Genesis of the mafic impact melt rock in the northwest sector of the Vredefort Dome,South Africa

Genesis and emplacement of Vredefort Granophyre, the impact melt rock exposed on the Vredefort Dome, the erosional remnant of the central uplift of the Vredefort impact structure, South Africa, have long been debated. This debate was recently reinvigorated by the discovery that besides the previously known felsic variety of >66 wt% SiO₂, a second, somewhat more mafic phase of <66 wt% SiO₂ occurs along a Granophyre dike on farms Kopjeskraal and Eldorado in the northwest sector of the dome. Two hypotheses have been put forward to explain the genesis and emplacement of this second phase: (1) successive injections of impact melt into extensional fractures opened in the course of central uplift formation/crater modification, with melts of distinct compositions derived from a differentiating impact melt body in the crater, and (2) generation of the more mafic phase as a product of admixture/assimilation of a mafic country rock component, either the so-called epidiorite of possible Ventersdorp Supergroup affiliation or the Dominion Group meta-lava (DGL), to Felsic Granophyre. In the latter model, contamination with mafic country rock would have occurred during downward intrusion and stoping into and below the crater floor. The so-called Mafic Granophyre has previously only ever been sampled on a single site (Farm Kopjeskraal). In this study, samples of Granophyre occurring along the southerly extension of this dike on farm Rensburgdrif, and from a second dike on the Rietkuil property further southwest were investigated by field work, and petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic analysis. The mafic phase indeed occurs in the interior of the dike at Rensburgdrif, and also on Rietkuil. New geochemical and Sr-Nd isotope data support the hypothesis that the Mafic Granophyre composition represents a mixture between Felsic Granophyre and a mafic country rock. A 20% admixture of epidiorite or DGL to Felsic Granophyre provides an excellent match for the chemical composition of the Mafic Granophyre. The Sr-Nd isotope data indicate that this admixture likely involved the epidiorite component rather than DGL. Together with earlier Sr-Nd-Os-Se isotopic data, and other geochemical data, these results further support formation of the Mafic Granophyre by local assimilation/admixture of epidiorite to Felsic Granophyre.     

First petrographic results on impactites from the Yaxcopoil‐1 borehole,Chicxulub structure,Mexico

Abstract— The ICDP Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) borehole located 60 km south‐southwest of the center of the Chicxulub impact structure intercepted an interval of allogenic impactites (depth of 795–895 m). Petrographic analysis of these impactites allows them to be differentiated into five units based on their textural and modal variations. Unit 1 (795–922 m) comprises an apparently reworked, poorly sorted and graded, fine‐grained, clast‐supported, melt fragment‐bearing suevitic breccia. The interstitial material, similar to units 2 and 3, is permeated by numerous carbonate veinlets. Units 2 (823–846 m) and 3 (846–861 m) are groundmass‐supported breccias that comprise green to variegated angular and fluidal melt particles. The groundmass of units 2 and 3 comprises predominantly fine‐grained calcite, altered alkali element‐, Ca‐, and Si‐rich cement, as well as occasional lithic fragments. Unit 4 (861–885 m) represents a massive, variably devitrified, and brecciated impact melt rock. The lowermost unit, unit 5 (885–895 m), comprises highly variable proportions of melt rock particles (MRP) and lithic fragments in a fine‐grained, carbonate‐dominated groundmass. This groundmass could represent either a secondary hydrothermal phase or a carbonate melt phase, or both. Units 1 and 5 contain well‐preserved foraminifera fossils and a significantly higher proportion of carbonate clasts than the other units. All units show diagnostic shock deformation features in quartz and feldspar clasts. Our observations reveal that most felsic and all mafic MRP are altered. They register extensive K‐metasomatism. In terms of emplacement, we suggest that units 1 to 3 represent fallout suevite from a collapsing impact plume, whereby unit 1 was subsequently reworked by resurging water. Unit 4 represents a coherent impact melt body, the formation of which involved a significant proportion of crystalline basement. Unit 5 is believed to represent an initial ejecta/ground‐surge deposit.     

Emplacement history of Granophyre dikes in the Vredefort Impact Structure,South Africa,inferred from geochemical evidence

The central Vredefort Impact Structure is characterised by impact melt rocks, known as the Vredefort Granophyre dikes, the mode of emplacement of which is not well known. Whole-rock and petrographic analyses of two dikes were conducted and compared to published geochemical data to elucidate the mode and timing of dike formation. The dikes are characterised by compositional and textural heterogeneity between, and within, individual dikes. Specifically, central dike portions are felsic and rich in wall rock fragments, whereas marginal dike phases are more mafic and fragment-poor. Collectively, this suggests that melt was derived from compositionally different parental melts and emplaced in at least two pulses. In addition, the chemical heterogeneity between fragment-rich and fragment-poor dike zones can be explained by variable assimilation of a mafic component, notably Ventersdorp basalt, at the base of the impact melt sheet, from which melt of the Granophyre dikes is derived. This scenario accounts for the mafic and fragment-poor character of melt emplaced first in the dikes and the more felsic and fragment-rich nature of melts of the following emplacement pulse, i.e., when the impact melt was less hot and thus less capable of digesting large quantities of (mafic) wall rock fragments. Differences in geometrical, textural, chemical and fragment characteristics between the Granophyre dikes and pseudotachylite bodies can be explained by the same process, i.e., impact melt drainage, but operating at different times after impact.     

High‐pressure minerals in shocked meteorites

Heavily shocked meteorites contain various types of high‐pressure polymorphs of major minerals (olivine, pyroxene, feldspar, and quartz) and accessory minerals (chromite and Ca phosphate). These high‐pressure minerals are micron to submicron sized and occur within and in the vicinity of shock‐induced melt veins and melt pockets in chondrites and lunar, howardite–eucrite–diogenite (HED), and Martian meteorites. Their occurrence suggests two types of formation mechanisms (1) solid‐state high‐pressure transformation of the host‐rock minerals into monomineralic polycrystalline aggregates, and (2) crystallization of chondritic or monomineralic melts under high pressure. Based on experimentally determined phase relations, their formation pressures are limited to the pressure range up to ~25 GPa. Textural, crystallographic, and chemical characteristics of high‐pressure minerals provide clues about the impact events of meteorite parent bodies, including their size and mutual collision velocities and about the mineralogy of deep planetary interiors. The aim of this article is to review and summarize the findings on natural high‐pressure minerals in shocked meteorites that have been reported over the past 50 years.     

Accretionary lapilli from the Sudbury impact event

Meteorite impact‐generated accretionary lapilli are not well studied. The recently discovered distal ejecta from the 1850 Ma Sudbury impact event contain abundant accretionary lapilli generated during the impact and deposited at great distances from the crater. We petrographically and geochemically examined lapilli from five sites (McClure, Connors Creek, Hwy 588, Pine River, and Grand Trunk Pacific, approximately 480–750 km from the center of the Sudbury structure). The compositions of quartz, K‐feldspar, calcite, biotite, and chlorite minerals are similar to each other in all of the samples, although the relative proportions of the minerals vary from site to site. The lapilli occur in a matrix of coarse‐grained quartz, carbonate, and feldspar grains. Zonation within lapilli appears to be due to grain size distribution rather than compositional variation. The inner zones are coarser grained than outer zones. The relative abundances of calcite, phyllosilicates, and feldspars are similar in each zone within individual lapilli. A meteoritic component is indicated by up to 1.8 ppb Ir in one lapillus from the Pine River site, and Ni and Cr ratios are on a chondritic trend line for many of the lapilli. Mechanisms previously proposed for accretionary lapilli formation seem inadequate to explain deposition of distal accretionary lapilli resulting from impact events. A new mechanism for upper atmospheric accretion is proposed, whereby ash ejected from impact events concentrates at altitudes of neutral buoyancy, where it then accretes and is deposited later than ballistically emplaced particles. Likely, multiple processes are taking place in the chaotic postimpact environment.     

The Dhala structure,Bundelkhand craton,Central India—Eroded remnant of a large Paleoproterozoic impact structure

Abstract— The newly discovered Dhala structure, Madhya Pradesh State, India, is the eroded remnant of an impact structure with an estimated present‐day apparent diameter of about 11 km. It is located in the northwestern part of the Archean Bundelkhand craton. The pre‐impact country rocks are predominantly granitoids of ?2.5 Ga age, with minor 2.0–2.15 Ga mafic intrusive rocks, and they are overlain by post‐impact sediments of the presumably >1.7 Ga Vindhyan Supergroup. Thus, the age for this impact event is currently bracketed by these two sequences. The Dhala structure is asymmetrically disposed with respect to a central elevated area (CEA) of Vindhyan sediments. The CEA is surrounded by two prominent morphological rings comprising pre‐Vindhyan arenaceous‐argillaceous and partially rudaceous metasediments and monomict granitoid breccia, respectively. There are also scattered outcrops of impact melt breccia exposed towards the inner edge of the monomict breccia zone, occurring over a nearly 6 km long trend and with a maximum outcrop width of ?170 m. Many lithic and mineral clasts within the melt breccia exhibit diagnostic shock metamorphic features, including multiple sets of planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz and feldspar, ballen‐textured quartz, occurrences of coesite, and feldspar with checkerboard texture. In addition, various thermal alteration textures have been found in clasts of initially superheated impact melt. The impact melt breccia also contains numerous fragments composed of partially devitrified impact melt that is mixed with unshocked as well as shock deformed quartz and feldspar clasts. The chemical compositions of the impact melt rock and the regionally occurring granitoids are similar. The Ir contents of various impact melt breccia samples are close to the detection limit (1–1.5 ppb) and do not provide evidence for the presence of a meteoritic component in the melt breccia. The presence of diagnostic shock features in mineral and lithic clasts in impact melt breccia confirm Dhala as an impact structure. At 11 km, Dhala is the largest impact structure currently known in the region between the Mediterranean and southeast Asia.     

Magnetic mineralogy of the Yaxcopoil‐1 core,Chicxulub

Abstract— Core from the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) hole, drilled as a result of the Chicxulub Scientific Drilling Project (CSDP), has been analyzed to investigate the relationship between opaque mineralogy and rock magnetic properties. Twenty one samples of suevite recovered from the depth range 818–894 m are generally paramagnetic, with an average susceptibility of 2000 times 10^?6 SI and have weak remanent magnetization intensities (average 0.1 A/m). The predominant magnetic phase is secondary magnetite formed as a result of low temperature (<150 °C) alteration. It occurs in a variety of forms, including vesicle infillings associated with quartz and clay minerals and fine aggregates between plagioclase/diopside laths in the melt. Exceptional magnetic properties are found in a basement clast (metamorphosed quartz gabbro), which has a susceptibility of >45000 times 10^?6 SI and a remanent magnetization of 77.5 A/m. Magnetic mafic basement clasts are a common component in the Yax‐1 impactite sequence. The high susceptibility and remanence in the mafic basement clasts are caused by the replacement of amphiboles and pyroxenes by an assemblage with fine <1 μm magnetite, ilmenite, K‐feldspar, and stilpnomelane. Replacement of the mafic minerals by the magnetic alteration assemblage occurred before impact. Similar alteration mechanisms, if operative within the melt sheet, could explain the presence of the high amplitude magnetic anomalies observed at Chicxulub.     

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).     

Petrogenesis of lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 2977: Constraints from in situ microprobe results

Abstract– Northwest Africa (NWA) 2977 is an olivine‐gabbro lunar meteorite that has a distinctly different petrographic texture from other lunar basalts. We studied this rock with a series of in situ analytical methods. NWA 2977 consists mainly of olivine and pyroxene with minor plagioclase. It shows evidence of intense shock metamorphism, locally as high as shock‐stage S6. Olivine adjacent to a melt vein has been partially transformed into ringwoodite and Al,Ti‐rich chromite grains have partially transformed into their high‐pressure polymorph (possibly CaTi₂O₄‐structure). Olivine in NWA 2977 contains two types of lithic inclusions. One type is present as Si,Al‐rich melt inclusions that are composed of glass and, in most cases, dendritic pyroxene. The other type is mafic and composed of relatively coarse‐grained augite with accessory chromite, RE‐merrillite, and baddeleyite. Two Si,Al‐rich melt inclusions are heavy rare earth elements (REE) enriched, whereas the mafic inclusion has high REE concentrations and a KREEP‐like pattern. The mafic inclusion could be a relict fragment captured during the ascent of the parent magma of NWA 2977, whereas the Si,Al‐rich inclusions may represent the original NWA 2977 melt. The calculated whole‐rock composition has a KREEP‐like REE pattern, suggesting that NWA 2977 has an affinity to KREEP rocks. Baddeleyite has recorded a young crystallization age of 3123 ± 7 Ma (2σ), which is consistent with results from previous whole‐rock and mineral Sm‐Nd and Rb‐Sr studies. The petrography, mineralogy, trace element geochemistry, and young crystallization age of NWA 2977 support the possibility of pairing between NWA 2977 and the olivine‐gabbro portion of NWA 773.     

New lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 2996: A window into farside lithologies and petrogenesis

The Northwest Africa (NWA) 2996 meteorite is a lunar regolith breccia with a “mingled” bulk composition and slightly elevated incompatible element content. NWA 2996 is dominated by clasts of coarse‐grained noritic and troctolitic anorthosite containing calcic plagioclase (An#~98) and magnesian mafic minerals (Mg#~75), distinguishing it from Apollo ferroan anorthosites and magnesian‐suite rocks. This meteorite lacks basalt, and owes its mingled composition to a significant proportion of coarse‐grained mafic clasts. One group of mafic clasts has pyroxenes similar to anorthosites, but contains more sodic plagioclase (An#~94) distinguishing it as a separate lithology. Another group contains Mg‐rich, very low‐titanium pyroxenes, and could represent an intrusion parental to regional basalts. Other clasts include granophyric K‐feldspar, disaggregated phosphate‐bearing quartz monzodiorites, and alkali‐suite fragments (An#~65). These evolved lithics are a minor component, but contain minerals rich in incompatible elements. Several anorthosite clasts contain clusters of apatite, suggesting that the anorthosites either assimilated evolved rocks or were metasomatized by a liquid rich in incompatible elements. We used Lunar Prospector gamma‐ray spectrometer remote sensing data to show that NWA 2996 is most similar to regoliths in and around the South Pole Aitken (SPA) basin, peripheral regions of eastern mare, Nectaris, Crisium, and southern areas of Mare Humorum. However, the mineralogy of NWA 2996 is distinctive compared with Apollo and Luna mission samples, and is likely consistent with an origin near the SPA basin: anorthosite clasts could represent local crustal material, mafic clasts could represent intrusions beneath basalt flows, and apatite‐bearing rocks could carry the SPA KREEP signature.     

Coesite in a Muong Nong‐type tektite from Muong Phin,Laos: Description,formation, and survival

We examined 16 white opaque inclusions exposed on two polished slices of a Muong Nong‐type Australasian tektite from Muong Phin, Laos. The inclusions usually consist of a core, surrounded by a froth layer, and a quartz neoblast layer. The cores are composed primarily of a mixture of silica glass, coesite, and quartz in varying proportions. A thin (up to ~4 μm) layer of SiO₂‐poor glass enriched in FeO, MgO, CaO, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ is observed as a bright halo in backscattered electron images around the quartz neoblasts and in places contains μm‐sized crystals, which may be Fe,Mg‐rich spinel. The distribution and textural relationships between the coesite‐bearing inclusions and the tektite matrix point to an in situ formation of the coesite due to an impact, rather than to infall, from a nearby impact, into tektite melt produced by the aerial burst of a bolide. The quartz neoblasts probably formed by crystallization of silica melt squeezed out of the inclusion core during the development of the froth layer. The bright halo may be the result of silica diffusing from the adjacent tektite melt into the growing quartz neoblasts. We propose that the survival of coesite was possible due to the froth layer that acted as a heat sink during bubble expansion and then as a thermal insulator.     

New insights into the formation of fayalitic olivine from Allende dark inclusions

Abstract– Although considerable progress has been made in unraveling the origin(s) of fayalitic olivines in dark inclusions (DIs), many questions remain still unresolved and/or controversial. We combine a chemical and petrographic study of the Allende dark inclusion 4884‐2B (AMNH, New York) and ATEM studies of a fragment of the dark inclusion Allende AF (NHM, Vienna) and discuss an alternative way in which fayalitic olivines could have formed. Allende dark inclusion 4884‐2B contains a few aggregates with variable proportions of transparent and feathery olivine. Two such objects (aggregates A and B) are the focus of this study as they preserve glasses that can help in deciphering the nature of the processes involved during olivine growth and subsequent olivine transformation. The petrographic and chemical characteristics of aggregates A and B indicate that the forsteritic stack olivines may be pseudomorphs of clear olivine crystals. The ATEM studies in All‐AF suggest that fayalitic olivines may be the result of secondary processes (e.g., metasomatic exchange reactions) operating in the solar nebula. Transformation may have occurred through the mediation of a dry gas phase involving nonvolatile major elements, such as Mg and Fe (e.g., Dohmen et al. 1998 ). This mechanism could reveal olivine growth patterns (e.g., stacked platelets due to a rapid growth regime) and may have contributed to the development of their fibrous aspect while preserving the shape (i.e., volume) of the crystals. This highly selective process did completely or partially transform ferromagnesian minerals, but affected the fine‐grained mesostasis only slightly.     

Shock re‐equilibration of fluid inclusions in crystalline basement rocks from the Ries crater,Germany

Abstract— This study examines the effects of shock metamorphism on fluid inclusions in crystalline basement target rocks from the Ries crater, Germany. The occurrence of two‐phase fluid inclusions decreases from shock stage 0 to shock stage 1, while single‐phase inclusions increase, likely as a result of re‐equilibration. In shock stages 2 and 3, both two‐phase and single‐phase inclusions decrease with increasing shock stage, indicating that fluid inclusion vesicles are destroyed due to plastic deformation and phase changes in the host minerals. However, quartz clasts entrained in shock stage 4 melts contain both single‐phase and two‐phase inclusions, demonstrating the rapid quenching of the melt and the heterogeneous nature of impact deformation. Inclusions in naturally shocked polycrystalline samples survive at higher shock pressures than those in single crystal shock experiments. However, fluid inclusions in both experimental and natural samples follow a similar trend in re‐equilibration at low to moderate shock pressures leading to destruction of inclusion vesicles in higher shock stages. This suggests that shock processing may lead to the destruction of fluid inclusions in many planetary materials and likely contributed to shock devolatilization of early planetesimals.     

Progressive deformation of feldspar recording low‐barometry impact processes,Tenoumer impact structure,Mauritania

The Tenoumer impact structure is a small, well‐preserved crater within Archean to Paleoproterozoic amphibolite, gneiss, and granite of the Reguibat Shield, north‐central Mauritania. The structure is surrounded by a thin ejecta blanket of crystalline blocks (granitic gneiss, granite, and amphibolite) and impact‐melt rocks. Evidence of shock metamorphism of quartz, most notably planar deformation features (PDFs), occurs exclusively in granitic clasts entrained within small bodies of polymict, glass‐rich breccia. Impact‐related deformation features in oligoclase and microcline grains, on the other hand, occur both within clasts in melt‐breccia deposits, where they co‐occur with quartz PDFs, and also within melt‐free crystalline ejecta, in the absence of co‐occurring quartz PDFs. Feldspar deformation features include multiple orientations of PDFs, enhanced optical relief of grain components, selective disordering of alternate twins, inclined lamellae within alternate twins, and combinations of these individual textures. The distribution of shock features in quartz and feldspar suggests that deformation textures within feldspar can record a wide range of average pressures, starting below that required for shock deformation of quartz. We suggest that experimental analysis of feldspar behavior, combined with detailed mapping of shock metamorphism of feldspar in natural systems, may provide critical data to constrain energy dissipation within impact regimes that experienced low average shock pressures.     

Melt inclusions in augite of the Nakhla martian meteorite: Evidence for basaltic parental melt

Abstract— Nakhla contains crystallized melt inclusions that were trapped in augite and olivine when these phases originally formed on Mars. Our study involved rehomogenization (slow‐heating and fast‐heating) experiments on multiphase melt inclusions in Nakhla augite. We studied melt inclusions trapped in augite because this phase re‐equilibrated with the external melt to a lesser extent than olivine and results could be directly compared with previous Nakhla melt inclusion studies. Following heating and homogenization of encapsulated melt inclusions, single mineral grains were mounted and polished to expose inclusions. Major element chemistry was determined by electron microprobe. The most primitive melt inclusion analyzed in Nakhla NA03 is basaltic and closely matches previously reported nakhlite parent melt compositions. MELTS equilibrium and fractional crystallization models calculated for NA03 and previous Nakhla parent melt estimates at QFM and QFM‐1 produced phase assemblages and compositions that can be compared to Nakhla. Of these models, equilibrium crystallization of NA03 at QFM‐1 produced the best match to mineral phases and compositions in Nakhla. In all models, olivine and augite co‐crystallize, consistent with the hypothesis that olivine is not xenocrystic but has undergone subsolidus re‐equilibration. In addition, measured melt inclusion compositions plot along the MELTS‐calculated liquid line of descent and may represent pockets of melt trapped at various stages during crystallization. We attempt to resolve discrepancies between previous estimates of the Nakhla parental melt composition and to reinterpret the results of a previous study of rehomogenized melt inclusions in Nakhla. Melt inclusions demonstrate that Nakhla is an igneous rock whose parent melt composition and crystallization history reflect planetary igneous processes.     

Incipient devitrification of impact melt particles at Bosumtwi crater,Ghana: Implications for suevite cooling history and melt dispersion

The petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical compositions of the incipient devitrification products in impact melt fragments found in outer suevites at the Bosumtwi impact crater were studied to reconstruct the postimpact environmental constraints on the suevite formation and to refine its cooling history. Our study shows that devitrified melt/particles contain numerous microlitic crystals and crystal aggregates of different shapes derived from rapid cooling. The matrix of melt/particles in Bosumtwi suevites contains abundant Mg‐hercynite (pleonaste)‐type spinels with sizes rarely exceeding a few micrometers. High nucleation density of microlites suggests rapid crystallization under strong undercooling in the presence of abundant volatiles. Although the Bosumtwi impact event took place in a continental environment, the possible sources for elevated fluid/volatile content could have been the groundwater in the deeply weathered and fractured‐jointed Birimian basement, dewatering of abundant hydrous phases in weathered crust or hydrothermally altered basement, and the shale/phyllite–greywacke lithologies in the target rocks. Our results show that enough volatiles were present in the target rocks at the time of impact for the effective impact melt dispersion observed in Bosumtwi impactites.     

Shock‐induced formation of wüstite and fayalite in a magnetite‐quartz target rock

Projectile–target interactions as a result of a large bolide impact are important issues, as abundant extraterrestrial material has been delivered to the Earth throughout its history. Here, we report results of shock‐recovery experiments with a magnetite‐quartz target rock positioned in an ARMCO iron container. Petrography, synchrotron‐assisted X‐ray powder diffraction, and micro‐chemical analysis confirm the appearance of wüstite, fayalite, and iron in targets subjected to 30 GPa. The newly formed mineral phases occur along shock veins and melt pockets within the magnetite‐quartz aggregates, as well as along intergranular fractures. We suggest that iron melt formed locally at the contact between ARMCO container and target, and intruded the sample causing melt corrosion at the rims of intensely fractured magnetite and quartz. The strongly reducing iron melt, in the form of μm‐sized droplets, caused mainly a diffusion rim of wüstite with minor melt corrosion around magnetite. In contact with quartz, iron reacted to form an iron‐enriched silicate melt, from which fayalite crystallized rapidly as dendritic grains. The temperatures required for these transformations are estimated between 1200 and 1600 °C, indicating extreme local temperature spikes during the 30 GPa shock pressure experiments.     

Carbon in glass inclusions in the Allende meteorite

Abstract— Olivines in chondrules of the Allende CV3 carbonaceous chondrite contain two types of micron sized silicate melt inclusions: clear glass (type I) and devitrified glass (type II) inclusions. Many of the type I inclusions contain a gas bubble of variable size. Type II inclusions can be transparent (IIa), with or without a gas bubble, and brown (type IIb), with a gas bubble. A number of inclusions were measured with the Raman microprobe to detect possible presence of carbon. Carbon in the form of graphite was detected only in type II inclusions. Compositions of 11 inclusions were determined with the electron microprobe and proton microprobe in search for possible explanation of this preference of carbon for devitrified inclusions. All of the measured inclusions are rich in Si, Al and Ca. No significant differences between the compositions of the two types of inclusions were found. The data suggest that the inclusions formed from the melt trapped in growing olivine crystals, which themselves crystallized from a silicon rich, gas bearing melt. There is no coherent relation between the occurrence of graphite and the gas abundance in the original melt, as indicated by the sizes of gas bubbles. Therefore, carbon was not combined in a gaseous species (e.g., CO). It must have been preferentially dissolved in some domains of the melt.     

Formation of an unusual compact Type A refractory inclusion from Allende

Abstract— We report the results of a study of TS2, an unusual compact Type A inclusion from Allende. A distinctive, major feature of this inclusion is that many of its melilite crystals have no dominant core-rim zoning but instead consist of 50–200 μm patches of Mg-rich melilite (Åk_32–62, median Åk₅₁) set in or partially enclosed by, and optically continuous with, relatively Al-rich melilite (Åk_25–53, median Åk₃₈). The Al-rich regions have jagged, dendritic shapes but occur within crystals having straight grain boundaries. Another unusual feature of this inclusion is the size and spatial distribution of spinel. In many places, especially in the interior of the inclusion, the aluminous melilite encloses numerous, fine (0.5–5 μm) inclusions of spinel and minor perovskite and fassaite. The latter phases also occur as isolated grains throughout the inclusion. Coarse-grained spinel, ～50–150 μm across, occurs in clumps and chains enclosed in relatively Mg-rich melilite, whereas none of the fine spinel grains are clumped together. The sample also contains a spinel-free palisade body, 1.7 × 0.85 mm, that consists almost entirely of Åk-rich (45–65 mol%) melilite. Within the palisade body are two grains of perovskite with extremely Nb-rich (～4–8 wt% Nb₂O₅) cores and rims of typical composition. All phases in this inclusion have chondrite-normalized REE patterns that are consistent with crystal/melt partitioning superimposed upon a bulk modified Group II pattern. We suggest that TS2 had an anomalous cooling history and favor the following model for the formation of TS2. Precursors having a bulk modified Group II pattern melted. Rapid growth of large, dendritic, nonstoichiometric melilite crystals occurred. The melilite trapped pockets of melt and incorporated excess spinel components and TiO₂. Bubbles formed in the residual melt. As crystallization slowed, coarse spinel grew. Some spinel grains collected against bubbles, forming spherical shells, and others formed clumps and chains. Relatively Åk-rich melilite crystallized from the residual melt between dendritic melilite crystals and from melt trapped in pockets and between arms of dendrites, and incorporated the clumps and chains of coarse spinel. Bubbles broke and filled with late-stage melt, their shapes preserved by their spinel shells. Slow cooling, or perhaps an episode of reheating, allowed the early melilite to become stoichiometric by exsolving fine grains of spinel, perovskite and fassaite, and allowed the melilite to form smooth grain boundaries. Dendritic crystals are indicative of rapid growth and the melilite crystals in TS2 appear to be dendritic. Coarse, dendritic melilite crystals have been grown from Type B inclusion melts cooled at ～50–100 °C/h. If those results are applicable to Type A inclusions, we can make the first estimate of the cooling rate of a Type A inclusion, and it is outside the range (2–50 °C/h) generally inferred for Type B inclusions. The rapid cooling inferred here may be part of an anomalous thermal history for TS2, or it may be representative of part of a normal thermal history common to Types A and B that involved rapid cooling early (at high temperatures) as inferred for TS2, and slower cooling later (at lower temperatures), as inferred for Type B inclusions. We prefer the former explanation; otherwise, the unusual features of TS2 that are reported here would be common in Type A inclusions (which they are not).