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The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific and Media Articles based on Major Keyword - Meteorites
The Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation is compiled by Patricia Sheahan who publishes on a monthly basis a list of new scientific articles related to diamonds as well as media coverage and corporate announcements called the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service that is distributed as a free pdf to a list of followers. Pat has kindly agreed to allow her work to be made available as an online digital resource at Kaiser Research Online so that a broader community interested in diamonds and related geology can benefit. The references are for personal use information purposes only; when available a link is provided to an online location where the full article can be accessed or purchased directly. Reproduction of this compilation in part or in whole without permission from the Sheahan Diamond Literature Service is strictly prohibited. Return to Diamond Keyword Index
Sheahan Diamond Literature Reference Compilation - Scientific Articles by Author for all years
Each article reference in the SDLRC is tagged with one or more key words assigned by Pat Sheahan to highlight the main topics of the article. In an effort to make it easier for users to track down articles related to a specific topic, KRO has extracted these key words and developed a list of major key words presented in this Key Word Index to which individual key words used in the article reference have been assigned. In most of the individual Key Word Reports the references are in crhonological order, though in some such as Deposits the order is first by key word and then chronological. Only articles classified as "technical" (mainly scientific journal articles) and "media" (independent media articles) are included in the Key Word Index. References that were added in the most recent monthly update are highlighted in yellow.
Articles tagged as are usually of a scientific nature and deal with the tiny diamonds and other unusual carbon based crystals formed through the high pressures created by a meteor impact.
Majoritic garnet: a new approach to pressure estimation of shock events in meteorites and the encapsulation of sub-lithospheric inclusions in diamonds.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 74, 20, pp. 5939-5937.
Abstract: Earth and the Moon are shown here to have indistinguishable oxygen isotope ratios, with a difference in ??17O of ?1 ± 5 parts per million (2 standard error). On the basis of these data and our new planet formation simulations that include a realistic model for primordial oxygen isotopic reservoirs, our results favor vigorous mixing during the giant impact and therefore a high-energy, high-angular-momentum impact. The results indicate that the late veneer impactors had an average ??17O within approximately 1 per mil of the terrestrial value, limiting possible sources for this late addition of mass to the Earth-Moon system.
Abstract: The last of a group of dense minerals that make up much of Earth’s crust and upper mantle has been found tucked inside a meteorite that slammed into Australia 135 years ago. The newly discovered mineral, a variety of majorite, is potentially abundant in sinking tectonic plates and could help illuminate the behavior of the deep Earth, its discoverers say. ach identical component of this mineral contains 32 magnesium atoms, 32 silicon atoms and 96 oxygen atoms arranged in a distorted cube. Natural samples of MgSiO3 tetragonal garnet, the mineral’s scientific moniker, had eluded scientists since the mineral was first artificially produced in 1985. aotaka Tomioka, a mineralogist at the Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research in Japan, and colleagues discovered 0.5-micrometer-wide grains of the mineral in a slice of the 19th century meteorite. While many minerals found in meteorites form when slamming into Earth, the new mineral formed in space when two asteroids collided at a relative speed of about 2 kilometers per second, the researchers report online March 25 in Science Advances. ne challenge remains for the researchers: As discoverers of the mineral, they now get to name it.
Abstract: MgSiO3 tetragonal garnet, which is the last of the missing phases of experimentally predicted high-pressure polymorphs of pyroxene, has been discovered in a shocked meteorite. The garnet is formed from low-Ca pyroxene in the host rock through a solid-state transformation at 17 to 20 GPa and 1900° to 2000°C. On the basis of the degree of cation ordering in its crystal structure, which can be deduced from electron diffraction intensities, the cooling rate of the shock-induced melt veins from ~2000°C was estimated to be higher than 103°C/s. This cooling rate sets the upper bound for the shock-temperature increase in the bulk meteorite at ~900°C.
Abstract: Earth grew by the accretion of meteoritic material. High-precision isotopic data reveal how the composition of this material changed over time, forcing revision of models of our planet's formation.
Abstract: All chondrites accreted ?3.5 wt.% C in their matrices, the bulk of which was in a macromolecular solvent and acid insoluble organic material (IOM). Similar material to IOM is found in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and comets. The IOM accounts for almost all of the C and N in chondrites, and a significant fraction of the H. Chondrites and, to a lesser extent, comets were probably the major sources of volatiles for the Earth and the other terrestrial planets. Hence, IOM was both the major source of Earth’s volatiles and a potential source of complex prebiotic molecules. Large enrichments in D and 15N, relative to the bulk solar isotopic compositions, suggest that IOM or its precursors formed in very cold, radiation-rich environments. Whether these environments were in the interstellar medium (ISM) or the outer Solar System is unresolved. Nevertheless, the elemental and isotopic compositions and functional group chemistry of IOM provide important clues to the origin(s) of organic matter in protoplanetary disks. IOM is modified relatively easily by thermal and aqueous processes, so that it can also be used to constrain the conditions in the solar nebula prior to chondrite accretion and the conditions in the chondrite parent bodies after accretion. Here we review what is known about the abundances, compositions and physical nature of IOM in the most primitive chondrites. We also discuss how the IOM has been modified by thermal metamorphism and aqueous alteration in the chondrite parent bodies, and how these changes may be used both as petrologic indicators of the intensity of parent body processing and as tools for classification. Finally, we critically assess the various proposed mechanisms for the formation of IOM in the ISM or Solar System.
International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 1, pp. 98-104.
Asia, Mongolia
astropipes, impact craters
Abstract: In this paper we present summation of eighteen year’s investigation of the all gold and diamond-bearing astropipes of Mongolia. Four astropipe structures are exemplified by the Agit Khangay (10 km in diameter, 470 38' N; 960 05' E), Khuree Mandal (D=11 km; 460 28' N; 980 25' E), Bayan Khuree (D=1 km; 440 06' N; 1090 36' E), and Tsenkher (D=7 km; 980 21' N; 430 36' E) astropipes of Mongolia. Detailed geological and gas-geochemical investigation of the astropipe structures show that diamond genesis is an expression of collision of the lithospheric mantle with the explosion process initiated in an impact collapse meteor crater. The term "astropipes" (Dorjnamjaa et al., 2010, 2011) is a neologism and new scientific discovery in Earth science and these structures are unique in certain aspects. The Mongolian astropipes are genuine "meteorite crater" structures but they also contain kimberlite diamonds and gold. Suevite-like rocks from the astropipes contain such minerals, as olivine, coesite, moissanite (0,6 mm), stishovite, coesite, kamacite,tektite, khamaravaevite (mineral of meteorite titanic carbon), graphite-2H, khondrite, picroilmenite, pyrope, phlogopite, khangaite (tektite glass, 1,0-3,0 mm in size), etc. Most panned samples and hand specimens contain fine diamonds with octahedrol habit (0, 2-2,19 mm, 6,4 mg or 0,034-0,1 carat) and gold (0,1-5 g/t). Of special interest is the large amount of the black magnetic balls (0,05-5,0 mm) are characterized by high content of Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, Mg, Cd, Ga, Cl, Al, Si, K. Meanwhile, shatter cones (size approx. 1.0 m) which are known from many meteorite craters on the Earth as being typical of impact craters were first described by us Khuree Mandal and Tsenkher astropipe structures. All the described meteorite craters posses reliable topographic, geological, mineralogical, geochemical, and aerospace mapping data, also some geophysical and petrological features (especially shock metamorphism) have been found, all of which indicate that these structures are a proven new type of gold-diamond-bearing impact structure, termed here "astropipes". The essence of the phenomenon is mantle manifestation and plume of a combined nuclear-magma-palingenesis interaction.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 478, pp. 52-58.
Canada, Quebec
Mistastin crater
Abstract: Bolide impacts influence primordial evolution of planetary bodies because they can cause instantaneous melting and vaporization of both crust and impactors. Temperatures reached by impact-generated silicate melts are unknown because meteorite impacts are ephemeral, and established mineral and rock thermometers have limited temperature ranges. Consequently, impact melt temperatures in global bombardment models of the early Earth and Moon are poorly constrained, and may not accurately predict the survival, stabilization, geochemical evolution and cooling of early crustal materials. Here we show geological evidence for the transformation of zircon to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt from the 28 km diameter Mistastin Lake crater, Canada, which requires super-heating in excess of 2370?°C. This new temperature determination is the highest recorded from any crustal rock. Our phase heritage approach extends the thermometry range for impact melts by several hundred degrees, more closely bridging the gap between nature and theory. Profusion of >2370?°C superheated impact melt during high intensity bombardment of Hadean Earth likely facilitated consumption of early-formed crustal rocks and minerals, widespread volatilization of various species, including hydrates, and formation of dry, rigid, refractory crust.
Abstract: About 435 mineral species have been identified in meteorites including native elements, metals and metallic alloys, carbides, nitrides and oxynitrides, phosphides, silicides, sulfides and hydroxysulfides, tellurides, arsenides and sulfarsenides, halides, oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, sulfates, molybdates, tungstates, phosphates and silico phosphates, oxalates, and silicates from all six structural groups. The minerals in meteorites can be categorized as having formed by a myriad of processes that are not all mutually distinct: (1) condensation in gaseous envelopes around evolved stars (presolar grains), (2) condensation in the solar nebula, (3) crystallization in CAI and AOI melts, (4) crystallization in chondrule melts, (5) exsolution during the cooling of CAIs, (6) exsolution during the cooling of chondrules and opaque assemblages, (7) annealing of amorphous material, (8) thermal metamorphism and exsolution, (9) aqueous alteration, hydrothermal alteration and metasomatism, (10) shock metamorphism, (11) condensation within impact plumes, (12) crystallization from melts in differentiated or partially differentiated bodies, (13) condensation from late-stage vapors in differentiated bodies, (14) exsolution, inversion and subsolidus redox effects within cooling igneous materials, (15) solar heating near perihelion, (16) atmospheric passage, and (17) terrestrial weathering.
Abstract: When a meteorite slammed into Earth some 50,000 years ago, forming the bowl-shaped Xiuyan crater in northeast China, it left a treasure trove of geochemical research goodies. By applying microscopy and spectroscopy methods to analyze carbonate minerals found there, researchers have uncovered samples of diamond and a new mechanism for its formation.
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Mar. 7, 2p.
Technology
meteorites
Abstract: Previous studies have shown that meteorites can contain unusual natural phases, such as quasicrystals, that have otherwise been found only in synthetic samples [1]. Because of this, meteorites are good candidates to search for natural superconductivity, which has only been found in Covellite [2]. Because natural samples are inhomogeneous and superconducting phases can be very small, we used Magnetic Field Modulated Microwave Spectroscopy (MFMMS), which can detect 10-12 cc of superconducting material, three orders of magnitude better than Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM). We measured a series of meteorites, surveying representative samples from most major categories of meteorites. In two of the meteorites, we discovered superconducting phases above 5 K using MFMMS, and verified this using VSM. We characterized these phases using Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy. To our knowledge, these samples are the first identification of extraterrestrial superconducting phases. They are particularly significant because these materials could be superconducting in extraterrestrial environments.
Nature Communications, doe:10.1038/ s41467-018- 030808-6 6p. Pdf
Technology
ureilite
Abstract: Planetary formation models show that terrestrial planets are formed by the accretion of tens of Moon- to Mars-sized planetary embryos through energetic giant impacts. However, relics of these large proto-planets are yet to be found. Ureilites are one of the main families of achondritic meteorites and their parent body is believed to have been catastrophically disrupted by an impact during the first 10 million years of the solar system. Here we studied a section of the Almahata Sitta ureilite using transmission electron microscopy, where large diamonds were formed at high pressure inside the parent body. We discovered chromite, phosphate, and (Fe,Ni)-sulfide inclusions embedded in diamond. The composition and morphology of the inclusions can only be explained if the formation pressure was higher than 20?GPa. Such pressures suggest that the ureilite parent body was a Mercury- to Mars-sized planetary embryo.
European Journal of Mineralogy, Vol. 30, 1, pp. 61-76.
Russia
meteorites
Abstract: Impact diamonds were discovered in the 70s and are usually accepted as being paramorphs after graphite, resulting in grains of extremely high mechanical quality. A diffusion-less mechanism for the graphite-to-diamond transition under huge pressure has been experimentally realized and theoretically explained. Besides, another type of impact product has received much less attention, namely diamonds formed after coal as a result of the impact. Here we describe after-coal impact diamonds from the giant Kara astrobleme (Pay-Khoy, Russia), which resulted from a large asteroid impact about 70?Ma ago. The impact created a large number of unusual impact diamonds, which are described here for the first time using high-resolution techniques including visible and UV Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two main varieties of after-coal diamonds occur: micrograined (sugar-like, subdivided into coherent and friable) and, as a new type, paramorphs after organic relics. After-coal diamonds differ from after-graphite impact diamonds by the texture, the absence of lonsdaleite, a micro- and nanoporous structure. The sugar-like variety consists of tightly aggregated, well-shaped single nanocrystals. The after-organic diamond paramorphs are characterized by a well-preserved relict organic morphology, sub-nanocrystalline-amorphous sp3-carbon (ta-C) nanocomposites and other specific properties (optical transparence, brown color, very high luminescence, spectral features). Based on the description of after-coal diamonds, we propose a new, polystage formation mechanism: high-velocity coal pyrolysis with hetero-elements removal followed by diffusion-limited crystallization of pure carbon. The similarity of the after-coal diamonds features with carbonado is a strong piece of evidence in support of the impact hypothesis for the origin of carbonado.
Abstract: Earth’s oldest felsic rocks, the 4.02 billion-year-old Idiwhaa gneisses of the Acasta Gneiss Complex, northwest Canada, have compositions that are distinct from the felsic rocks that typify Earth’s ancient continental nuclei, implying they formed through a different process. Using phase equilibria and trace element modelling, we show that the Idiwhaa gneisses were produced by partial melting of ironrich amphibolite host rocks at very low pressures, equating to the uppermost ~3 km of mafic crust. The heat required for such shallow melting is most easily explained through meteorite impacts. Hydrodynamic impact modelling shows that, not only is this scenario physically plausible, but the region of shallow melting appropriate to formation of the Idiwhaa gneisses would have been widespread. Given the predicted high flux of meteorites during the late Hadean, impact melting may have been the predominant mechanism that generated Hadean felsic rocks.
Chemie der Erde, doi.org/10.1016/j ,chemer.2018.09.002 30MB
South America, Brazil
meteorite
Abstract: In the first part of this review of the impact record of South America, we have presented an up-to-date introduction to impact processes and to the criteria to identify/confirm an impact structure and related deposits, as well as a comprehensive examination of Brazilian impact structures. The current paper complements the previous one, by reviewing the impact record of other countries of South America and providing current information on a number of proposed impact structures. Here, we also review those structures that have already been discarded as not being formed by meteorite impact. In addition, current information on impact-related deposits is presented, focusing on impact glasses and tektites known from this continent, as well as on the rare K-Pg boundary occurrences revealed to date and on reports of possible large airbursts. We expect that this article will not only provide systematic and up-to-date information on the subject, but also encourage members of the South American geoscientific community to be aware of the importance of impact cratering and make use of the criteria and tools to identify impact structures and impact deposits, thus potentially contributing to expansion and improvement of the South American impact record.
Abstract: For the first time, 60 large diamond aggregates were found inside the Popigai meteorite crater during washing of alluvial deposits along the Dogoi river crossing the crater. These aggregates are similar in appearance to yakutites from the placers of Northern Yakutia (YPY), and we regard them as yakutites from the Popigai crater (YPC). The structure and optical properties of Popigai impact diamonds from the impact melt rocks (tagamites) in the crater (PIDT) and yakutites YPC/YPY were compared in detail. In all these cases, a polycrystalline structure consisting of nanoscale grains of cubic and twinned cubic diamond (lonsdaleite) was found. This is the result of a solid-phase graphite-diamond transition due to an impact event 35?million?years ago. The diamond aggregates show the following features: a red shift of the short-wave edge of the transmission, broadening of the diamond Raman peaks, signals from other diamond polytypes and numerous inclusions of other minerals in the Raman spectra, and a dominant broadband photoluminescence (PL). PL in the N3 system associated with N3V centers in PIDT diamonds indicates a high-temperature annealing of these aggregates with resulting aggregation of impurities during the prolonged cooling of large impact melt pockets and pools. It is assumed that some of the impact diamonds were ejected from the crater during the impact event and experienced rapid cooling. Some of these diamonds fell back into the crater (YPC yakutites), others have been deposited outside the crater and displaced during erosion (YPY yakutites). Difference in size and shape between the PIDTs and yakutites YPC/YPY is due to the difference in size of original graphite flakes or aggregates and/or due to the fundamentally different technologies of diamond extraction.
Abstract: The terrestrial planets are believed to have been formed from primitive material sampling a broad region of the inner solar system. Several meteoritic mixing models attempting to reconcile isotopic characteristics of Mars and Earth have been proposed, but, because of the inherent non-uniqueness of these solutions, additional independent observations are required to resolve the question of the primary building blocks of the terrestrial planets. Here, we consider existing isotopic measurements of O, ?48Ca, ?50Ti, ?54Cr, ?62Ni, and ?84Sr for primitive chondrites and differentiated achondrites and mix these stochastically to reproduce the isotopic signatures of Mars and Earth. For both planets we observe ? 105 unique mixing solutions out of 108 random meteoritic mixtures, which are categorised into distinct clusters of mixtures using principal component analysis. The large number of solutions implies that isotopic data alone are insufficient to resolve the building blocks of the terrestrial planets. To further discriminate between isotopically valid mixtures, each mixture is converted into a core and mantle component via mass balance for which geophysical properties are computed and compared to observations. For Mars, the geophysical parameters include mean density, mean moment of inertia, and tidal response, whereas for Earth upper mantle Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio and core size are employed. The results show that Mars requires an oxidised, FeO-rich differentiated object next to chondritic material as main building blocks. In contrast, Earth's origin remains enigmatic. From a redox perspective, it appears inescapable that enstatite chondrite-like matter constitutes a dominant proportion of the building blocks from which Earth is made. The apparent need for compositionally distinct building blocks for Mars and Earth suggests that dissimilar planetesimal reservoirs were maintained in the inner Solar System during accretion.
Abstract: Bolide impact is a ubiquitous geological process in the Solar System, which produced craters and basins filled with impact melt sheets on the terrestrial planets. However, it remains controversial whether these sheets were able to undergo large-scale igneous differentiation, or not. Here, we report on the discovery of large discrete bodies of melanorites that occur throughout almost the entire stratigraphy of the 1.85-billion-year-old Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) - the best exposed impact melt sheet on Earth - and use them to reaffirm that conspicuous norite-gabbro-granophyre stratigraphy of the SIC is produced by fractional crystallization of an originally homogeneous impact melt of granodioritic composition. This implies that more ancient and compositionally primitive Hadean impact melt sheets on the Earth and other terrestrial planets also underwent large-volume igneous differentiation. The near-surface differentiation of these giant impact melt sheets may therefore have contributed to the evolution and lithological diversity of the proto-crust on terrestrial planets.
Abstract: In the first part of this review of the impact record of South America, we have presented an up-to-date introduction to impact processes and to the criteria to identify/confirm an impact structure and related deposits, as well as a comprehensive examination of Brazilian impact structures. The current paper complements the previous one, by reviewing the impact record of other countries of South America and providing current information on a number of proposed impact structures. Here, we also review those structures that have already been discarded as not being formed by meteorite impact. In addition, current information on impact-related deposits is presented, focusing on impact glasses and tektites known from this continent, as well as on the rare K-Pg boundary occurrences revealed to date and on reports of possible large airbursts. We expect that this article will not only provide systematic and up-to-date information on the subject, but also encourage members of the South American geoscientific community to be aware of the importance of impact cratering and make use of the criteria and tools to identify impact structures and impact deposits, thus potentially contributing to expansion and improvement of the South American impact record.
Abstract: Earth’s volatile element abundances (for example, sulfur, zinc, indium and lead) provide constraints on fundamental processes, such as planetary accretion, differentiation and the delivery of volatile species, like water, which contributed to Earth becoming a habitable planet. The composition of the silicate Earth suggests a chemical affinity but isotopic disparity to carbonaceous chondrites—meteorites that record the early element fractionations in the protoplanetary disk. However, the volatile element depletion pattern of the silicate Earth is obscured by core formation. Another key problem is the overabundance of indium, which could not be reconciled with any known chondrite group. Here we complement recently published volatile element abundances for carbonaceous chondrites with high-precision sulfur, selenium and tellurium data. We show that both Earth and carbonaceous chondrites exhibit a unique hockey stick volatile element depletion pattern in which volatile elements with low condensation temperatures (750-500?K) are unfractionated from each other. This abundance plateau accounts for the apparent overabundance of indium in the silicate Earth without the need of exotic building materials or vaporization from precursors or during the Moon-forming impact and suggests the accretion of 10-15?wt% CI-like material before core formation ceased. Finally, more accurate estimates of volatile element abundances in the core and bulk Earth can now be provided.
Abstract: Earth’s formation by the accretion of volatile-rich carbonaceous chondrite-like materials, without a need for exotic building blocks or secondary volatile loss, is supported by recognition of a plateau pattern for highly volatile elements.
Mineralogy and Petrology, in press available 10p. Pdf
Global
astrobleme
Abstract: Complementary nano- and atomic-scale data from SEM, FIB, HRTEM, and EELS observations of after-coal impact diamonds from the giant Kara astrobleme are described, presenting their particular nano-sized porous polycrystalline structure, which consists of well-shaped single 20-30 nm nanocrystals that are free of deformation defects and do not contain lonsdaleite. The porous micro- and nanostructure is a special typomorphic feature of after-coal diamonds that suggests a crystallisation mechanism through short distance diffusion. The data for the after-coal impact diamonds presented here demonstrate their distinguishing characteristics from after-graphite impact diamonds, and have some similarity with the enigmatic carbonado, providing new insights to the origin of the latter.
Abstract: Naturalistic and geo?mineralogical museum collections are one of the most relevant sources for research on meteorites the world over. Here, we present the description of a new Italian meteorite that has been recently discovered at the Royal Mineralogical Museum of Naples in Italy.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/ pnas.1910698117
Mantle
meteorites
Abstract: Tomkins et al. [A. G. Tomkins et al., Nature 533, 235-238 (2016)] suggested that iron oxides contained in 2.7-Ga iron micrometeorites can be used to determine the concentration of O2 in the Archean upper atmosphere. Specifically, they argued that the presence of magnetite in these objects implies that O2 must have been near present-day levels (?21%) within the altitude range where the micrometeorites were melted during entry. Here, we reevaluate their data using a 1D photochemical model. We find that atomic oxygen, O, is the most abundant strong oxidant in the upper atmosphere, rather than O2. But data from shock tube experiments suggest that CO2 itself may also serve as the oxidant, in which case micrometeorite oxidation really constrains the CO2/N2 ratio, not the total oxidant abundance. For an atmosphere containing 0.8 bar of N2, like today, the lower limit on the CO2 mixing ratio is ?0.23. This would produce a mean surface temperature of ?300 K at 2.7 Ga, which may be too high, given evidence for glaciation at roughly this time. If pN2 was half the present value, and warming by other greenhouse gases like methane was not a major factor, the mean surface temperature would drop to ?291 K, consistent with glaciation. This suggests that surface pressure in the Neoarchean may need to have been lower—closer to 0.6 bar—for CO2 to have oxidized the micrometeorites. Ultimately, iron micrometeorites may be an indicator for ancient atmospheric CO2 and surface pressure; and could help resolve discrepancies between climate models and existing CO2 proxies such as paleosols.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 271, pp. 179-193.
Mantle
meteorites
Abstract: Constraining the evolution of Pb isotopes in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) is hampered due to the lack of a direct determination of Earth’s U/Pb and initial Pb isotope composition. All estimates of these parameters are strongly model dependent and most Pb evolution models start with a meteoritic source, i.e., the primordial Pb composition determined in troilite from the Canyon Diablo iron meteorite. During the condensation of the elements in the solar nebula, accretion of the Earth, and its subsequent chemical evolution, the U/Pb was modified. Different models make different assumptions about the timing and extent of this U-Pb fractionation during Earth’s chemical evolution that cannot always be related to known global geological processes at the time of this modification. This study explores geochemical constraints that can be related to known geological processes to derive an internally consistent model for the evolution of the U-Th-Pb systematics of the silicate Earth. Lead is chalcophile, moderately volatile, and as a result strongly depleted in the BSE compared to primitive meteorites. Any process affecting the abundance and isotope composition of Pb in Earth throughout its early history has to be consistent with the abundance of elements with similar chemical and physical properties in the same reservoir. The abundances of refractory to moderately and highly volatile elements in the BSE imply that the proto Earth was highly depleted in volatile elements, and therefore evolved with a very high U/Pb (238U/204Pb?=?µ???100) prior to collision with the Moon-forming giant impactor. This impactor had close to chondritic abundances of moderately to highly volatile elements and delivered most of Earth’s volatile elements, including the Pb budget. Addition of this volatile-rich component caused oxidation of Earth’s mantle and allowed effective transfer of Pb into the core via sulfide melt segregation. Sequestration of Pb into the core therefore accounts for the high µBSE, which has affected ca. 53% of Earth’s Pb budget. In order to account for the present-day Pb isotope composition of BSE, the giant impact must have occurred at 69?±?10 Myr after the beginning of the solar system. Using this point in time, a model-derived µ-value and the corresponding initial Pb isotope composition of BSE, a single stage Pb isotope evolution curve can be deduced. The result is a model evolution curve for BSE in 208Pb-207Pb-206Pb-204Pb-isotope space that is fully consistent with geochemical constraints on Earth’s accretionary sequence and differentiation history. This Pb-evolution model may act as a reference frame to trace the silicate Earth’s differentiation into crust and mantle reservoirs, similar to the CHUR reference line used for other radio-isotope systems. It also highlights the long-standing Th/U paradox of the ancient Earth.
Abstract: Similar to Earth, many large planetesimals in the Solar System experienced planetary-scale processes such as accretion, melting and differentiation. As their cores cooled and solidified, substantial chemical fractionation occurred due to solid metal-liquid metal fractionation. Iron meteorites—core remnants of these ancient planetesimals—record a history of this process. Recent iron isotope analyses of iron meteorites found their 57Fe/54Fe ratios to be heavier than chondritic by approximately 0.1 to 0.2 per mil for most meteorites, indicating that a common parent body process was responsible. However, the mechanism for this fractionation remains poorly understood. Here we experimentally show that the iron isotopic composition of iron meteorites can be explained solely by core crystallization. In our experiments of core crystallization at 1,300?°C, we find that solid metal becomes enriched in the heavier iron isotope by 0.13 per mil relative to liquid metal. Fractional crystallization modelling of the IIIAB iron meteorite parent body shows that observed iridium, gold and iron compositions can be simultaneously reproduced during core crystallization. The model implies the formation of complementary sulfur-rich components of the iron meteorite parental cores that remain unsampled by meteorite records and may be the missing reservoir of isotopically light iron. The lack of sulfide meteorites and previous trace element modelling predicting substantial unsampled volumes of iron meteorite parent cores support our findings.
Historia Natural *** english abstract, Vol. 10, 2, 12p. Pdf
South America, Paraguay
meteorite
Abstract: Around 70 km SSE of Chovoreca Hill (Paraguay), a pitcher-like metal piece weighing approximately 303 kg was found. Several studies have been carried out on this piece. Metallographic examination resembles cast iron that presents eutectoid microtextures, but the metal showed Neumann lines. Small fragments of the piece were diluted in concentrated HCl and with this it was possible to obtain colorless crystals, with size ranging from 10 ?m to 1 mm, approximately; SEM/EDS studies showed that major element present is carbon which suggests the presence of diamonds. Raman spectroscopy proved that crystals are diamonds, that showing bands in the “lonsdaleite/diamond zone”, further, the results also showed bands that accuse that the carbon of the diamonds are of meteoritic origin. From the calculus of the FWHM with values around to 42-373 cm-1 centered on 1282 cm-1 peak could be an indication of a very powerful impact that would have formed the diamonds.
Nature Materials, doi:10.1038/s4 1563-020-0759-8 7p. Pdf
Global
meteorites, synthetics
Abstract: Meteoritic diamonds and synthesized diamond-related materials contain a wide variety of complex nanostructures. This Comment highlights and classifies this structural complexity by a systematic hierarchical approach, and discusses the perspectives on nanostructure and properties engineering of diamond-related materials.
Abstract: Hundreds of millions of years ago something crashed into the planet Mars with enough force to eject pieces of Martian rock into space. Some of these pieces of rock made their way to Earth where they entered our atmosphere as meteors. A precious few landed on the surface of our planet as meteorites. Thanks to scientists like Geoffrey Howarth, a geologist based at the University of Cape Town (UCT), these Martian meteorites are now being studied to better understand the structure and geological history of the red planet. Here’s what we know so far.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 557, doi.org/10.1016/ j.epsl.2020.116730 9p. Pdf
Europe, Greenland
meteorite
Abstract: Large meteorite impacts have a profound effect on the Earth's geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. It is widely accepted that the early Earth was subject to intense bombardment from 4.5 to 3.8 Ga, yet evidence for subsequent bolide impacts during the Archean Eon (4.0 to 2.5 Ga) is sparse. However, understanding the timing and magnitude of these early events is important, as they may have triggered significant change points to global geochemical cycles. The Maniitsoq region of southern West Greenland has been proposed to record a ?3.0 Ga meteorite impact, which, if confirmed, would be the oldest and only known impact structure to have survived from the Archean. Such an ancient structure would provide the first insight into the style, setting, and possible environmental effects of impact bombardment continuing into the late Archean. Here, using field mapping, geochronology, isotope geochemistry, and electron backscatter diffraction mapping of 5,587 zircon grains from the Maniitsoq region (rock and fluvial sediment samples), we test the hypothesis that the Maniitsoq structure represents Earth's earliest known impact structure. Our comprehensive survey shows that previously proposed impact-related geological features, ranging from microscopic structures at the mineral scale to macroscopic structures at the terrane scale, as well as the age and geochemistry of the rocks in the Maniitsoq region, can be explained through endogenic (non-impact) processes. Despite the higher impact flux, intact craters from the Archean Eon remain elusive on Earth.
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.06.022 31p. Pdf
Global
meteorite
Abstract: The occurrence of shock-induced diamonds in ureilite meteorites is common and is used to constrain the history of the ureilite parent bodies. We have investigated a fragment of the Kenna ureilite by micro-X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to characterize its carbon phases. In addition to olivine and pigeonite, within the carbon-bearing areas, we identified microdiamonds (up to about 10 ?m in size), nanographite and magnetite. The shock features observed in the silicate minerals and the presence of microdiamonds and nanographite indicate that Kenna underwent a shock event with a peak pressure of at least 15 GPa. Temperatures estimated using a graphite geothermometer are close to 1180 °C. Thus, Kenna is a medium-shocked ureilite, yet it contains microdiamonds, which are typically found in highly shocked carbon-bearing meteorites, instead of the more common nanodiamonds. This can be explained by a relatively long shock event duration (in the order of 4-5 s) and/or by the catalytic effect of Fe-Ni alloys known to favour the crystallization of diamonds. For the first time in a ureilite, carletonmooreite with formula Ni3Si and grain size near 4-7 nm, was found. The presence of nanocrystalline carletonmooreite provides further evidence to support the hypothesis of the catalytic involvement of Fe-Ni bearing phases into the growth process of diamond from graphite during shock events in the ureilite parent body, enabling the formation of micrometer-sized diamond crystals.
Abstract: X-ray computed microtomography (CT) of impact rock varieties from the Kara astrobleme is used to test the method’s ability to identify the morphology and distribution of the rock components. Three types of suevitic breccias, clast-poor melt rock, and a melt clast from a suevite were studied with a spatial resolution of 24 µm to assess CT data values of 3D structure and components of the impactites. The purpose is first to reconstruct pore space, morphology, and distribution of all distinguishable crystallized melt, clastic components, and carbon products of impact metamorphism, including the impact glasses, after-coal diamonds, and other carbon phases. Second, the data are applied to analyze the morphology and distribution of aluminosilicate and sulfide components in the melt and suevitic breccias. The technical limitations of the CT measurements applied to the Kara impactites are discussed. Because of the similar chemical composition of the aluminosilicate matrix, glasses, and some lithic and crystal clasts, these components are hard to distinguish in tomograms. The carbonaceous matter has absorption characteristics close to air, so the pores and carbonaceous inclusions appear similar. However, X-ray microtomography could be used to prove the differences between the studied types of suevites from the Kara astrobleme using structural-textural features of the whole rock, porosity, and the distributions of carbonates and sulfides.
