We surveyed the Martian surface in order to identify possible source craters of the nakhlite Martian meteorites. We investigated rayed craters that are assumed to be younger than 11 Ma, on lava surfaces with a solidification age around 1.2 Ga. An area of 17.3 million km Amazonian lava plains was surveyed and 53 rayed craters were identified. Although most of them are smaller than the threshold limit that is estimated as minimum of launching fragments to possible Earth crossing trajectories, their observed size frequency distribution agrees with the expected areal density from cratering models characteristic for craters that are less than few tens of Ma old. We identified 6 craters larger than 3 km diameter constituting the potentially best source craters for nakhlites. These larger candidates are located mostly on a smooth lava surface, and in some cases, on the earlier fluvial-like channels. In three cases they are associated with fluidized ejecta lobes and rays - although the rays are faint in these craters, thus might be older than the other craters with more obvious rays. More work is therefore required to accurately estimate ages based on ray system for this purpose. A more detailed search should further link remote sensing Martian data with the in-situ laboratory analyses of Martian meteorites, especially in case of high altitude, steep terrains, where the crater rays seems to rarely survive several Ma.

International audienceThe Chalkidiki block is a major domain in the North Aegean that, contrary to other domains in the region, largely escaped thermal perturbations during Tertiary extension. As a result, the Chalkidiki block is an ideal candidate to glean information related to the timing of Mesozoic thermal events using appropriate geochronological techniques. We have undertaken a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) study (U-Th-Pb on monazites and U-Pb on zircons) coupled with 40Ar/39Ar dating on nine samples from various structural levels within the thrust system of the Chalkidiki block. The eastern, and structurally lower part of the system revealed a complete isotopic reset of Carboniferous – Early Triassic monazites coeval with partial monazite destruction, REE-mobilisation and formation of apatite-allanite-epidote coronas at ~ 132 Ma, a reaction that is commonly observed in amphibolite-facies rocks. These coronas formed after crystallisation of garnet (i.e., at T > 580 °C) and, in all probability, either close to the peak-temperature conditions (~ 620 °C) on a prograde path or during retrogression between the peak-temperature and the low-temperature boundary of the amphibolite facies. Cooling of these rocks and arrival at mid-crustal levels occurred at 95–100 Ma. By contrast, the western, and structurally uppermost part of the system went through the same event by 120–125 Ma. Further structural considerations with respect to medium-temperature geochronology data imply that syn-metamorphic thrusting must have ceased by early Late Cretaceous. We emphasize that, with the sole exception of the Chalkidiki block, no pre-45 Ma medium-temperature geochronology data are preserved in other North Aegean domains, a feature that is clearly related to the extension-induced thermal perturbation of the region during the Tertiary

A conspicuous biomorphic ovoid structure has been discovered in the Nakhla martian meteorite, made of nanocrystalline iron-rich saponitic clay and amorphous material. The ovoid is indigenous to Nakhla and occurs within a late-formed amorphous mesostasis region of rhyolitic composition that is interstitial to two clinopyroxene grains with Al-rich rims, and contains acicular apatite crystals, olivine, sulfides, Ti-rich magnetite, and a new mineral of the rhoenite group. To infer the origin of the ovoid, a large set of analytical tools was employed, including scanning electron microscopy and backscattered electron imaging, wavelength-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray mapping, Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscope imaging, and atomic force microscope topographic mapping. The concentric wall of the ovoid surrounds an originally hollow volume and exhibits internal layering of contrasting nanotextures but uniform chemical composition, and likely inherited its overall shape from a preexisting vesicle in the mesostasis glass. A final fibrous layer of Fe-rich phases blankets the interior surfaces of the ovoid wall structure. There is evidence that the parent rock of Nakhla has undergone a shock event from a nearby bolide impact that melted the rims of pyroxene and the interstitial matter and initiated an igneous hydrothermal system of rapidly cooling fluids, which were progressively mixed with fluids from the melted permafrost. Sharp temperature gradients were responsible for the crystallization of Al-rich clinopyroxene rims, rhoenite, acicular apatites, and the quenching of the mesostasis glass and the vesicle. During the formation of the ovoid structure, episodic fluid infiltration events resulted in the precipitation of saponite rinds around the vesicle walls, altered pyrrhotite to marcasite, and then isolated the ovoid wall structure from the rest of the system by depositing a layer of iron oxides/hydroxides. Carbonates, halite, and sulfates were deposited last within interstitial spaces and along fractures. Among three plausible competing hypotheses here, this particular abiotic scenario is considered to be the most reasonable explanation for the formation of the ovoid structure in Nakhla, and although compelling evidence for a biotic origin is lacking, it is evident that the martian subsurface contains niche environments where life could develop.

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The findings of the present study could imply that both materials are indicated for use in an acidic environment.