Empirical constraints on progressive shock metamorphism of magnetite from the Siljan impact structure, Sweden

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  • Sanna Holm-Alwmark
  • Timmons M. Erickson
  • Aaron J. Cavosie

Little is known about the microstructural behavior of magnetite during hypervelocity impact events, even though it is a widespread accessory mineral and an important magnetic carrier in terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks. We report systematic electron backscatter diffraction crystallographic analysis of shock features in magnetite from a transect across the 52-km-diameter ca. 380 Ma Siljan impact structure in Sweden. Magnetite grains in granitoid samples contain brittle fracturing, crystal-plasticity, and lamellar twins. Deformation twins along {111} with shear direction of are consistent with spinel-law twins. Inferred bulk shock pressures for the investigated samples, as constrained by planar deformation features (PDFs) in quartz and shock twins in zircon, range from 0 to 20 GPa; onset of shock-induced twinning in magnetite is observed at >5 GPa. These results highlight the utility of magnetite to record shock deformation in rocks that experience shock pressures >5 GPa, which may be useful in quartz-poor samples. Despite significant hydrothermal alteration and the variable transformation of host magnetite to hematite, shock effects are preserved, which demonstrates that magnetite is a reliable mineral for preserving shock deformation over geologic time.

Original languageEnglish
JournalGeology
Volume50
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)377-382
Number of pages6
ISSN0091-7613
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Feb 2022

    Research areas

  • DEFORMATION, ZIRCON, MICROSTRUCTURES, MAGNETIZATION, VREDEFORT, BAROMETRY, FEATURES, SAMPLES, QUARTZ, ROCKS

ID: 291808161