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NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft revealed the crust of the Moon is highly porous, with ~4% porosity at 20 km deep. The deep lying porosity discovered by GRAIL has been difficult to explain, with most current models only able to explain high porosity near the lunar surface (first few kilometers) or inside complex craters. Using hydrocode routines we simulated fracturing and generation of porosity by large impacts in lunar, martian, and Earth crust. Our simulations indicate impacts that produce 100–1000 km scale basins alone are capable of producing all observed porosity within the lunar crust. Simulations under the higher surface gravity of Mars and Earth suggest basin forming impacts can be a primary source of porosity and fracturing of ancient planetary crusts. Thus, we show that impacts could have supported widespread crustal fluid circulation, with important implications for subsurface habitable environments on early Earth and Mars. Large impacts can create deep lying porosity far away from the crater. This result explains GRAIL's findings and suggests impacts could support widespread fluid circulation, which has implications for habitable environments on early Earth and Mars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porosity and its distribution in impact craters has an important effect on the petrophysical properties of impactites: seismic wave speeds and reflectivity, rock permeability, strength, and density. These properties are important for the identification of potential craters and the understanding of the process and consequences of cratering. The Chicxulub impact structure, recently drilled by the joint International Ocean Discovery Program and International Continental scientific Drilling Program Expedition 364, provides a unique opportunity to compare direct observations of impactites with geophysical observations and models. Here, we combine small‐scale petrographic and petrophysical measurements with larger‐scale geophysical measurements and numerical simulations of the Chicxulub impact structure. Our aim is to assess the cause of unusually high porosities within the Chicxulub peak ring and the capability of numerical impact simulations to predict the gravity signature and the distribution and texture of porosity within craters. We show that high porosities within the Chicxulub peak ring are primarily caused by shock‐induced microfracturing. These fractures have preferred orientations, which can be predicted by considering the orientations of principal stresses during shock, and subsequent deformation during peak ring formation. Our results demonstrate that numerical impact simulations, implementing the Dynamic Collapse Model of peak ring formation, can accurately predict the distribution and orientation of impact‐induced microfractures in large craters, which plays an important role in the geophysical signature of impact structures. Plain Language Summary: The Chicxulub crater, Mexico, is widely known for its association with the extinction of the nonavian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. The crater was first identified due to its gravitational and magnetic anomalies. Potential impact structures are often identified, in part, on the basis of geophysical anomalies, most commonly including a circular gravity low. Gravity is slightly weaker at craters because the impact cratering process removes mass from the impact site. In this study, we examine the cause of the Chicxulub gravity anomaly by combining observations from recent drilling of the crater, geophysical data measured across the crater, and numerical impact simulations. We demonstrate that porosity in rocks beneath the crater floor is primarily accommodated by fracturing during the impact cratering process, that the orientation of those fractures are consistent with predictions from numerical impact simulations, and that impact‐induced porosity is one of the primary causes of gravity anomalies in large impact craters. Key Points: The Chicxulub peak ring is extremely porous and low density due to pervasive shock‐induced microfracturingThe orientation of shock‐induced microfractures are sensitive to the orientation of stress during shockShear‐induced dilatancy is an important cause of gravity anomalies in large complex craters [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meteorite impacts often occur in layered targets, where the strength of the target varies as a function of depth, but this complexity is often not represented in numerical impact simulations because of the high computational cost of resolving thin layers. To address this limitation, we developed a method to approximate the effect of multiple thin weak layers within a sedimentary sequence using a single material layer to represent the entire sequence. Our approach, implemented in the iSALE (impact‐Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) shock physics code, combines an anisotropic yield criterion with a cell‐based method to track the orientation of layers. To demonstrate the efficacy of the method and constrain parameters of the anisotropic strength model required to replicate the effects of thin, weak layers, we compare results of simulations of an ~20‐ to 25‐km diameter complex crater on Earth using the new method to those from simulations that explicitly resolve multiple thin weak layers. We show that our approach allows for a reduction in computational cost, negating the need for an increase in spatial resolution to resolve thin layers in the target, while replicating crater formation and final morphology from the high‐resolution models. In keeping with field observations, we also find that anisotropic layers may be responsible for a lack of central uplift expression observed at many craters formed in targets with thick sedimentary layers (e.g., the Haughton and Ries impact structures). Plain Language Summary: In computer simulations of meteorite impacts, the target is often simplified by removing details such as layering that may be present. Planetary bodies, such as Earth, the Moon, and Mars, are rarely so simple. We introduce an efficient method of simulating the inclusion of layers within the target. This new method, which treats the target as an anisotropic material (i.e., the strength of the target can be defined separately for different directions), accurately simulates the inclusion of weak layers in the target without the need to explicitly define these layers. Since the minimum thickness of target layers is dependent on the resolution of the models, the inclusion of an anisotropic model to replace these layers can significantly reduce the computational burden required to model layered targets. Using this new model, we address some of outstanding questions regarding complex crater (i.e., large craters, >5‐km diameter on Earth) formation in targets with thick sedimentary layers; specifically, we examine the apparent suppression that an increase in the anisotropy parameters causes on the uplift of the crater floor, known as the central uplift. Key Points: An anisotropic strength model can be used to simulate the inclusion of weak layers within the target when modeling an impact eventThe parameters used in the anisotropic strength model can be set to simulate both thick and thin weak layers within the targetIncreasing parameters in the anisotropic strength model results in suppression of structural uplift and central peak formation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siljan, central Sweden, is the largest known impact structure in Europe. It was formed at about 380 Ma, in the late Devonian period. The structure has been heavily eroded to a level originally located underneath the crater floor, and to date, important questions about the original size and morphology of Siljan remain unanswered. Here we present the results of a shock barometry study of quartz-bearing surface and drill core samples combined with numerical modeling using iSALE. The investigated 13 bedrock granitoid samples show that the recorded shock pressure decreases with increasing depth from 15 to 20 GPa near the (present) surface, to 10-15 GPa at 600 m depth. A best-fit model that is consistent with observational constraints relating to the present size of the structure, the location of the downfaulted sediments, and the observed surface and vertical shock barometry profiles is presented. The best-fit model results in a final crater (rim-to-rim) diameter of ~65 km. According to our simulations, the original Siljan impact structure would have been a peak-ring crater. Siljan was formed in a mixed target of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks overlaying crystalline basement. Our modeling suggests that, at the time of impact, the sedimentary sequence was approximately 3 km thick. Since then, there has been around 4 km of erosion of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient layers of impact spherules provide a record of Earth's early bombardment history. Here, we compare different bombardment histories to the spherule layer record and show that 3.2–3.5 Ga the flux of large impactors (10–100 km in diameter) was likely 20–40 times higher than today. The E-belt model of early Solar System dynamics suggests that an increased impactor flux during the Archean is the result of the destabilization of an inward extension of the main asteroid belt (Bottke et al., 2012). Here, we find that the nominal flux predicted by the E-belt model is 7–19 times too low to explain the spherule layer record. Moreover, rather than making most lunar basins younger than 4.1 Gyr old, the nominal E-belt model, coupled with a corrected crater diameter scaling law, only produces two lunar basins larger than 300 km in diameter. We also show that the spherule layer record when coupled with the lunar cratering record and careful consideration of crater scaling laws can constrain the size distribution of ancient terrestrial impactors. The preferred population is main-belt-like up to ∼50 km in diameter transitioning to a steep distribution going to larger sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- The majority of meteorite impacts occur at oblique incidence angles. However, many of the effects of obliquity on impact crater size and morphology are poorly understood. Laboratory experiments and numerical models have shown that crater size decreases with impact angle, the along-range crater profile becomes asymmetric at low incidence angles, and below a certain threshold angle the crater planform becomes elliptical. Experimental results at approximately constant impact velocity suggest that the elliptical threshold angle depends on target material properties. Herein, we test the hypothesis that the threshold for oblique crater asymmetry depends on target material strength. Three-dimensional numerical modeling offers a unique opportunity to study the individual effects of both impact angle and target strength; however, a systematic study of these two parameters has not previously been performed. In this work, the three-dimensional shock physics code iSALE-3D is validated against laboratory experiments of impacts into a strong, ductile target material. Digital elevation models of craters formed in laboratory experiments were created from stereo pairs of scanning electron microscope images, allowing the size and morphology to be directly compared with the iSALE-3D craters. The simulated craters show excellent agreement with both the crater size and morphology of the laboratory experiments. iSALE-3D is also used to investigate the effect of target strength on oblique incidence impact cratering. We find that the elliptical threshold angle decreases with decreasing target strength, and hence with increasing cratering efficiency. Our simulations of impacts on ductile targets also support the prediction from that cratering efficiency depends on only the vertical component of the velocity vector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessory mineral geochronometers such as apatite, baddeleyite, monazite, xenotime and zircon are increasingly being recognized for their ability to preserve diagnostic microstructural evidence of hypervelocity-impact processes. To date, little is known about the response of titanite to shock metamorphism, even though it is a widespread accessory phase and a U–Pb geochronometer. Here we report two new mechanical twin modes in titanite within shocked granitoid from the Chicxulub impact structure, Mexico. Titanite grains in the newly acquired core from the International Ocean Discovery Program Hole M0077A preserve multiple sets of polysynthetic twins, most commonly with composition planes (K1) = ~ { 1 ¯ 11 } , and shear direction (η1) = < 110 > , and less commonly with the mode K1 = {130}, η1 = ~ <522 >. In some grains, {130} deformation bands have formed concurrently with the deformation twins, indicating dislocation slip with Burgers vector b = < 341 > can be active during impact metamorphism. Titanite twins in the modes described here have not been reported from endogenically deformed rocks; we, therefore, propose this newly identified twin form as a result of shock deformation. Formation conditions of the twins have not been experimentally calibrated, and are here empirically constrained by the presence of planar deformation features in quartz (12 ± 5 and ~ 17 ± 5 GPa) and the absence of shock twins in zircon (< 20 GPa). While the lower threshold of titanite twin formation remains poorly constrained, identification of these twins highlight the utility of titanite as a shock indicator over the pressure range between 12 and 17 GPa. Given the challenges to find diagnostic indicators of shock metamorphism to identify both ancient and recent impact evidence on Earth, microstructural analysis of titanite is here demonstrated to provide a new tool for recognizing impact deformation in rocks where other impact evidence may be erased, altered, or did not manifest due to generally low (< 20 GPa) shock pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Almost every meteorite impact occurs at an oblique angle of incidence, yet the effect of impact angle on crater size or formation mechanism is only poorly understood. This is, in large part, due to the difficulty of inferring impactor properties, such as size, velocity and trajectory, from observations of natural craters, and the expense and complexity of simulating oblique impacts using numerical models. Laboratory oblique impact experiments and previous numerical models have shown that the portion of the projectile’s kinetic energy that is involved in crater excavation decreases significantly with impact angle. However, a thorough quantification of planetary-scale oblique impact cratering does not exist and the effect of impact angle on crater size is not considered by current scaling laws. To address this gap in understanding, we developed iSALE-3D, a three-dimensional multi-rheology hydrocode, which is efficient enough to perform a large number of well-resolved oblique impact simulations within a reasonable time. Here we present the results of a comprehensive numerical study containing more than 200 three-dimensional hydrocode-simulations covering a broad range of projectile sizes, impact angles and friction coefficients. We show that existing scaling laws in principle describe oblique planetary-scale impact events at angles greater than 30° measured from horizontal. The displaced mass of a crater decreases with impact angle in a sinusoidal manner. However, our results indicate that the assumption that crater size scales with the vertical component of the impact velocity does not hold for materials with a friction coefficient significantly lower than 0.7 (sand). We found that increasing coefficients of friction result in smaller craters and a formation process more controlled by impactor momentum than by energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We present a new approach to dating hydrothermal activity in impact structures. • A single, shocked, altered titanite grain from Chicxulub analysed by LA-ICPMS (n = 167). • Alteration stripped trace elements along microcracks in titanite, resetting U-Pb age. • Age of 67 ± 4 Ma in most altered zones dates the peak ring hydrothermal alteration. • Depletion of REE-Y-Zr-Nb-Mo-Sn-Th-Pb has implications for titanite petrochronology. Hydrothermal activity is a common phenomenon in the wake of impact events, yet identifying and dating impact hydrothermal systems can be challenging. This study provides the first detailed assessment of the effects of shock microstructures and impact-related alteration on the U-Pb systematics and trace elements of titanite (CaTiSiO 5), focusing on shocked granite target rocks from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact structure, Mexico. A > 1 mm long, shock-twinned titanite grain preserves a dense network of irregular microcracks, some of which exploit shock twin interfaces. Secondary microcrystalline anatase and pyrite are heterogeneously distributed along some microcracks. In situ laser ablation multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS) analysis reveals a mixture of three end-member Pb components. The Pb components are: 1) common Pb, consistent with the Pb isotopic signature of adjacent alkali feldspar; 2) radiogenic Pb accumulated since magmatic crystallization; and 3) a secondary, younger Pb signature due to impact-related complete radiogenic Pb loss. The youngest derived ages define a regression from common Pb that intersects Concordia at 67 ± 4 Ma, in agreement with the established age of 66.04 ± 0.05 Ma for the Chicxulub impact event. Contour maps of LA-MC-ICPMS data reveal that the young ages are spatially restricted to microstructurally-complex domains that correlate with significant depletion in trace elements (REE-Y-Zr-Nb-Mo-Sn-Th) and reduction in magnitude of the Eu/Eu* anomaly. Mapping by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) show that patterns of localised element depletion in titanite are spatially related to microcracks, which are enriched in Al. The spatial correlation of ages and trace element abundance is consistent with localised removal of Pb and other trace elements from a pervasive network of fast fluid pathways in fractured domains via a fluid-mediated element transport process associated with the impact event. Here we interpret the 67 ± 4 Ma U-Pb age to represent hydrothermal Pb-loss in the Chicxulub peak ring in the wake of the impact event. These results highlight the potential of our analytical approach using titanite geochronology and geochemistry for dating post-impact hydrothermal activity in impact structures elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]