Liquefaction of sedimentary rocks during impact crater development

Shatter cones are the only macroscopic feature considered as evidence for shock metamorphism. Their presence is diagnostic for the discovery and verification of impact structures. The occurrence of shatter cones is heterogeneous throughout the crater record and their geometry can diverge from the typical cone shape. The precise formation mechanism of shatter cones is still not resolved. In this study, we aim at better constraining the boundary conditions of shatter cone formation in impact experiments and test a novel approach to qualitatively and quantitatively describe shatter cone geometries by white light interferometry. We recovered several ejected fragments from MEMIN cratering experiments that show slightly curved, striated surfaces and conical geometries with apices of 36°–52°. These fragments fulfilling the morphological criteria of shatter cones were found in experiments with 20–80 cm sized target cubes of sandstone, quartzite and limestone, but not in highly porous tuff. Targets were impacted by aluminum, steel, and iron meteorite projectiles at velocities of 4.6–7.8 km s−1. The projectile sizes ranged from 2.5–12 mm in diameter and produced experimental peak pressures of up to 86 GPa. In experiments with lower impact velocities shatter cones could not be found. A thorough morphometric analysis of the experimentally generated shatter cones was made with 3D white light interferometry scans at micrometer accuracy. SEM analysis of the surfaces of recovered fragments showed vesicular melt films alternating with smoothly polished surfaces. We hypothesize that the vesicular melt films predominantly form at strain releasing steps and suggest that shatter cones are probably mixed mode fractures.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…They can be found within megabreccias surrounding the central granite core (Hippertt et al. ) as well as in clasts of polymict breccia (Tohver et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of shatter cones in MEMIN impact experiments

Wilk

Kenkmann

2016

“…Hippert et al. () also reported melt products from impact‐targeted sedimentary rocks, containing melted sandstone with rounded granular zircon and relict sandstone textures. Melted granitic rocks occur predominantly in the central and southwestern part of the core of the impact structure.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Therefore, the sedimentary rocks that covered the granite prior to impact did not contaminate the molten products of the Araguainha crater (Hippert et al. ). This phenomenon is confirmed by the observation that there are no fragments of sedimentary rocks within the molten products investigated in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of the granitic rocks of the Araguainha impact crater, Brazil

Silva

Lana

Filho

2016

Abstract-Petrographic and geochemical data obtained on the Araguainha impact crater (Goi as/Mato Grosso States, Brazil) indicate the existence of several molten products that originated during impact-induced congruent melting of an alkali-granite exposed in the inner part of the central uplift of the structure. Although previous studies have described these melts to some extent, there is no detailed discussion on the petrographic and geochemical variability in the granite and its impactogenic derivatives, and therefore, little is known about the geochemical behavior and mobility of trace elements during its fusion in the central part of the Araguainha crater. This paper demonstrates that the preserved granitoid exposed in the core of the structure is a magnesium-rich granite, similar to postcollisional, A-type granites, also found in terrains outside the Araguainha crater, in the Bras ılia orogenic belt. The molten products are texturally distinct and different from the original rock, but have very similar geochemical composition, making it difficult to separate these lithotypes based on concentrations of major and minor elements. This also applies for trace and rare earth elements (REE), thus indicating a high degree of homogenization during impact-induced congruent melting under high pressure and postshock temperature conditions. Petrographic observations, along with geochemical data, indicate that melting occurs selectively, where some of the elements are transported with the melt. Simultaneously, there is an effective dissolution of the rock (granite), which leads to entrainment of the most resistant solid phases (intact or partially molten minerals) into the melt. Minerals more resistant to melting, such as quartz and oxides, contribute substantially to a chemical balance between the preserved granite and the fusion products generated during the meteoritic impact.

“…) and from shocked sandstone from the Furnas Formation, similar to the one studied here (Hippertt et al. ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking shock textures revealed by BSE, CL, and EBSD with U‐Pb data (LA‐ICP‐MS and SIMS) from zircon from the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil

Hauser

Reimold

Cavosie

et al. 2019

A silicious impact melt rock from polymict impact breccia of the northern part of the alkali granite core of the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil, has been investigated. The melt rock is thought to represent a large mass of impact‐generated melt in suevite. In particular, a diverse population of zircon grains, with different impact‐induced microstructures, has been analyzed for U‐Pb isotopic systematics. Backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence images reveal heterogeneous intragrain domains with vesicular, granular, vesicular plus granular, and vesicular plus (presumably) baddeleyite textures, among others. The small likely baddeleyite inclusions are not only preferentially located along grain margins but also occur locally within grain interiors. LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb data from different domains yield lower intercept ages of 220, 240, and 260 Ma, a result difficult to reconcile with the previous “best age” estimate for the impact event at 254.7 ± 2.7 Ma. SIMS U‐Pb data, too, show a relatively large range of ages from 245 to 262 Ma. A subset of granular grains that yielded concordant SIMS ages were analyzed for crystallographic orientation by EBSD. Orientation mapping shows that this population consists of approximately micrometer‐sized neoblasts that preserve systematic orientation evidence for the former presence of the high‐pressure polymorph reidite. In one partially granular grain (#36), the neoblasts occur in linear arrays that likely represent former reidite lamellae. Such grains are referred to as FRIGN zircon. The best estimate for the age of the Araguainha impact event from our data set from a previously not analyzed type of impact melt rock is based on concordant SIMS data from FRIGN zircon grains. This age is 251.5 ± 2.9 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.45, p = 0.50, n = 4 analyses on three grains), indistinguishable from previous estimates based on zircon and monazite from other impact melt lithologies at Araguainha. Our work provides a new example of how FRIGN zircon can be combined with in situ U‐Pb geochronology to extract an accurate age for an impact event.