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An impact with a dash of volcanism Around the time of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs, there was both a bolide impact and a large amount of volcanism. Hull et al. ran several temperature simulations based on different volcanic outgassing scenarios and compared them with temperature records across the extinction event. The best model fits to the data required most outgassing to occur before the impact. When combined with other lines of evidence, these models support an impact-driven extinction. However, volcanic gases may have played a role in shaping the rise of different species after the extinction event. Science , this issue p. 266

This article provides new data on mineral/melt partitioning in systems relevant to the evolution of chondrites, Calcium Aluminum-Rich Inclusions (CAI) in chondrites and related meteorites. The data set includes experimentally determined mineral/melt partition coefficients between hibonite (CaAl12O19), melilite (Ca2(Al,Mg)2SiO7), spinel (MgAl2O4) and silicate melts for a wide range of trace elements: Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Rh, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, r, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, W, Pb, Th and U. The experiments were performed at high temperatures (1350 °C < T < 1550 °C) and ambient pressure. The experimental run products were analyzed using electron microprobe (EMPA) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The partition coefficients for 38 trace elements were calculated from the LA-ICP-MS data.

The presence of water (hydrogen) in nominally anhydrous mantle minerals may have profound effects on their physical properties (e.g., electrical conductivity, diffusivity, rheology), and these effects are expected to depend on how water is incorporated in the crystal structure. For olivine, the most abundant upper mantle mineral, despite extensive studies, mostly using vibrational spectroscopy, the interpretations are still not well constrained. To provide better understanding on this issue, we carried out a comprehensive 1 H and 29 Si NMR study on an Mg 2 SiO 4 forsterite sample containing about 0.5 wt% H 2 O synthesized at 12 GPa and 1200 °C, complemented by Raman measurement and first-principles calculation of the geometry, stability, and NMR parameters of model structures. The Raman spectra contain relatively sharp O-H stretching bands near 3612, 3579, and 3567 cm −1 and a broader band near 3547 cm −1 , similar to previous reports. The 1 H static and MAS NMR data revealed that there are two main populations of protons in the hydrous forsterite structure, one experiencing strong 1 H- 1 H homonuclear dipolar couplings and contributing to a broad peak near 2.4 ppm, and another with weaker dipolar couplings and contributing to a narrower peak near 1.2 ppm in the MAS NMR spectrum at 30 kHz. Two-dimensional 1 H CRAMPS-MAS NMR measurements confirmed that the two proton components belong to the same phase and the contrast in MAS NMR peak width is largely due to difference in the strength of 1 H- 1 H homonuclear dipolar couplings. In addition, there is also a very weak, narrow 1 H MAS NMR peak near 7.3 ppm (contributing to Si ] in a tetrahedral site of olivine, but unlike hydrogarnet with one of the protons pointing away from the tetrahedral center and located in an adjacent interstitial site, thus experiencing weaker dipolar couplings than those in the vicinity of the vacant tetrahedron; the very weak narrow peak near 7.3 ppm can be attributed to the substitution mechanism of two H ions for one Mg in an M1 site [(2H) M1 ] of forsterite. The 1 H- 29 Si CP-MAS NMR spectra revealed both a broad peak encompassing the position for OH defect-free forsterite (−61.7 ppm) and a narrower peak at higher frequency (−60.9 ppm). First-principles calculation indicates that these peaks are accountable by the same models as for the 1 H NMR data. Thus, this study has provided unambiguous evidence supporting that hydrogen is incorporated in forsterite at relatively high-pressure dominantly as (4H) Si defects, with (2H) M1 defects playing only a very minor role. The much larger 1 H chemical shift for protons associated with the latter (than the former) is correlated with stronger hydrogen bonding for the latter, which in turn reflects difference in bonding environments of the OH groups (with the latter bonded to a Si, and the former only bonded to Mg). Similar correlation applies to the O-H stretching frequency. The (4H) Si defects are responsible for the observed high-frequency O-H stretching bands (>3450 cm −1 ), and the (2H) M1 defects give lower frequencies (undetected here due to low abundance, but most likely near 3160–3220 cm −1 as previously reported) in vibrational spectra. These results can serve as a guide for (re-)interpretation of infrared and Raman spectroscopic data on hydrous olivine produced under different pressure and silica activity conditions, and require reconsideration of any models for the effects of water on physical properties of olivine based on different interpretations of such data. This study also demonstrated the usefulness of the combined solid-state NMR and first-principles calculation approach in unraveling the hydrogen incorporation mechanisms in nominally anhydrous minerals.

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.