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In situ U-Pb geochronology has been conducted using laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) on shocked and thermally metamorphosed apatite, titanite, and zircon grains from the Steen River impact structure, Canada. The dated relict mineral phases occur within impact melt-bearing breccias that underwent post-deposition sintering at 450 °C > T

Hypervelocity bolide impacts deliver vast amounts of energy to the Earth's near surface. This crustal process almost universally includes sedimentary target rocks; however, their response to impact is poorly understood, in part because of complexities due to layering, pore space and the presence of volatiles that are difficult to model. The response of carbonates to bolide impact remains contentious, yet whether they melt or decompose and liberate gases by the reaction CaCO3(s) → CaO(s) + CO2(g)↑, has significant implications for post-impact climatic effects. We report on previously unknown carbonate impact melts at the Steen River impact structure, Canada, and the first description of naturally shocked barite, BaSO4. Carbonate melts are preserved as groundmass-supported calcite-rich clasts, sampled from an up to 164 m thick, continuous sequence of crater-fill polymict breccias. Electron microscopy reveals fluidal- and ocellar-textured calcite and barite, intimately associated with silicate melt, consistent with these phases being in the liquid state at the same time. Raman spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping confirm the presence of high-pressure phases – reidite and coesite – within some Steen River carbonate melt-bearing breccias. These minerals attest to the strong shock provenance of the breccia and provide constraints on their shock history. Preservation of reidite lamellae in zircon indicates a shock pressure >30 GPa

Two baddeleyite megacrysts were evaluated as potential reference materials (RMs) for SIMS oxygen isotope analysis, and utilized to understand and calibrate instrumental mass fractionation (IMF). A baddeleyite crystal (S0045) from the Phalaborwa carbonatite, South Africa has a mean δ18OVSMOW=+4.6 ± 0.3‰(range 0.75‰) measured using laser fluorination gas source mass spectrometry (LF-GMS) and one (S0069) from the Mogok metamorphic belt, Myanmar has δ18OVSMOW=+22.2 ± 0.4‰ (range 0.89‰). SIMS standardization utilizing these inherently heterogeneous RMs is possible by analyzing a number of crystal fragments and utilizing one of them lying at the median of the range. Metamictization, lattice orientation, and chemical composition do not appear to be significant (< 0.5‰) variables in matrix matching of RMs and unknowns. Propagation of errors while utilizing the imperfect RMs results in 10 μm diameter spot uncertainties of about±0.3‰ (2σ). SIMS oxygen isotope analysis of co-crystalline zircon and baddeleyite from the 2.2 Ga Duck Lake sill (DLS) in the Northwest Territories, Canada, yield predominant δ18OVSMOW modes of +6.0‰ and +3.2‰, respectively. This difference is consistent with preserving high-temperature isotopic equilibrium between zircon and baddeleyite. DLS baddeleyite δ18O data as a whole are negatively skewed (to 0.0‰), and interpreted to reflect low temperature, open-system behaviour. Zircon δ18O are less affected, but also show hints of the same influences of secondary alteration and oxygen isotope exchange.

The formation of the high-pressure compositional equivalents of olivine and pyroxene has been well-documented within and surrounding shock-induced veins in chondritic meteorites, formed by crystallization from a liquid- or solid-state phase transformation. Typically polycrystalline ringwoodite grains have a narrow range of compositions that overlap with those of their olivine precursors, whereas the formation of iron-enriched ringwoodite has been documented from only a handful of meteorites. Here, we report backscattered electron images, quantitative wavelength-dispersive spectrometry (WDS) analyses, qualitative WDS elemental X-ray maps, and micro-Raman spectra that reveal the presence of Fe-rich ringwoodite (Fa44-63) as fine-grained (500 nm), polycrystalline rims on olivine (Fa24-25) wall rock and as clasts engulfed by shock melt in a previously unstudied L5 chondrite, Dhofar 1970. Crystallization of majorite + magnesiowustite in the vein interior and metastable mineral assemblages within 35 μm of the vein margin attest to rapid crystallization of a superheated shock melt (>2300 K) from 20─25 GPa to ambient pressure and temperature. The texture and composition of bright polycrystalline ringwoodite rims (Fa44-63; MnO 0.01─0.08 wt%) surrounding dark polycrystalline olivine (Fa8-14; MnO 0.56─0.65 wt%) implies a solid-state transformation mechanism in which Fe was preferentially partitioned to ringwoodite. The spatial association between ringwoodite and shock melt suggests that the rapidly fluctuating thermal regimes experienced by chondritic minerals in contact with shock melt are necessary to both drive phase transformation but also to prevent back-transformation.

Here, we report a previously unrecognized impactite from the Steen River impact structure in Alberta, Canada, which was intersected by continuous diamond drill core into the allochthonous proximal deposits of this buried 25-km-diameter complex crater. A suite of high-temperature minerals defines the matrix, formed by grain growth in a solid state by static recrystallization of an originally clastic matrix, deposited at temperatures ≥800 °C. This rock type is predominantly a result of the recrystallization of target material driven by the acceleration of hot gasses from volatilized sedimentary cover mixed with variably shocked crystalline basement. Approximately one-third of terrestrial impact structures occur in mixed target rocks; therefore, this type of impactite may be more common than previously realized. Contact metamorphism between entrained sedimentary target rocks and the juxtaposed hot matrix resulted in carbonate decomposition to form a rare spinel-group mineral, magnesioferrite. In crater environments, magnesioferrite has been found in the distal Chicxulub (Mexico) ejecta and may prove a novel indicator mineral for impact into carbonate-bearing target rocks.

NWA 8159 is an augite-rich martian basalt, formed by cooling of a relatively evolved, Ca-rich, Ti-poor and LREE-depleted lava, under relatively oxidizing conditions, during the early Amazonian. In addition to its distinct igneous petrogenesis and high fO_2, NWA 8159 is also set apart from most martian shergottites with respect to the low degree of shock metamorphism required to preserve crystalline igneous plagioclase (An_(50–65)). In this study, mineral transformations within and adjacent to shock veins in NWA 8159 were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to better constrain the unusal shock history of this meteorite. The transformation of olivine to ahrensite (Fe-ringwoodite) along shock vein margins, and tissintite and coesiteformed from igneous mineral (labradorite and silica) grains entrained as clasts within shock veins has been documented in this study. We report on a previously unidentified mineral assemblage of Ca-Na-majoritic garnet, sodic-clinopyroxene and stishovite crystallized from shock melt. This mineral assemblage indicates a crystallization pressure of approximately 16 GPa, which is within the range of previous shock pressure estimates for this meteorite (15–23 GPa). The presence of a majoritic garnet-bearing assemblage throughout veins up to 0.6 mm wide indicates that the sample remained at high-pressure throughout the melt vein quench. Based on thermal models, the sample must have remained at high pressure for ∼100 ms. This shock duration is an order of magnitude longer than those experienced by more highly shocked shergottites such as Tissint or Zagami (>30 GPa; 10–20 ms) and would seem to imply a relatively large impact event. Recent numerical models demonstrate that a range of shock pressures and durations are realized by rocks within the ejected spall zone of a hypervelocity impact. The shock conditions experienced by NWA 8159 therefore do not require an impact event distinct from other shergottites. Rather, our findings suggest that this meteorite originated from near the martian surface at the edge of the impact site. The shock history of NWA 8159 provides a picture of Mars consistent with that derived from remote observation; that of a random cratering process that samples a geologically long-lived and complex planet.

Shock-produced melt within crystalline basement rocks of the Steen River impact structure (SRIS) are observed as thin (1–510 μm wide), interlocking networks of dark veins which cut across and displace host rock minerals. Solid-state phase transformations, such as ferro-pargasite to an almandine–andradite–majorite garnet and amorphization of quartz and feldspar, are observed in zones adjacent to comparatively wider (50–500 μm) sections of the shock veins. Shock pressure estimates based on the coupled substitution of Na+, Ti4+ and Si4+ for divalent cations, Al3+ and Cr3+ in garnet (14–19 GPa) and the pressure required for plagioclase (Ab62–83) amorphization at elevated temperature (14–20 GPa) are not appreciably different from those recorded by deformation effects observed in non-veined regions of the bulk rock (14–20 GPa). This spatial distribution is the result of an elevated temperature gradient experienced by host rock minerals in contact with larger volumes of impact-generated melt and large deviatoric stresses experienced by minerals along vein margins. Micrometer-size equant crystals of almandine–pyrope–majorite garnet define the shock vein matrix, consistent with rapid quench (100–200 ms) at 7.5–10 GPa. Crystallization of the vein occurred during a 0.1–0.15 s shock pressure pulse. Majoritic garnet, formed during shock compression by solid state transformation of pargasite along shock vein margins, is observed in TEM bright field images as nanometer-size gouge particles produced at strain rates in the supersonic field (106–108). These crystals are embedded in vesiculated glass, and this texture is interpreted as continued movement and heating along slip planes during pressure release. The deformation of high-pressure minerals formed during shock compression may be the first evidence of oscillatory slip in natural shock veins, which accounts for the production of friction melt via shear when little or no appreciable displacement is observed. Our observations of the mineralogy, chemistry and microtextures of shock veins within crystalline rocks of the SRIS allow us to propose a model for shock vein formation by shear-induced friction melting during shock compression.

Martian meteorites are currently the only rock samples from Mars available for direct study in terrestrial laboratories. Linking individual specimens back to their source terrains is a major scientific priority, and constraining the size of the impact craters from which each sample was ejected is a critical step in achieving this goal. During ejection from the surface of Mars by hypervelocity impacts, these meteorites were briefly compressed to high temperatures and pressures. The period of time that these meteorites spent at high pressure during ejection, or the ‘dwell time’, has been used to infer the size of the crater from which they were ejected. This inference requires assumptions that relate shock duration to impactor size, and the relation used by many authors is neither physically motivated nor accurate. Using the iSALE2D shock physics code we simulate vertical impacts at high resolution to investigate the dwell time that basaltic rocks from Mars (shergottites) spend at high pressure and temperature during ejection. Future simulation of oblique impacts will lead to more accurate dwell time estimates. Ultimately, we find that dwell time is insensitive to changes in impact velocity but for a given impact, dwell times are longer for material originating from greater depth and material that experiences higher shock pressures. Using our results, we provide scaling laws for estimating impactor size. During the formation of craters 1.9, 14, and 104 km in diameter, material capable of escaping Mars will have mean dwell times of 1, 10, and 100 ms, respectively.

In this paper, we describe an in situ non-destructive technique to identify areas within zircon crystals that have experienced fluid exchange. We show that Raman spectroscopy combined with electron microprobe trace-element analysis can be used to pinpoint areas in altered, complexly zoned, and metamict zircon that record the original magmatic compositions. These techniques are developed on a suite of Paleoproterozoic zircon crystals from the Scourie dike swarm in the Archean gneiss terrane of NW Scotland that are known to be anomalously low in δ18O. We show that zircons from the Scourie dikes record extremely low-δ18O isotopic compositions down to approximately −3‰, which reflect their magmatic values. Zircon populations from the dikes have a range in δ18O from low values ( 1000 ppm) U concentrations and high (>1000 ppm) abundances of non-formula Ca. When the combined Raman and electron microprobe data are used to filter the oxygen isotopic data, the fluid altered areas of the grains show consistently higher δ18O values than the areas without evidence for fluid alteration. The low-δ18O values therefore reflect the original magmatic composition of the grains and indicate that the Scourie dike magmas were low in 18O. We suggest that these non-destructive techniques should be used prior to SIMS analysis of complex zircons to target the least disturbed areas of the grains.

We apply an array of in situ analytical techniques, including electron and Raman microscopy, electron and ion probe microanalysis, and laser ablation mass spectrometry to the Tissint martian meteorite in order to find and elucidate a geochemical signature characteristic of low-temperature alteration at or near the martian surface. Tissint contains abundant shock-produced quench-crystallized melt pockets containing water in concentrations ranging from 73 to 1730 ppm; water content is positively correlated with Cl content. The isotopic composition of hydrogen in the shock-produced glass ranges from δD = 2559 to 4422 ‰. Water is derived from two distinct hydrogen reservoirs: the martian near-surface (>500 ‰) and the martian mantle (-100 ‰). In one shock melt pocket comprising texturally homogeneous vesiculated glass, the concentration of H in the shock melt decreases while simultaneously becoming enriched in D, attributable to the preferential loss of H over D to the vesicle while the pocket was still molten. While igneous sulfides are pyrrhotite in composition (Fe_(0.88-0.90)S), the iron to sulfur ratios of spherules in shock melt pockets are elevated, up to Fe_(1.70)S, which we attribute to shock-oxidation of igneous pyrrhotite and the formation of hematite at high temperature. The D- and Cl-enrichment, and higher oxidation of the pockets (as indicated by hematite) support a scenario in which alteration products formed within fractures or void spaces within the rock; the signature of these alteration products is preserved within shock melt (now glass) which formed upon collapse of these fractures and voids during impact shock. Thermal modeling of Tissint shock melt pockets using the HEAT program demonstrates that the shock melt pockets with the greatest potential to preserve a signature of aqueous alteration are small, isolated from other regions of shock melt, vesicle-free, and glassy.

International audience; Northwest Africa (NWA) 8159 is an augite-rich shergottite, with a mineralogy dominated by Ca-, Fe-rich pyroxene, plagioclase, olivine, and magnetite. NWA 8159 crystallized from an evolved melt of basaltic composition under relatively rapid conditions of cooling, likely in a surface lava flow or shallow sill. Redox conditions experienced by the melt shifted from relatively oxidizing (with respect to known Martian lithologies, similar to QFM) on the liquidus to higher oxygen fugacity (similar to QFM + 2) during crystallization of the groundmass, and under subsolidus conditions. This shift resulted in the production of orthopyroxene and magnetite replacing olivine phenocryst rims. NWA 8159 contains both crystalline and shock-amorphized plagioclase (An(5062)), often observed within a single grain; based on known calibrations we bracket the peak shock pressure experienced by NWA 8159 to between 15 and 23 GPa. The bulk composition of NWA 8159 is depleted in LREE, as observed for Tissint and other depleted shergottites; however, NWA 8159 is distinct from all other martian lithologies in its bulk composition and oxygen fugacity. We obtain a Sm-Nd formation age of 2.37 +/- 0.25 Ga for NWA 8159, which represents an interval in Mars geologic time which, until recently, was not represented in the other martian meteorite types. The bulk rock Sm-147/Nd-144 value of 0.37 +/- 0.02 is consistent with it being derived directly from its source and the high initial epsilon(143)(Nd) value indicates this source was geochemically highly depleted. Cr, Nd, and W isotopic compositions further support a unique mantle source. While the rock shares similarities with the 2.4-Ga NWA 7635 meteorite, there are notable distinctions between the two meteorites that suggest differences in mantle source compositions and conditions of crystallization. Nevertheless, the two samples may be launch-paired. NWA 8159 expands the known basalt types, ages and mantle sources within the Mars sample suite to include a second igneous unit from the early Amazonian.(C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The microtexture and mineralogy of shock melts in the Tissint martian meteorite were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron micro X-ray diffraction to understand shock conditions and duration. Distinct mineral assemblages occur within and adjacent to the shock melts as a function of the thickness and hence cooling history. The matrix of thin veins and pockets of shock melt consists of clinopyroxene + ringwoo- dite ± stishovite embedded in glass with minor Fe-sulfide. The margins of host rock olivine in contact with the melt, as well as entrained olivine fragments, are now amorphosed silicate perovskite + magnesiowustite or clinopyroxene + magnesiowustite. The pressure stabilities of these mineral assemblages are � 15 GPa and >19 GPa, respectively. The � 200-lm-wide margin of a thicker, mm-size (up to 1.4 mm) shock melt vein contains clinopyroxene + olivine, with central regions comprising glass + vesicles + Fe-sulfide spheres. Fragments of host rock within the melt are polycrystalline olivine (after olivine) and tis- sintite + glass (after plagioclase). From these mineral assemblages the crystallization pressure at the vein edge was as high as 14 GPa. The interior crystallized at ambient pressure. The shock melts in Tissint quench-crystallized during and after release from the peak shock pressure; crystallization pressures and those determined from olivine dissociation therefore represent the minimum shock loading. Shock deformation in host rock minerals and complete transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite suggest the peak shock pressure experienced by Tissint P 29-30 GPa. These pressure estimates support our assessment that the peak shock pressure in Tissint was significantly higher than the minimum 19 GPa required to transform olivine to silicate perovskite plus magnesiowustite. Small volumes of shock melt (

Spatially resolved argon isotope measurements have been performed on neutron-irradiated samples of NW Africa (NWA) 4797. Shock heating of NWA 4797 completely melted and vesiculated precursor igneous plagioclase, which cooled to an assemblage of plagioclase crystals with interstitial glasses of variable composition (Ca/K ratios). Using a focused ultraviolet laser beam, is has been possible to distinguish between argon isotopic signatures from groundmass minerals (igneous olivine + pyroxene), plagioclase and a shock vein. This study focuses on the potential for this meteorite to shed light on shock ages of shergottites. Apparent 40Ar/39Ar ages of groundmass minerals show that there are large amounts of excess argon in this phase, yielding a wide range of calculated ages from 690 ± 30 Ma to several apparent ages older than 4.5 Ga. A traverse of laser-probe extractions across the 1 mm-diameter shock vein in NWA 4797 yielded apparent 40Ar/39Ar ages younger than the groundmass. A signature of the Martian atmosphere, identified by 40Ar/36Ar ratios of 1600-1900, was not found in the NWA 4797 shock vein. This is distinct from other shergottites where the products of shock melting contain a nearly pure sample of Martian atmosphere. We attribute this to a distinct formation mechanism, and hence gas-trapping mechanism, of the NWA 4797 shock vein. We undertook 44 analyses of plagioclase areas identified by SEM analysis. Ages ranged from 45 ± 27 to 3771 ± 109 Ma and yield an average age of 375 ± 77 Ma, considerably younger than ages obtained in this study from either the groundmass or the shock vein. A plot of age v. 37Ar/39Ar for plagioclase showed a continuum of ages from the oldest to youngest ages measured. Older ages are correlated with higher Ca/K ratios of plagioclase, indicating contamination from groundmass minerals rich in excess argon. The youngest ages correlate to plagioclase extractions with the lowest Ca/K ratios, interpreted to have crystallized from a nearly pure plagioclase melt with contributions from a K-rich mesostasis. We see no evidence for multiple shock events in NWA 4797. Rather, we favour the interpretation that the cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) age of 3.0 ± 0.5 Ma, obtained on NWA 4797 in this study using cosmogenic 38Ar, approximates the timing of shock melting in this meteorite.

Lithology A of Martian meteorite Elephant Moraine (EET) A79001 contains fragments entrained within a 100 μm-thick shear-induced shock vein. These fragments, the shock vein matrix and walls of olivine along the vein, as well as shock deformation and transformation in rock-forming minerals in the bulk rock, were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, the electron microprobe and Raman spectroscopy. The presence of ringwoodite, the spinel-structured high-pressure (Mg,Fe) 2 SiO 4 polymorph, has been confirmed in EETA79001 for the first time. Ringwoodite occurs within and around the shock vein, exhibiting granular and lamellar textures. In both textures ringwoodite consists of ∼500 nm size distinct grains. Ringwoodite lamellae are 115 nm to 1.3 μm wide. Planar fractures in olivine provided sites for heterogeneous nucleation of ringwoodite. Analyses performed on the largest grains (⩾1 μm) show that ringwoodite is consistently higher in iron (Fa 27.4–32.4 ) relative to surrounding olivine (Fa 25.1–267.7 ), implying that there was Fe–Mg exchange during their transformation, and therefore their growth was diffusion-controlled. In the shock environment, diffusion takes place dynamically, i.e., with concurrent deformation and grain size reduction. This results in enhanced diffusion rates (⩾10 −8 m 2 /s) over nm – μm distances. Shock deformation in host rock minerals including strong mosaicism, pervasive fracturing, polysynthetic twinning (pyroxene only), extensive shock melting, local transformation of olivine to ringwoodite, and complete transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite in the bulk rock, indicate that EETA79001 was strongly shocked. The short shock duration (0.01 s) combined with a complex thermal history, resulted in crystallization of the 100 μm thick shock vein in EETA79001 during the pressure release, and partial back-transformation of ringwoodite to olivine. Based on the pressure stabilities of clinopyroxene + ringwoodite, crystallization at the shock vein margin began at ∼18 GPa. Olivine and clinopyroxene crystallized at

The distribution of shock melts in four shergottites, having both vein and pocket geometry, has been defined and the conductive cooling time over the range 2500 °C to 900 °C calculated. Isolated 1 mm2 pockets cool in 1.17 s and cooling times increase with pocket area. An isolated vein 1 × 7 mm in Northwest Africa (NWA) 4797 cools to 900 °C in 4.5 s. Interference between thermal haloes of closely spaced shock melts decreases the thermal gradient, extending cooling times by a factor of 1.4 to 100. This is long enough to allow differential diffusion of Ar and Xe from the melt. Small pockets (1 mm2) lose 2.2% Ar and 5.2% Xe during cooling, resulting in a small change in the Ar/Xe ratio of the dissolved gas over that originally trapped. With longer cooling times there is significant fractionation of Xe from Ar and the Ar/Xe ratio increases rapidly. The largest pockets show less variation of Ar/Xe and likely preserve the original trapped gas composition. Considering all of the model calculations, even the smallest isolated pockets have cooling times greater than the duration of the pressure pulse, i.e., >0.01 s. The crystallization products of these shock melts will be unrelated to the peak shock pressure experienced by the meteorite.

– Northwest Africa (NWA) 4797 is an ultramafic Martian meteorite composed of olivine (40.3 vol%), pigeonite (22.2%), augite (11.9%), plagioclase (9.1%), vesicles (1.6%), and a shock vein (10.3%). Minor phases include chromite (3.4%), merrillite (0.8%), and magmatic inclusions (0.4%). Olivine and pyroxene compositions range from Fo66–72,En58–74Fs19–28Wo6–15, and En46–60Fs14–22Wo34–40, respectively. The rock is texturally similar to “lherzolitic” shergottites. The oxygen fugacity was QFM−2.9 near the liquidus, increasing to QFM−1.7 as crystallization proceeded. Shock effects in olivine and pyroxene include strong mosaicism, grain boundary melting, local recrystallization, and pervasive fracturing. Shock heating has completely melted and vesiculated igneous plagioclase, which upon cooling has quench-crystallized plagioclase microlites in glass. A mm-size shock melt vein transects the rock, containing phosphoran olivine (Fo69–79), pyroxene (En44–51Fs14–18Wo30–42), and chromite in a groundmass of alkali-rich glass containing iron sulfide spheres. Trace element analysis reveals that (1) REE in plagioclase and the shock melt vein mimics the whole rock pattern; and (2) the reconstructed NWA 4797 whole rock is slightly enriched in LREE relative to other intermediate ultramafic shergottites, attributable to local mobilization of melt by shock. The shock melt vein represents bulk melting of NWA 4797 injected during pressure release. Calculated oxygen fugacity for NWA 4797 indicates that oxygen fugacity is decoupled from incompatible element concentrations. This is attributed to subsolidus re-equilibration. We propose an alternative nomenclature for “lherzolitic” shergottites that removes genetic connotations. NWA 4797 is classified as an ultramafic poikilitic shergottite with intermediate trace element characteristics.

The Larkman Nunatak (LAR) 06319 olivine-phyric shergottite is composed of zoned megacrysts of olivine (Fo 76–55 from core to rim), pyroxene (from core to rim En 70 Fs 25 Wo 5 , En 50 Fs 25 Wo 25 , and En 45 Fs 45 Wo 10 ), and Cr-rich spinel in a matrix of maskelynite (An 52 Ab 45 ), pyroxene (En 30–40 Fs 40–55 Wo 10–25 ,), olivine (Fo 50 ), Fe–Ti oxides, sulfides, phosphates, Si-rich glass, and baddeleyite. LAR 06319 experienced equilibration shock pressures of 30–35 GPa based on the presence of localized shock melts, mechanical deformation of olivine and pyroxene, and complete transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite with no relict birefringence. The various phases and textures of this picritic basalt can be explained by closed system differentiation of a shergottitic melt. Recalculated parent melt compositions obtained from melt inclusions located in the core of the olivine megacrysts (Fo >72 ) resemble those of other shergottite parent melts and whole-rock compositions, albeit with a lower Ca content. These compositions were used in the MELTS software to reproduce the crystallization sequence. Four types of spinel and two types of ilmenite reflect changes in oxygen fugacity during igneous differentiation. Detailed oxybarometry using olivine-pyroxene-spinel and ilmenite-titanomagnetite assemblages indicates initial crystallization of the megacrysts at 2 log units below the Fayalite-Magnetite-Quartz buffer (FMQ – 2), followed by crystallization of the groundmass over a range of FMQ – 1 to FMQ + 0.3. Variation is nearly continuous throughout the differentiation sequence. LAR 06319 is the first member of the enriched shergottite subgroup whose bulk composition, and that of melt inclusions in its most primitive olivines, approximates that of the parental melt. The study of this picritic basalt indicates that oxidation of more than two log units of FMQ can occur during magmatic fractional crystallization and ascent. Some part of the wide range of oxygen fugacities recorded in shergottites may consequently be due to this process. The relatively reduced conditions at the beginning of the crystallization sequence of LAR 06319 may imply that the enriched shergottite mantle reservoir is slightly more reduced than previously thought. As a result, the total range of Martian mantle oxygen fugacities is probably limited to FMQ − 4 to − 2. This narrow range could have been generated during the slow crystallization of a magma ocean, a process favored to explain the origin of shergottite mantle reservoirs.

Shock veins and melt pockets in Lithology A of Martian meteorite Elephant Moraine (EETA) 79001 have been investigated using electron microprobe (EM) analysis, petrography and X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy to determine elemental abundances and sulfur speciation (S 2− versus S 6+ ). The results constrain the materials that melted to form the shock glasses and identify the source of their high sulfur abundances. The XANES spectra for EETA79001 glasses show a sharp peak at 2.471 keV characteristic of crystalline sulfides and a broad peak centered at 2.477 keV similar to that obtained for sulfide-saturated glass standards analyzed in this study. Sulfate peaks at 2.482 keV were not observed. Bulk compositions of EETA79001 shock melts were estimated by averaging defocused EM analyses. Vein and melt pocket glasses are enriched in Al, Ca, Na and S, and depleted in Fe, Mg and Cr compared to the whole rock. Petrographic observations show preferential melting and mobilization of plagioclase and pyrrhotite associated with melt pocket and vein margins, contributing to the enrichments. Estimates of shock melt bulk compositions obtained from glass analyses are biased towards Fe- and Mg- depletions because, in general, basaltic melts produced from groundmass minerals (plagioclase and clinopyroxene) will quench to a glass, whereas ultramafic melts produced from olivine and low-Ca pyroxene megacrysts crystallize during the quench. We also note that the bulk composition of the shock melt pocket cannot be determined from the average composition of the glass but must also include the crystals that grew from the melt – pyroxene (En 72–75 Fs 20–21 Wo 5–7 ) and olivine (Fo 75–80 ). Reconstruction of glass + crystal analyses gives a bulk composition for the melt pocket that approaches that of lithology A of the meteorite, reflecting bulk melting of everything except xenolith chromite. Our results show that EETA79001 shock veins and melt pockets represent local mineral melts formed by shock impedance contrasts, which can account for the observed compositional anomalies compared to the whole rock sample. The observation that melts produced during shock commonly deviate from the bulk composition of the host rock has been well documented from chondrites, rocks from terrestrial impact structures and other Martian meteorites. The bulk composition of shock melts reflects the proportions of minerals melted; large melt pockets encompass more minerals and approach the whole rock whereas small melt pockets and thin veins reflect local mineralogy. In the latter, the modal abundance of sulfide globules may reach up to 15 vol%. We conclude the shock melt pockets in EETA79001 lithology A contain no significant proportion of Martian regolith.

We present a textural comparison of localized shock melt pockets in Martian meteorites and glass pockets in terrestrial, mantle-derived peridotites. Specific textures such as the development of sieve texture on spinel and pyroxene, and melt migration and reaction with the host rock are identical between these two apparently disparate sample sets. Based on petrographic and compositional observations it is concluded that void collapse/variable shock impedance is able to account for the occurrence of pre-terrestrial sulfate-bearing secondary minerals in the melts, high gas emplacement efficiencies, and S, Al, Ca, and Na enrichments and Fe and Mg depletion of shock melt compositions compared to the host rock; previously used as arguments against such a formation mechanism. Recent experimental studies of xenoliths are also reviewed to show how these data further our understanding of texture development and can be used to shed light on the petrogenesis of shock melts in Martian meteorites.

Radiometric age data for shergottites yield ages of 4.0 Ga and 180-575 Ma; the interpretation of these ages has been, and remains, a subject of debate. Here, we present new 39 Ar- 40 Ar laser probe data on lherzolitic shergottites Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 and Northwest Africa (NWA) 1950. These two meteorites are genetically related, but display very different degrees of shock damage. On a plot of 40 Ar/ 36 Ar versus 39 Ar/ 36 Ar, the more strongly shocked ALH 77005 (45-55 GPa) does not yield an array of values indicating an isochron, but the data are highly scattered with the shock melts yielding 40 Ar/ 36 Ar ratios of 1600-2026. Apparent ages calculated from these extractions range from 374-8183 Ma, with 50% of the data, particularly from the shock melts, yielding impossibly old ages (>4.567 Ga). On the same plot, extractions from igneous minerals in the less shocked NWA 1950 (30-44 GPa) yield a fitted age of 382 ± 36 Ma. Argon extractions from the shock melts are well distinguished from minerals, with the melts exhibiting the highest 40 Ar/ 36 Ar ratios (1260-1488) and the oldest apparent ages. Laser step heating was also performed on maskelynite separates from NWA 1950 yielding ages of 1000 Ma at the lowest release temperatures, and ages of 360 and 362 Ma at higher temperature steps. Stepped heating data from previous studies have yielded ages of 500 and 700 Ma to 1.7 Ga for ALH 77005 maskelynite separates. If the ages obtained from igneous minerals represent undegassed argon from an ancient (4.0 Ga) rock, then the ages are expected to anticorrelate with the degree of shock heating. The data do not support this inference. Our data support young crystallization ages for minerals and Martian atmosphere as the origin of excess 40 Ar in the shock melts. The shock features of shergottites are also reviewed in the context of what is known of the geologic history of the Martian surface through remote observation. The oldest, most heavily cratered surfaces of Mars are thought to be ≥4.0 Ga; we contend that ancient rocks from Mars (Noachian >3.5 Ga) are likely to record multiple impact events reflecting megaregolith formation and the cumulative effects of erosion and aqueous alteration occurring during or since that era. Young rocks (Late Amazonian

A series of crystallization experiments have been performed on synthetic glasses matching the composition of a melt pocket found in Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 in order to evaluate the heterogeneous nucleation potential of the melt and the effect of oxygen fugacity on crystallization. The starting temperature of the experiments varied from superliquidus, liquidus and subliquidus temperatures. Each run was then cooled at rates of 10, 500 and 1000 °C/h at FMQ. The results of this study constrain the heating and cooling regime for a microporphyritic melt pocket. Within the melt pocket, strong thermal gradients existed at the onset of crystallization, giving rise to a heterogeneous distribution of nucleation sites resulting in gradational textures of olivine and chromite. Skeletal olivine in the melt pocket center crystallized from a melt containing few nuclei cooled at a fast rate. Nearer to the melt pocket margin elongate skeletal shapes progress to hopper and equant euhedral, reflecting an increase in nuclei in the melt at the initiation of crystallization and growth at low degrees of supercooling. Cooling from post-shock temperatures took place on the order of minutes. An additional series of experiments were conducted for a melt temperature of 1510 °C and a cooling rate of 500 °C/h at the FMQ buffer, as well as 1 and 2 log units above and below FMQ. Variation in chromite stability in these experiments is reflected in crystal shapes and composition, and place constraints on the oxygen fugacity of crystallization of the melt pocket. We conclude that the oxygen fugacity of the melt pocket was set by the Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ ratio imparted by melting of the host rock, rather than external factors such as incorporation of CO 2 -rich Martian atmosphere, or melting and injection of oxidized surface (e.g., regolith) material. Comparison with previous crystallization experiments on melt pockets in Martian basalts indicate that the predominance of dendritic crystal shapes reflects the likelihood that those melt pockets with lower liquidus temperatures will be more completely melted, destroying most or all nuclei in the melt. In this case, crystal growth takes place at high degrees of supercooling, yielding dendritic shapes. It appears as though the melting process is just as important as cooling rate in determining the final texture of the melt pocket, as this process controls elimination or preservation of nuclei at the onset of cooling and crystallization.

Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 300 comprises a microcrystalline igneous matrix (grain size S4). The association of maskelynite with melt pockets and shock veins indicates a subsequent, local 28-45 GPa (shock stage S2-S3) excursion, which was probably responsible for lofting the sample from the lunar surface. Subsequent fracturing is attributed to atmospheric entry and probable breakup of the parent meteor.

The lherzolitic Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 1950 consists of two distinct zones: 1) low-Ca pyroxene poikilically enclosing cumulate olivine (Fo70-75) and chromite, and 2) areas interstitial to the oikocrysts comprised of maskelynite, low- and high-Ca pyroxene, cumulate olivine (Fo68-71) and chromite. Shock metamorphic effects, most likely associated with ejection from the Martian subsurface by large-scale impact, include mechanical deformation of host rock olivine and pyroxene, transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite, and localized melting (pockets and veins). These shock effects indicate that NWA 1950 experienced an equilibration shock pressure of 35-45 GPa. Large (millimeter-size) melt pockets have crystallized magnesian olivine (Fo78-87) and chromite, embedded in an Fe-rich, Al-poor basaltic to picro-basaltic glass. Within the melt pockets strong thermal gradients (minimum 1 C/μm) existed at the onset of crystallization, giving rise to a heterogeneous distribution of nucleation sites, resulting in gradational textures of olivine and chromite. Dendritic and skeletal olivine, crystallized in the melt pocket center, has a nucleation density (1.0 x 10^3 crystals/mm^2) that is two orders of magnitude lower than olivine euhedra near the melt margin (1.6 x 10^5 crystals/mm^2). Based on petrography and minor element abundances, melt pocket formation occurred by in situ melting of host rock constituents by shock, as opposed to melt injected into the lherzolitic target. Despite a common origin, NWA 1950 is shocked to a lesser extent compared to Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 (45-55 GPa). Assuming ejection in a single shock event by spallation, this places NWA 1950 near to ALH 77005, but at a shallower depth within the Martian subsurface. Extensive shock melt networks, the interconnectivity between melt pockets, and the ubiquitous presence of highly vesiculated plagioclase glass in ALH 77005 suggests that this meteorite may be transitional between discreet shock melting and bulk rock melting.

Dynamic crystallization experiments have been performed on synthetic glasses representative of shock-generated melts observed in Los Angeles, Sayh al Uhaymir 150 and Dar al Gani 476 martian basalts. On the basis of qualitative (texture) and quantitative (fractal analysis) results, we show that melt pockets in Los Angeles cooled at a rate of 1040–1560 °C/h. Sayh al Uhaymir 150 and Dar al Gani 476 melt pockets cooled at 780 °C/h. Conductive cooling models, for a range of meteoroid diameters (10–50 cm), indicate that the minimum meteoroid diameter was small, on the order of 10–15 cm and that melt pockets cooled from post-shock temperatures within minutes. Our results also have bearing on shock implanted martian atmospheric components because it is during cooling that the melt pockets have the potential to lose gases. Modeling of argon diffusion in a spherical melt pocket indicates that during cooling and quench crystallization ∼4–60% of trapped martian atmospheric argon may be lost from the melt pocket through diffusive transport.

The Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 150 meteorite was found on a gravel plateau, 43.3 km south of Ghaba, Oman, on October 8, 2002. Oxygen isotope (δ17O 2.78; δ18O 4.74), CRE age (δ1.3 Ma), and noble gas studies confirm its Martian origin. SaU 150 is classified as an olivine-phyric basalt, having a porphyritic texture with olivine macrocrysts set in a finer-grained matrix of pigeonite and interstitial maskelynite, with minor augite, spinel, ilmenite, merrillite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and secondary (terrestrial) calcite and iron oxides. The bulk rock composition, in particular mg (68) [molar Mg/(Mg + Fe) 100], Fe/Mn (37.9), and Na/Al (0.22), are characteristic of Martian meteorites. Based on mineral compositions, cooling rates determined from crystal morphology, and crystal size distribution, it is deduced that the parent magma formed in a steady-state growth regime (magma chamber) that cooled at 70-365 °C. SaU 150 is essentially identical to SaU 005/094, all representing samples of the same fall that are similar to, but distinct from, the DaG shergottites.

Analytical electron microscopy of shock features in the basaltic shergottite Los Angeles (stone 1) reveals: 1) shock recorded in the bulk sample; and 2) localized pressure and temperature excursions that have generated melt pockets up to 4 mm in diameter. Bulk shock effects include microfaulting (offsets 1- 200 mm), mosaicism, deformed exsolution lamellae and planar fracturing in pyroxene, undulose extinction in whitlockite, mechanical twinning in titanomagnetite and ilmenite, and the transformation of plagioclase to maskelynite ( £4% remnant reduced birefringence). The pressure estimates for bulk shock are 35- 40 GPa. Localized shock excursions have generated three types of discrete melt zones (0.07 ◊ 1.3 mm to 3.0 ◊ 3.5 mm apparent diameter) possessing glassy to microcrystalline groundmasses. These melt pockets are differentiated on the basis of size, clast volume, and degree of crystallization and vesiculation. Melt veins and melt dikelets emanate from the melt pockets up to 3 mm into the host rock but do not necessarily connect with other melt pockets. The melt pockets were generated by pressure-temperature excursions of 60- 80 GPa and 1600- 2000° C, resulting in discrete melting of adjacent host rock minerals at grain boundary margins. Concentric zoning in the margins of clinopyroxenes coincides with a progressive reduction in birefringence as melt pockets are approached. This suggests that the shock excursions were focused as point sources in the wake of the shock front that induced bulk damage.

The Benton LL6 chondrite is a brecciated meteorite that was observed to fall on January 16, 1949 in Benton, New Brunswick, Canada. Internally, the meteorite comprises light-colored, subangular to subrounded clasts embedded in a dark grey-colored matrix. Clasts comprise the same mineral phases as the matrix, as well as chondrules and larger (50-100 μm) single mineral grains (mainly olivine and orthopyroxene). Composite (polyphase) clasts can be serveral millimeters in length. Numerous examples of post-brecciation and post-annealing sheraring and displacement at the micron to millimeter scale occur in the form of shock veins. Benton is a shock stage S3 chondrite, which experienced shock pressures on the order of 15-20 GPa, with an estimated post-shock temperature increase of 100-150°C. Benton's history comprises a sequence of events as follows: 1) chondrule formation and initial assembly; 2) brecciation; 3) thermal metemorphism; and 4) shock veining. Events (2) and (4) can be equated with distinct impact events, the former representing bombardment of target material that remained in situ or collisionally fragmented during metamorphism, and then gravitationally reassembled, the latter probably with release from the source body to yield a meteorite. Thermal metamorphism post-dates brecciation. The mean equilibration temperature recorded in the Benton LL6 chondrite is 890° C, obtained using the two pyroxene geothermometer.

Small impact events recorded on the surface of Earth are signifi cantly underrepresented based on expected magnitude-frequency relations. We report the discovery of a 36-m-diameter late Holocene impact crater located in a forested area near the town of Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada. Although undetectable using visible imagery, the presence of the crater is revealed using a bare-Earth digital elevation model obtained through airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The target material comprises deglacial Quaternary sediments, with impact ejecta burying a late Holocene soil dated to ca. 1100 14 C yr B.P. Most of the 74 iron meteorites (0.1‐1196 g) recovered have an angular exterior morphology. These meteorites were buried at depths