locally within grain interiors. LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb data from different domains yield lower intercept ages of 220, 240, and 260 Ma, a result difficult to reconcile with the previous “best age” estimate for the impact event at 254.7 ± 2.7 Ma. SIMS U‐Pb data, too, show a relatively large range of ages from 245 to 262 Ma. A subset of granular grains that yielded concordant SIMS ages were analyzed for crystallographic orientation by EBSD. Orientation mapping shows that this population consists of approximately micrometer‐sized neoblasts that preserve systematic orientation evidence for the former presence of the high‐pressure polymorph reidite. In one partially granular grain (#36), the neoblasts occur in linear arrays that likely represent former reidite lamellae. Such grains are referred to as FRIGN zircon. The best estimate for the age of the Araguainha impact event from our data set from a previously not analyzed type of impact melt rock is based on concordant SIMS data from FRIGN zircon grains. This age is 251.5 ± 2.9 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.45, p = 0.50, n = 4 analyses on three grains), indistinguishable from previous estimates based on zircon and monazite from other impact melt lithologies at Araguainha. Our work provides a new example of how FRIGN zircon can be combined with in situ U‐Pb geochronology to extract an accurate age for an impact event.