bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental study and TEM characterization of dusty olivines in chondrites: Evidence for formation by in situ reduction
Authors: Leroux Hugues , Libourel Guy , Lemelle Laurence , Guyot Franĉois 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— An analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) study was undertaken in order to better understand the formation conditions of dusty olivines (i.e., olivines containing abundant tiny inclusions of Fe‐Ni metal) in primitive meteorites. Dusty olivines from type I chondrules in the Bishunpur chondrite (LL3.1) and from synthetic samples obtained by reduction of San Carlos olivines were examined. In both natural and experimental samples, micron size metal blebs observed in the dusty region often show preferential alignments along crystallographic directions of the olivine grains, have low Ni contents (typically <2 wt%), and are frequently surrounded by a silica‐rich glass layer. These features suggest that dusty olivines are formed by a sub‐solidus reduction of initially fayalitic olivines according to the following reaction:Some volatilization of SiOgas may account for the apparent excess of metal relative to silica‐rich glass observed in both experimental and natural samples. Comparison with experimentally produced dusty olivines suggests that time scales of the order of minutes usually inferred for chondrule formation are also adequate for the formation of dusty olivines. These observations are in agreement with the hypothesis that at least part of the metal phase in chondrites originated from reduction during chondrule formation.
Exposure history and terrestrial ages of ordinary chondrites from the Dar al Gani region, Libya
Authors: WELTEN K. C. , NISHIIZUMI K. , FINKEL R. C. , HILLEGONDS D. J. , JULL A. J. T. , FRANKE L. , SCHULTZ L. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— We measured the concentrations of noble gases in 32 ordinary chondrites from the Dar al Gani (DaG) region, Libya, as well as concentrations of the cosmogenic radionuclides 14C, 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, and 41Ca in 18 of these samples. Although the trapped noble gases in five DaG samples show ratios typical of solar or planetary gases, in all other DaG samples, they are dominated by atmospheric contamination, which increases with the degree of weathering. Cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages of DaG chondrites range from ˜1 Myr to 53 Myr. The CRE age distribution of 10 DaG L chondrites shows a cluster around 40 Myr due to four members of a large L6 chondrite shower. The CRE age distribution of 19 DaG H chondrites shows only three ages coinciding with the main H chondrite peak at ˜7 Myr, while seven ages are <5 Myr. Two of these H chondrites with short CRE ages (DaG 904 and 908) show evidence of a complex exposure history. Five of the H chondrites show evidence of high shielding conditions, including low 22Ne/21Ne ratios and large contributions of neutron‐capture 36Cl and 41Ca. These samples represent fragments of two or more large pre‐atmospheric objects, which supports the hypothesis that the high H/L chondrite ratio at DaG is due to one or more large unrecognized showers.The 14C concentrations correspond to terrestrial ages <35 kyr, similar to terrestrial ages of chondrites from other regions in the Sahara but younger than two DaG achondrites. Despite the loss of cosmogenic 36Cl and 41Ca during oxidation of metal and troilite, concentrations of 36Cl and 41Ca in the silicates are also consistent with 14C ages <35 kyr. The only exception is DaG 343 (H4), which has a 41Ca terrestrial age of 150 ± 40 kyr. This old age shows that not only iron meteorites and achondrites but also chondrites can survive the hot desert environment for more than 50 kyr. A possible explanation is that older meteorites were covered by soils during wetter periods and were recently exhumed by removal of these soils due to deflation during more arid periods, such as the current one, which started ˜3000 years ago.Finally, based on the 26Al/21Ne and 10Be/21Ne systematics in 16 DaG meteorites, we derived more reliable estimates of the 10Be/21Ne production rate ratio, which seems more sensitive to shielding than was predicted by the semi‐empirical model of Graf et al. (1990) but less sensitive than was predicted by the purely physical model of Leya et al. (2000).
New findings for the equilibrated enstatite chondrite Grein 002
Authors: PATZER Andrea , SCHLÜTER Jochen , SCHULTZ Ludolf , TARKIAN Mahmud , HILL Dolores H. , BOYNTON William V. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— We report new petrographic and chemical data for the equilibrated EL chondrite Grein 002, including the occurrence of osbornite, metallic copper, abundant taenite, and abundant diopside. As inferred from low Si concentrations in kamacite, the presence of ferroan alabandite, textural deformation, chemical equilibration of mafic silicates, and a subsolar noble gas component, we concur with Grein 002's previous classification as an EL4‐5 chondrite. Furthermore, the existence of pockets consisting of relatively coarse, euhedral enstatite crystals protruding large patches of Fe‐Ni alloys suggests to us that this EL4‐5 chondrite has been locally melted. We suspect impact induced shock to have triggered the formation of the melt pockets.Mineralogical evidence indicates that the localized melting of metal and adjacent enstatite must have happened relatively late in the meteorite's history. The deformation of chondrules, equilibration of mafic silicates, and generation of normal zoning in Fe, Zn‐sulfides took place during thermal alteration before the melting event. Following parent body metamorphism, daubreelite was exsolved from troilite in response to a period of slow cooling at subsolidus temperatures. Exsolution of schreibersite from the coarse metal patches probably occurred during a similar period of slow cooling subsequent to the event that induced the formation of the melt pockets. Overall shock features other than localized melting correspond to stage S2 and were likely established by the final impact that excavated the Grein 002 meteoroid.
The importance of being cratered: The new role of meteorite impact as a normal geological process
Authors: French Bevan M. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract—This paper is a personal (and, in many ways, incomplete) view of the past development of impact geology and of the newly recognized importance of impact events in terrestrial geological history. It also identifies some exciting scientific challenges for future investigators: to determine the full range of impact effects preserved on the Earth, to apply the knowledge obtained from impact phenomena to more general geological problems, and to continue the merger of the once exotic field of impact geology with mainstream geosciences.Since the recognition of an impact event at the Cretaceous‐Tertiary (K‐T) boundary, much current activity in impact geology has been promoted by traditionally trained geoscientists who have unexpectedly encountered impact effects in the course of their work. Their studies have involved: 1) the recognition of additional major impact effects in the geological record (the Chesapeake Bay crater, the Alamo breccia, and multiple layers of impact spherules in Precambrian rocks); and 2) the use of impact structures as laboratories to study general geological processes (e.g., igneous petrogenesis at Sudbury, Canada and Archean crustal evolution at Vredefort, South Africa). Other research areas, in which impact studies could contribute to major geoscience problems in the future, include: 1) comparative studies between low‐level (≤7 GPa) shock deformation of quartz, and the production of quartz cleavage, in both impact and tectonic environments; and 2) the nature, origin, and significance of bulk organic carbon (“kerogen”) and other carbon species in some impact structures (Gardnos, Norway, and Sudbury, Canada).
Petrogenesis of lunar highlands meteorites: Dhofar 025, Dhofar 081, Dar al Gani 262, and Dar al Gani 400
Authors: Cahill J. T. , Floss C. , Anand M. , Taylor L. A. , Nazarov M. A. , Cohen B. A. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— The petrogenesis of four lunar highlands meteorites, Dhofar 025 (Dho 025), Dhofar 081 (Dho 081), Dar al Gani 262 (DaG 262), and Dar al Gani 400 (DaG 400) were studied. For Dho 025, measured oxygen isotopic values and Fe‐Mn ratios for mafic minerals provide corroboratory evidence that it originated on the Moon. Similarly, Fe‐Mn ratios in the mafic minerals of Dho 081 indicate lunar origin.Lithologies in Dho 025 and Dho 081 include lithic clasts, granulites, and mineral fragments. A large number of lithic clasts have plagioclase AN# and coexisting mafic mineral Mg# that plot within the “gap” separating ferroan anorthosite suite (FAN) and high‐magnesium suite (HMS) rocks. This is consistent with whole rock Ti‐Sm ratios for Dho 025, Dho 081, and DaG 262, which are also intermediate compared to FAN and HMS lithologies. Although ion microprobe analyses performed on Dho 025, Dho 081, DaG 262, and DaG 400 clasts and minerals show far stronger FAN affinities than whole rock data suggest, most clasts indicate admixture of ≤12% HMS component based on geochemical modeling. In addition, coexisting plagioclase‐pyroxene REE concentration ratios in several clasts were compared to experimentally determined plagioclase‐pyroxene REE distribution coefficient ratios. Two Dho 025 clasts have concordant plagioclase‐pyroxene profiles, indicating that equilibrium between these minerals has been sustained despite shock metamorphism. One clast has an intermediate FAN‐HMS composition.These lunar meteorites appear to represent a type of highland terrain that differs substantially from the KREEP‐signatured impact breccias that dominate the lunar database. From remote sensing data, it is inferred that the lunar far side appears to have appropriate geochemical signatures and lithologies to be the source regions for these rocks; although, the near side cannot be completely excluded as a possibility. If these rocks are, indeed, from the far side, their geochemical characteristics may have far‐reaching implications for our current scientific understanding of the Moon.
Integrated deep drilling, coring, downhole logging, and data management in the Chicxulub Scientific Drilling Project (CSDP), Mexico
Authors: Wohlgemuth Lothar , Bintakies Eckhard , Kück Jochem , Conze Ronald , Harms Ulrich 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— Impact structures in the solar system are mainly recognized and explored through remote sensing and, on Earth, through geophysical deep sounding. To date, a continuous scientific sampling of large impact craters from cover rocks to target material has only seldom been performed. The first project to deep‐drill and core into one of the largest and well‐preserved terrestrial impact structures was executed in the winter of 2001/2002 in the 65 Myr‐old Chicxulub crater in Mexico using integrated coring sampling and in situ measurements. The combined use of different techniques allows a three‐dimensional insight and a better understanding of impact processes.Here, we report the integration of conventional rotary drilling techniques with wireline mining coring technology that was applied to drill the 1510 m‐deep Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) well about 40 km southwest of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. During the course of the project, we recovered approximately 900 m of intact core samples including the transitions of reworked ejecta to post‐impact sediments, and that one from large blocks of tilted target material to impact‐generated rocks, i.e., impact melt breccias and suevites. Coring was complemented by wireline geophysical measurements to obtain a continuous set of in situ petrophysical data of the borehole walls. The data acquired is comprised of contents of a natural radioactive element, velocities of compressional sonic waves, and electrical resistivity values. All the digital data sets, including technical drilling parameters, initial scientific sample descriptions, and 360° core pictures, were distributed during the course of the operations via Internet and were stored in the ICDP Drilling Information System (http:www.icdp‐online.org), serving the global community of cooperating scientists as a basic information service.
Oxygen isotopic alteration in Ca‐Al‐rich inclusions from Efremovka: Nebular or parent body setting?
Authors: Fagan T. J. , Krot A. N. , Keil K. , Yurimoto H. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— In situ SIMS oxygen isotope data were collected from a coarse‐grained type B1 Ca‐Al‐rich inclusion (CAI) and an adjacent fine‐grained CAI in the reduced CV3 Efremovka to evaluate the timing of isotopic alteration of these two objects. The coarse‐grained CAI (CGI‐10) is a sub‐spherical object composed of elongate, euhedral, normally‐zoned melilite crystals ranging up to several hundreds of Pm in length, coarse‐grained anorthite and Al, Ti‐diopside (fassaite), all with finegrained (∼10 μm across) inclusions of spinel. Similar to many previously examined coarse‐grained CAIs from CV chondrites, spinel and fassaite are 16O‐rich and melilite is 16O‐poor, but in contrast to many previous results, anorthite is 16O‐rich. Isotopic composition does not vary with textural setting in the CAI: analyses of melilite from the core and mantle and analyses from a variety of major element compositions yield consistent 16O‐poor compositions. CGI‐10 originated in an 16O‐rich environment, and subsequent alteration resulted in complete isotopic exchange in melilite. The fine‐grained CAI (FGI‐12) also preserves evidence of a 1st‐generation origin in an 16O‐rich setting but underwent less severe isotopic alteration. FGI‐12 is composed of spinel ± melilite nodules linked by a mass of Al‐diopside and minor forsterite along the CAI rim. All minerals are very fine‐grained (<5 μm) with no apparent igneous textures or zoning. Spinel, Al‐diopside, and forsterite are 16O‐rich, while melilite is variably depleted in 16O (δ17,18O from ∼‐40‰ to −5‰).The contrast in isotopic distributions in CGI‐10 and FGI‐12 is opposite to the pattern that would result from simultaneous alteration: the object with finer‐grained melilite and a greater surface area/ volume has undergone less isotopic exchange than the coarser‐grained object. Thus, the two CAIs were altered in different settings. As the CAIs are adjacent to each other in the meteorite, isotopic exchange in CGI‐10 must have preceded incorporation of this CAI in the Efremovka parent body. This supports a nebular setting for isotopic alteration of the commonly observed 16O‐poor melilite in coarse‐grained CAIs from CV chondrites.
Infrared, Raman, and cathodoluminescence studies of impact glasses
Authors: Gucsik Arnold , Koeberl Christian , Brandstätter Franz , Libowitzky Eugen , Zhang Ming 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— We studied the infrared reflectance (IR), Raman, and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopic signatures and scanning electron microscope‐cathodoluminescence (SEM‐CL) images of three different types of impact glasses: Aouelloul impact glass, a Muong Nong‐type tektite, and Libyan desert glass.Both backscattered electron (BSE) and CL images of the Muong Nong‐type tektite are featureless; the BSE image of the Libyan desert glass shows only weak brightness contrasts. For the Aouelloul glass, both BSE and CL images show distinct brightness contrast, and the CL images for the Libyan desert glass show spectacular flow textures that are not visible in any other microscopic method. Compositional data show that the SiO2 composition is relatively higher and the Al2O3 content is lower in the CL‐bright areas than in the CL‐dark regions. The different appearance of the three glass types in the CL images indicates different peak temperatures during glass formation: the tektite was subjected to the highest temperature, and the Aouelloul impact glass experienced a relatively low formation temperature, while the Libyan desert glass preserves a flow texture that is only visible in the CL images, indicating a medium temperature.All IR reflectance spectra show a major band at around 1040 to 1110 cm−1 (antisymmetric stretching of SiO4 tetrahedra), with minor peaks between 745 and 769 cm−1 (Si‐O‐Si angle deformation). Broad bands at 491 and 821 cm−1 in the Raman spectra in all samples are most likely related to diaplectic glass remnants, indicating early shock amorphization followed by thermal amorphization. The combination of these spectroscopic methods allows us to deduce information about the peak formation temperature of the glass, and the CL images, in particular, show glass flow textures that are not preserved in other more conventional petrographic images.
Chicxulub central crater structure: Initial results from physical property measurements and combined velocity and gravity modeling
Authors: VERMEESCH P. M. , MORGAN J. V. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract The Chicxulub crater in Mexico is a nearly pristine example of a large impact crater. Its slow burial has left the central impact basin intact, within which there is an apparently uneroded topographic peak ring. Its burial, however, means that we must rely on drill holes and geophysical data to interpret the crater form. Interpretations of crater structures using geophysical data are often guided by numerical modeling and observations at other large terrestrial craters. However, such endeavors are hindered by uncertainties in current numerical models and the lack of any obvious progressive change in structure with increasing crater size. For this reason, proposed structural models across Chicxulub remain divergent, particularly within the central crater region, where the deepest well is only ˜1.6 km deep. The shape and precise location of the stratigraphic uplift are disputed. The spatial extent and distribution of the allogenic impact breccias and melt rocks remain unknown, as do the lithological nature of the peak ring and the mechanism for its formation.The objective of our research is to provide a well‐constrained 3D structural and lithological model across the central region of the Chicxulub crater that is consistent with combined geophysical data sets and drill core samples. With this in mind, we present initial physical property measurements made on 18 core samples from the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) drill hole between 400 and 1500 m deep and present a new density model that is in agreement with both the 3D velocity and gravity data. Future collation of petrophysical and geochemical data from Yax‐1 core, as well as further seismic surveys and drilling, will allow us to calibrate our geophysical models—assigning a suite of physical properties to each lithology. An accurate 3D model of Chicxulub is critical to our understanding of large craters and to the constraining of the environmental effects of this impact.
Stratigraphic and sedimentological observations from seismic data across the Chicxulub impact basin
Authors: BELL C. , MORGAN J. V. , HAMPSON G. J. , TRUDGILL B. 
Published: January 2010

AbstractSeismic data across the offshore half of the Chicxulub impact crater reveal a 145 km‐diameter post‐impact basin to be a thickening of Tertiary sediment, which thickens by ˜0.7 sec from the basin margin to the basin center. The basin existed long after the impact and was gradually infilled to its current flat surface. A suite of seismic horizons within the impact basin have been picked on four reflection lines across the crater. They reveal that the western and northwestern parts of the impact basin were filled first. Subsequently, there was a dramatic change in the depositional environment, indicated by an unconformable surface that can be mapped across the entire basin. A prograding shelf sequence downlaps onto this unconformity in the eastern basin. The seismic stratigraphic relationships suggest a marine regression, with sedimentation becoming gradually more passive as sediments fill the eastern part of the impact basin. The central and northeastern parts of the basin are filled last.The onshore hole Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1), which was drilled on the flanks of the southern basin, has been projected onto the offshore seismic data to the west of the crater center. Using dates obtained from this onshore well and regional data, approximate ages have been placed on the most significant horizons in the offshore seismic data. Our preliminary interpretation is that the western and northwestern basins were almost entirely filled by 40 Ma and that the marine regression observed in the eastern basin is early Miocene in age. Offshore seismic stratigraphic analyses and onshore data within Yax‐1 suggest that the early Paleocene is highly attenuated across the impact basin. The Mesozoic section appears to be ˜1 km thicker offshore than onshore. We calculate that, given this offshore thickening, the volume of Mesozoic rocks that have been excavated, melted, or vaporized during impact is around 15% larger than expected from calculations that assume the offshore thickness is equal to that onshore. This has significant consequences for any environmental calculations. The current offset between the K‐T boundary outside and inside the crater is ˜700 m. However, infilling of basins with sediments is usually accompanied by subsidence, and immediately following the impact, the difference would have been smaller. We calculate the original topographic offset on the K‐T boundary to have been between 450 and 700 m, which is in agreement with depth‐diameter scaling laws for a mixed target.
The I‐Xe chronometer and the early solar system
Authors: Gilmour J. D. , Pravdivtseva O. V. , Busfield A. , Hohenberg C. M. 
Published: January 2010

Abstract— We review the development of the I‐Xe technique and how its data are interpreted, and specify the best current practices. Individual mineral phases or components can yield interpretable trends in initial 129I/127I ratio, whereas whole‐rock I‐Xe ages are often hard to interpret because of the diversity of host phases, many of which are secondary. Varying standardizations in early work require caution; only samples calibrated against Shallowater enstatite or Bjurböle can contribute reliably to the emerging I‐Xe chronology of the early solar system.Although sparse, data for which I‐Xe and Mn‐Cr can be compared suggest that the two systems are concordant among ordinary chondrite samples. We derive a new age for the closure of the Shallowater enstatite standard of 4563.3 ± 0.4 Myr from the relationship between the I‐Xe and Pb‐Pb systems. This yields absolute I‐Xe ages and allows data from this and other systems to be tested by attempting to construct a common chronology of events in the early solar system.Absolute I‐Xe dates for aqueous and igneous processes are consistent with other systems. Consideration of the I‐Xe host phases in CAIs and dark inclusions demonstrates that here the chronometer records aqueous alteration of pre‐existing material. The ranges of chondrule ages deduced from the Al‐Mg and I‐Xe systems in Semarkona (LL3.0) and Chainpur (LL3.4) are consistent. Chainpur I‐Xe data exhibit a greater range of ages than Semarkona, possibly reflecting a greater degree of parent body processing. However individual chondrules show little or no evidence of such processing. Determining the host phase(s) responsible for high temperature correlations may resolve the issue.