Back-transformation of high-pressure minerals in shocked chondrites: Low-pressure mineral evidence for strong shock

Jinping Hu, Thomas Sharp

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Post-shock annealing of meteorites can destroy their shock-induced features, particularly high-pressure minerals, and complicate the estimation of impact pressure–temperature conditions. However, distinguishing post-shock annealing features from thermal metamorphism effects can be practically difficult. Here we report results from Mbale, a highly shocked L chondrite, to investigate the mechanisms, kinetics and identification criteria for post-shock annealing of high-pressure signatures. Olivine fragments within shock-melt veins in Mbale occur as chemically heterogeneous nanocrystalline aggregates that contain trace wadsleyite and ringwoodite. Their strong variation in fayalite content provides evidence of iron partitioning during transformation of olivine to wadsleyite, followed by back-transformation to olivine after decompression. Experimental studies of transformation kinetics show that wadsleyite transforms to olivine in seconds at temperatures above ∼1200 K and in hours at temperatures between 900 and 1200 K. Thermal models of shock-melt cooling show that shock veins in Mbale cooled to 1200 K in 1 s. The shock pulse must have been shorter than ∼1 s to provide the high temperature conditions for post-shock back-transformation of wadsleyite. Many highly shocked L chondrites, which have abundant high-pressure minerals, must have experienced relatively long shock durations combined with rapid cooling of shock-melt regions to preserve high-pressure phases. The most highly shocked samples, such as impact melt breccias, lack high-pressure phases because of post-shock back-transformations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)277-294
Number of pages18
JournalGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Volume215
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2017

Keywords

  • Back transformation
  • Chondrite
  • Mbale
  • Post-shock annealing
  • Shock metamorphism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geochemistry and Petrology

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