Thermal decomposition pattern and particle size estimation of iron minerals associated with the Cretaceous‐Tertiary boundary at Gubbio

Abstract— Mössbauer studies of the samples from the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K‐T) boundary layer at Gubbio, Italy show that iron appears mainly in two phases, magnetically ordered hematite and a paramagnetic silicate phase. The average particle size of hematite is estimated to be in the range of 16 to 27 nm from transmission electron micrographs and lack of a Morin transition. The hyperfine magnetic field at the iron nucleus is observed to be somewhat less than that of bulk hematite, which may be explained by collective magnetic excitation. Stepwise heating up to 1000°C shows a decomposition pattern of the paramagnetic phase, which suggests it to be a tri‐octahedral layer silicate. The iron‐bearing phases found in the bulk sedimentary K‐T boundary material are different from those found in the spherules separated from this material indicating that the redox conditions changed rapidly after the impact, becoming more oxidizing during the period these bulk phases were formed.     

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.     

Osmium,tungsten, and chromium isotopes in sediments and in Ni‐rich spinel at the K‐T boundary: Signature of a chondritic impactor

Abstract— It is now established that a large extraterrestrial object hit the Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 65 Ma ago. We have investigated Re‐Os, Hf‐W, and Mn‐Cr isotope systems in sediments from the Cretaceous and the Paleogene in order to characterize the type of impactor. Within the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K‐T) boundary layer, extraterrestrial material is mixed with terrestrial material, causing a dilution of the extraterrestrial isotope signature that is difficult to quantify. A phase essentially composed of Ni‐rich spinel, formed in the atmosphere mainly from melted projectile material, is likely to contain the extraterrestrial isotopic signature of the impactor. We show that the analysis of spinel is indeed the best approach to determine the initial isotope composition of the impactor, and that W and Cr isotopes confirm that the projectile was a carbonaceous chondrite.     

Trace element concentrations in the Mexico‐Belize ejecta layer: A link between the Chicxulub impact and the global Cretaceous‐Paleogene boundary

Abstract— Four exposures of Chicxulub impact ejecta along the Mexico‐Belize border have been sampled and analyzed for major and trace element abundances. The ejecta deposits consist of a lower spheroid bed, containing clay and dolomite spheroids, and an upper diamictite bed with boulders and clasts of limestone and dolomite. The matrix of both beds is composed of clay and micritic dolomite. The rare earth element (REE) compositions in the matrix of both units show strong similarities in concentrations and pattern. Furthermore, the Zr/TiO₂ scatter plot shows a linear correlation indicating one source. These results indicate that the basal spheroid bed has the same source and was generated during the same event as the overlying diamictite bed, which lends support to a single‐impact scenario for the Albion Formation ejecta deposits. The elevated concentrations of non‐meteoritic elements such as Sb, As, U, and Zn in the matrix of the lower spheroid bed are regarded to have been derived from the sedimentary target rocks at the Chicxulub impact site. The positive Eu and Ce anomalies in clay concretion and in the matrix of the lower part of the spheroid bed in Albion Island quarry is probably related to processes involved in the impact, such as high temperature and oxidizing conditions. Analogous trace element anomalies have been reported from the distal Cretaceous‐Paleogene (K/T) boundary clay layer at different sites. Thus, the trace element signals, reported herein, are regarded to support a genetic link between the Chicxulub impact, the ejecta deposits along the Mexico‐Belize border, and the global K/T boundary layer.     

Remnants of altered meteorite in the Cretaceous‐Paleogene clay boundary in Poland

Fossil iron meteorites are extremely rare in the geological sedimentary record. The paleometeorite described here is the first such finding at the Cretaceous‐Paleogene (K‐Pg) boundary. In the boundary clay from the outcrop at the Lechówka quarry (Poland), fragments of the paleometeorite were found in the bottom part of the host layer. The fragments of meteorite (2–6 mm in size) and meteoritic dust are metallic‐gray in color and have a total weight of 1.8181 g. Geochemical and petrographic analyses of the meteorite from Lechówka reveal the presence of Ni‐rich minerals with a total Ni amount of 2–3 wt%. The identified minerals are taenite, kamacite, schreibersite, Ni‐rich magnetite, and Ni‐rich goethite. No relicts of silicates or chromites were found. The investigated paleometeorite apparently represents an independent fall and does not seem to be derived from the K‐Pg impactor. The high degree of weathering did not permit the chemical classification of the meteorite fragments. However, the recognized mineral inventory, lack of silicates, and their pseudomorphs and texture may indicate that the meteorite remains were an iron meteorite.     

Magnetic characterization of Cretaceous‐Tertiary boundary sediments

Abstract— Rock magnetic properties across several K‐T boundary sections have been investigated to reveal any possible magnetic signature associated with the remains of the impact event at the end of the Cretaceous. Studied sections' locations vary in distance to the Chicxulub structure from distal (Agost and Caravaca, Spain), through closer (ODP Hole 1049A, Blake Nose, North Atlantic), to proximal (El Mimbral and La Lajilla, Mexico). A clear magnetic signature is associated with the fireball layer in the most distal sections, consisting of a sharp increase in susceptibility and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), and a decrease in remanence coercivity. Magnetic properties in these sections point to a distinctive ferrimagnetic phase, probably corresponding to the reported Mg‐ and Ni‐rich, highly oxidized spinels of meteoritic origin. At closer and proximal sections magnetic properties are different. Although there is an increase in susceptibility and SIRM associated with a rusty layer placed on top of the siliciclastic deposit in proximal sections, and with a similar limonitic layer on top of the spherule bed that defines the boundary at Blake Nose, the magnetic properties indicate a mixture of iron oxyhydroxides dominated by fine‐grained goethite. Based on previous geochemical studies at Blake Nose and new geochemical and PGE abundance measurements performed in this work at El Mimbral, this goethite‐rich layer can be interpreted as an effect of diagenetic remobilization and precipitation of Fe. There is not enough evidence to assert that this Fe concentration layer at proximal sections is directly related to deposition of fine meteoritic material. Magnetic, geochemical, and iridium data reject it as a primary meteoritic phase.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the impact breccias and post‐impact carbonates from borehole Yaxcopoil‐1, Chicxulub impact crater,Yucatán,Mexico

Abstract— We report the magnetostratigraphy of the sedimentary sequence between the impact breccias and the post‐impact carbonate sequence conducted on samples recovered by Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1). Samples of impact breccias show reverse polarities that span up to ～56 cm into the post‐impact carbonate lithologies. We correlate these breccias to those of PEMEX boreholes Yucatán‐6 and Chicxulub‐1, from which we tied our magnetostratigraphy to the radiometric age from a melt sample from the Yucatán‐6 borehole. Thin section analyses of the carbonate samples showed a significant amount of dark minerals and glass shards that we identified as the magnetic carriers; therefore, we propose that the mechanism of magnetic acquisition within the carbonate rocks for the interval studied is detrital remanent magnetism (DRM). With these samples, we constructed the scale of geomagnetic polarities where we find two polarities within the sequence, a reverse polarity event within the impact breccias and the base of the post‐impact carbonate sequence (up to 794.07 m), and a normal polarity event in the last ～20 cm of the interval studied. The polarities recorded in the sequence analyzed are interpreted to span from chron 29r to 29n, and we propose that the reverse polarity event lies within the 29r chron. The magnetostratigraphy of the sequence studied shows that the horizon at 794.11 m deep, interpreted as the K/T boundary, lies within the geomagnetic chron 29r, which contains the K/T boundary.     

Atom‐probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy of the kamacite–taenite interface in the fast‐cooled Bristol IVA iron meteorite

We report the first combined atom‐probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of a kamacite–tetrataenite (K–T) interface region within an iron meteorite, Bristol (IVA). Ten APT nanotips were prepared from the K–T interface with focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB‐SEM) and then studied using TEM followed by APT. Near the K‐T interface, we found 3.8 ± 0.5 wt% Ni in kamacite and 53.4 ± 0.5 wt% Ni in tetrataenite. High‐Ni precipitate regions of the cloudy zone (CZ) have 50.4 ± 0.8 wt% Ni. A region near the CZ and martensite interface has <10 nm sized Ni‐rich precipitates with 38.4 ± 0.7 wt% Ni present within a low‐Ni matrix having 25.5 ± 0.6 wt% Ni. We found that Cu is predominantly concentrated in tetrataenite, whereas Co, P, and Cr are concentrated in kamacite. Phosphorus is preferentially concentrated along the K‐T interface. This study is the first precise measurement of the phase composition at high spatial resolution and in 3‐D of the K‐T interface region in a IVA iron meteorite and furthers our knowledge of the phase composition changes in a fast‐cooled iron meteorite below 400 °C. We demonstrate that APT in conjunction with TEM is a useful approach to study the major, minor, and trace elemental composition of nanoscale features within fast‐cooled iron meteorites.     

Platinum group elements in impactites of the ICDP Chicxulub drill core Yaxcopoil‐1: Are there traces of the projectile?

Abstract— This study presents results of platinum group element (PGE) analyses of impactites from the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) and Yucatán 6 drill cores of the 180 km‐diameter Chicxulub crater. These are the main elements used for projectile identification. They were determined by nickel sulfide fire assay combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentration of PGE in the samples are low. The concentration patterns of the suevite samples resemble the pattern of the continental crust. We conclude that any meteoritic fraction in these samples is below 0.05%. A syn‐ and post‐impact modification of the PGE pattern from meteoritic toward a continental crust pattern is very unlikely. The globally distributed fallout at the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K/T) boundary, however, has high PGE concentrations. Therefore, the lack of a significant meteoritic PGE signature in the crater is not an argument for a PGE‐poor impactor. Taking the results of three‐dimensional numerical simulations of the Chicxulub event into account, the following conclusions are drawn: 1) The main fraction of the impactor was ejected into and beyond the stratosphere, distributed globally, and deposited in the K/T boundary clay; and 2) the low amount of projectile contamination in the Yax‐1 lithologies may reflect an oblique impact. However, the role of volatiles in the mixing process between projectile and target is not well‐understood and may also have played a fundamental role.     

Alkali‐feldspathic material entrained in Fe,S‐rich veins in a monomict ureilite

Abstract— The Elephant Moraine (EET) 96001 ureilite contains a remarkable diversity of feldspars, which occur as tiny (no more than 60 μm maximum dimension) grains within a few Fe,S‐rich (now weathered to mostly Fe oxide) veins. Molar S: Fe ratio in the veins averages 0.08 ± 0.02. The veins meander and feature large fluctuations in apparent width; they appear to have entered this monomict breccia by a gentle, percolative process, not by violent impact injection. The feldspars are accompanied by a diverse suite of K‐rich (and generally also Ti‐rich) feldspathic glasses, and also major proportions of silica and pyroxene, which is largely fassaitic. A rhönite‐like phase is also found, and, as inclusions in one of the fassaites, a Cr‐poor spinel‐like phase. The feldspars mostly feature remarkably high K/Na compared to feldspars of comparable An from polymict ureilites. The EET 96001 feldspathic component was probably once part of a thin basaltic crust on a ureilite asteroid. The spinel included in one of the fassaites formed at remarkably high f0₂ (apparent oxidation state of iron: ～41 atom% Fe³⁺), suggesting that the parent magma possibly assimilated near‐surface water (however, the Fe³⁺ was not directly measured, and has conceivably been affected by terrestrial weathering; also, there is no assurance that this fassaite originated together with the typical feldspar). We speculate that the feldspathic component was mixed into the dense, Fe,S‐rich vein material, and very soon thereafter the Fe,S‐rich vein material was emplaced adjacent to the EET 96001 host ureilite, at an advanced stage in a chaotic catastrophic disruption and partial reassembly process that affected all ureilites. The high‐K nature of the EET 96001 feldspathic component, including the feldspathic glasses, suggests that fractional fusion may not have been as common during ureilite anatexis as has been inferred from recent studies of clast assemblages in polymict ureilites.     

Calibrating models of ultralow‐mass stars

Evolutionary and atmospheric models have become available for young ultralow‐mass objects. These models are being used to determine fundamental parameters from observational properties. TiO bands are used to determine effective temperatures in ultralow‐mass objects, and together with Na‐ and K‐lines to derive gravities at the substellar boundary. Unfortunately, model calibrations in (young) ultralow‐mass objects are rare. As a first step towards a calibration of synthetic spectral features, I show molecular bands of TiO, which is a main opacity source in late M‐dwarfs. The TiO ε ‐band at 8450 Å is systematically too weak. This implies that temperatures determined from that band are underestimated, and I discuss implications for determining fundamental parameters from high resolution spectra. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

More evidence that the Chicxulub impact predates the K/T mass extinction

Abstract Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1), drilled within the Chicxulub crater, was expected to yield the final proof that this impact occurred precisely 65 Myr ago and caused the mass extinction at the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K/T) boundary. Instead, contrary evidence was discovered based on five independent proxies (sedimentologic, biostratigraphic, magnetostratigraphic, stable isotopic, and iridium) that revealed that the Chicxulub impact predates the K/T boundary by about 300,000 years and could not have caused the mass extinction. This is demonstrated by the presence of five bioturbated glauconite layers and planktic foraminiferal assemblages of the latest Maastrichtian zone CF1 and is corroborated by magnetostratigraphic chron 29r and characteristic late Maastrichtian stable isotope signals. These results were first presented in Keller et al. (2004). In this study, we present more detailed evidence of the presence of late Maastrichtian planktic foraminifera, sedimentologic, and mineralogic analyses that demonstrate that the Chicxulub impact breccia predates the K/T boundary and that the sediments between the breccia and the K/T boundary were deposited in a normal marine environment during the last 300,000 years of the Cretaceous.     

Physical properties of the Yaxcopoil‐1 deep drill core,Chicxulub impact structure,Mexico

Abstract– The Chicxulub structure in Mexico, one of the largest impact structures on Earth, was formed 65 Ma by a hypervelocity impact that led to the large mass extinction at the K‐Pg boundary. The Chicxulub impact structure is well preserved, but is buried beneath a sequence of carbonate sediments and, thus, requires drilling to obtain subsurface information. The Chicxulub Scientific Drilling Program was carried out at Hacienda Yaxcopoil in the framework of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program in 2001–2002. The structure was cored from 404 m down to 1511 m, through three intervals: 794 m of postimpact Tertiary sediments, a 100 m thick impactite sequence, and 616 m of preimpact Cretaceous rocks thought to represent a suite of megablocks. Physical property investigations show that the various lithologies, including the impactite units and the K‐Pg boundary layer, can be characterized by their physical properties, which depend on either changes in fabric or on mineralogical variations. The magnetic properties show mostly dia‐ or paramagnetic behavior, with the exception of the impactite units that indicate the presence of ferromagnetic, probably hydrothermally deposited magnetite and pyrrhotite. The magnetic fraction contributes mainly to enhanced magnetization in the impactite lithologies and, in this way, to the observed magnetic anomalies. The shape and orientation of the magnetic grains are varied and reflect inhomogeneous fabric development and the influence of impact‐related redeposition and hydrothermal activity. The Chicxulub impact occurred at the time of the reverse polarity geomagnetic chron 29R, and this finding is consistent with the age of the K‐Pg boundary.     

Foraminiferal biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstruction at the Yaxcopoil‐1 drill hole,Chicxulub crater,Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract The Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) drill hole comprises Cretaceous limestones and calcarenites, the K/P boundary cocktail unit (including impact breccia), and a Danian marly clay layer overlain by calcareous marls. The biostratigraphy, paleobathymetry, and environmental turnover across the K/P interval were inferred after analyzing the planktic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages. The Cretaceous samples only contain a few poorly preserved planktic foraminifera of a middle Campanian to Maastrichtian age, while low‐diversity benthic foraminiferal assemblages suggest a sufficient nutrient supply to the sea floor and a shallow neritic, occasionally stressed environment. The impact breccia and the redeposited suevite are overlain by a 46 cm‐thick dolomitic calcareous sandstone unit that contains scarce, reworked planktic foraminiferal specimens. This unit probably represents the uppermost part of the initial infill of the crater. The uppermost centimeters of this unit are bioturbated, and its top represents a hiatus that spans at least the G. cretacea, Pv. eugubina, and part of the P. pseudobulloides biozones. This unit is overlain by a 3–4 cm‐thick marly clay layer that represents a condensed layer. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages suggest a low food supply to the sea floor and environmental instability during the deposition of the marly clay layer. The increase in diversity of the assemblages indicates that the environmental conditions improved and stabilized from the G. compressa biozone toward the A. uncinata (P2) biozone. The Danian planktic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate a deeper, probably bathyal environment.     

PDF orientations in shocked quartz grains around the Chicxulub crater

Abstract— We measured 852 sets of planar deformation features (PDFs) in shocked quartz grains in impactite samples of the Yaxcopoil (YAX‐1) core and from 4 Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary deposits: the Monaca, the Cacarajícara, and the Peñalver formations in Cuba, and DSDP site 536, within 800 km of the Chicxulub crater, in order to investigate variations of PDF orientations in the proximity of the crater. Orientations of PDFs show a broad distribution with peaks at ω {101¯3}, π {101¯2}, and ω {111¯2}, plus r, z {1011¯} orientations with minor c(0001), s{112¯1}, t{224¯1} plus x{516¯1}, and m{101¯0} plus a{112¯0} orientations. Planar deformation features with c(0001) orientation are relatively more abundant in the proximity of the Chicxulub crater than in distal sites such as North America, the Pacific Ocean, and Europe. This feature indicates that in the proximity of the crater, part of the shocked quartz grains in the K/T boundary deposits were derived from the low shock pressure zones. Moreover, the orientations of PDFs with ω {112¯2} plus r, z {101¯1} are high in our studied sites, and frequencies of these orientations decrease with increasing distance from the crater. On the other hand, absence of c(0001) and the rare occurrence of PDFs with ?ω {112¯2} plus r, z {101¯1} orientations in the sample from the YAX‐1 core that was taken at the top of the impactite layer of the Chicxulub crater suggests that the sampling horizon that reflects a certain cratering stage is also an important factor for variations in shocked quartz.     

A search for shocked quartz grains in the Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layer

The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis suggests that multiple airbursts or extraterrestrial impacts occurring at the end of the Allerød interstadial resulted in the Younger Dryas cold period. So far, no reproducible, diagnostic evidence has, however, been reported. Quartz grains containing planar deformation features (known as shocked quartz grains), are considered a reliable indicator for the occurrence of an extraterrestrial impact when found in a geological setting. Although alleged shocked quartz grains have been reported at a possible Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layer in Venezuela, the identification of shocked quartz in this layer is ambiguous. To test whether shocked quartz is indeed present in the proposed impact layer, we investigated the quartz fraction of multiple Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary layers from Europe and North America, where proposed impact markers have been reported. Grains were analyzed using a combination of light and electron microscopy techniques. All samples contained a variable amount of quartz grains with (sub)planar microstructures, often tectonic deformation lamellae. A total of one quartz grain containing planar deformation features was found in our samples. This shocked quartz grain comes from the Usselo palaeosol at Geldrop Aalsterhut, the Netherlands. Scanning electron microscopy cathodoluminescence imaging and transmission electron microscopy imaging, however, show that the planar deformation features in this grain are healed and thus likely to be older than the Allerød‐Younger Dryas boundary. We suggest that this grain was possibly eroded from an older crater or distal ejecta layer and later redeposited in the European sandbelt. The single shocked quartz grain at this moment thus cannot be used to support the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis.     

Nanophase iron carbides in fine‐grained rims in CM2 carbonaceous chondrites: Formation of organic material by Fischer–Tropsch catalysis in the solar nebula

Transmission electron microscope studies of fine‐grained rims in three CM2 carbonaceous chondrites, Y‐791198, Murchison, and ALH 81002, have revealed the presence of widespread nanoparticles with a distinctive core–shell structure, invariably associated with carbonaceous material. These nanoparticles vary in size from ~20 nm up to 50 nm in diameter and consist of a core of Fe,Ni carbide surrounded by a continuous layer of polycrystalline magnetite. These magnetite shells are 5–7 nm in thickness irrespective of the diameter of the core Fe,Ni carbide grains. A narrow layer of amorphous carbon a few nanometers in thickness is present separating the carbide core from the magnetite shell in all the nanoparticles observed. The Fe,Ni carbide phases that constitute the core are consistent with both haxonite and cohenite, based on electron diffraction data, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Z‐contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy shows that these core–shell magnetite‐carbide nanoparticles can occur as individual isolated grains, but more commonly occur in clusters of multiple particles. In addition, energy‐filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) images show that in all cases, the nanoparticles are embedded within regions of carbonaceous material or are coated with carbonaceous material. The observed nanostructures of the carbides and their association with carbonaceous material can be interpreted as being indicative of Fischer–Tropsch‐type (FTT) reactions catalyzed by nanophase Fe,Ni metal grains that were carburized during the catalysis reaction. The most likely environment for these FTT reactions appears to be the solar nebula consistent with the high thermal stability of haxonite and cohenite, compared with other carbides and the evidence of localized catalytic graphitization of the carbonaceous material. However, the possibility that such reactions occurred within the CM parent body cannot be excluded, although this scenario seems unlikely, because the kinetics of the reaction would be extremely slow at the temperatures inferred for CM asteroidal parent bodies. In addition, carbides are unlikely to be stable under the oxidizing conditions of alteration experienced by CM chondrites. Instead, it is most probable that the magnetite rims on all the carbide particles are the product of parent body oxidation of Fe,Ni carbides, but this oxidation was incomplete, because of the buildup of an impermeable layer of amorphous carbon at the interface between the magnetite and the carbide phase that arrested the reaction before it went to completion. These observations suggest that although FTT catalysis reactions may not have been the major mechanism of organic material formation within the solar nebula, they nevertheless contributed to the inventory of complex insoluble organic matter that is present in carbonaceous chondrites.     

The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K‐Pg) boundary at the J Anomaly Ridge,Newfoundland (IODP Expedition 342, Hole U1403B)

We present results of an in‐situ geochemical study using laser‐ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) analyses along a ~4.3 cm long section across the K‐Pg event bed, drilled during IODP Expedition 342 at J Anomaly Ridge south of St. John's, Newfoundland. This section comprises the Maastrichtian with a sharp boundary to the graded, between 1.5 and 1.8 cm thick ejecta layer with totally altered impact glass spherules, which in turn is topped by Danian sediments. The porous and clayey material required elaborate preparation in order to yield reliable data. The ejecta bed shows a highly variable depletion in rare earth elements that even results in strongly subchondritic concentrations. The Ce/Ce* varies strongly (0.81–34), Ni/Cr ranges from 0.38 to 2.79. The maximum platinum group elements (PGE) concentrations are located in one LA‐spot exactly at the basis of the ejecta layer; they amount (in μg g^?1) to 0.35 (Rh), 1.64 (Pd), 2.79 (Pt), and 0.86 (Au). The Nb/Ta ratio increases in the Ma from ~10 to 35.9 toward the ejecta horizon, which itself has higher Nb, Ta, Zr, and Hf concentrations than the background sedimentation, combined with low Nb/Ta (~5–10), and low Zr/Hf (~20–30). The overall result is that alteration processes changed totally the original geochemical characteristics of this K‐Pg spherule bed. To explain the exorbitant element mobility at distances of hundreds of μm, we discuss a combination of mostly reducing redox processes and interaction with organic compounds. This study demonstrates the high potential of in‐situ analyses with high spatial resolution at complex geological materials. Moreover, our results indicate that some caution is necessary in determining the projectile type in impactites via PGE ratios.     

A Rhaetian 40Ar/39Ar age for the Rochechouart impact structure (France) and implications for the latest Triassic sedimentary record

Abstract– ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of potassium feldspar (primary spherulitic‐blocky and secondary idiomorphic K‐feldspar) separated from impact‐metamorphosed gneiss found near Videix in the western central part of the Rochechouart impact structure (NW Massif Central, France) yielded a Rhaetian combined age of 201 ± 2 Ma (2σ), indistinguishable within uncertainty from the age of the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. Ballen quartz intergrown with the primary K‐feldspar indicates post‐shock temperatures exceeding approximately 1000 °C that affected the precursor gneiss. Geochemically, both feldspar types represent essentially pure potassium end‐members. Apart from the approximately 15 km diameter impact deposit area, the youngest crystallization age known for basement rocks in this part of the Massif Central is approximately 300 Ma. No endogenic magmatic‐thermal events are known to have occurred later in this region. The K‐feldspar recrystallized from local feldspar melts and superimposed post‐shock hydrothermal crystallization, probably within some thousands of years after the impact. It is, therefore, suggested that the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age for the Videix gneiss (as a potassic “impact metasomatite”) dates the Rochechouart impact, in consistence with evidence for K‐metasomatism in the Rochechouart impactites. The new age value is distinctly younger than the previously obtained Karnian–Norian age for Rochechouart and, thus, contradicts the Late Triassic multiple impact theory postulated some years ago. In agreement with the paleogeographic conditions in the western Tethys domain around the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, the near‐coastal to shallow marine Rochechouart impact is compatible with the formation of seismites and tsunami deposits in the latest Triassic of the British Isles and possible related deposits in other parts of Europe.     

Thermophysical properties of Almahata Sitta meteorites (asteroid 2008 TC3) for high‐fidelity entry modeling

Asteroid 2008 TC₃ was characterized in a unique manner prior to impacting Earth's atmosphere, making its October 7, 2008, impact a suitable field test for or validating the application of high‐fidelity re‐entry modeling to asteroid entry. The accurate modeling of the behavior of 2008 TC₃ during its entry in Earth's atmosphere requires detailed information about the thermophysical properties of the asteroid's meteoritic materials at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to the point of ablation (T ~ 1400 K). Here, we present measurements of the thermophysical properties up to these temperatures (in a 1 atm. pressure of argon) for two samples of the Almahata Sitta meteorites from asteroid 2008 TC₃: a thick flat‐faced ureilite suitably shaped for emissivity measurements and a thin flat‐faced EL6 enstatite chondrite suitable for diffusivity measurements. Heat capacity was determined from the elemental composition and density from a 3‐D laser scan of the sample. We find that the thermal conductivity of the enstatite chondrite material decreases more gradually as a function of temperature than expected, while the emissivity of the ureilitic material decreases at a rate of 9.5 × 10^?5 K^?1 above 770 K. The entry scenario is the result of the actual flight path being the boundary to the load the meteorite will be affected with when entering. An accurate heat load prediction depends on the thermophysical properties. Finally, based on these data, the breakup can be calculated accurately leading to a risk assessment for ground damage.