Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica)
The ~790 ka Australasian (micro)tektite strewn field is one of the most recent and best-known examples of impact ejecta emplacement as the result of a large-scale cratering event across a considerable part of Earth's surface (>10% in area). The Australasian strewn field is characterized by a...
Published in: | Geoscience Frontiers |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Elsevier
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 https://doaj.org/article/3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 2023-10-01T03:50:46+02:00 Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) Bastien Soens Matthias van Ginneken Stepan Chernonozhkin Nicolas Slotte Vinciane Debaille Frank Vanhaecke Herman Terryn Philippe Claeys Steven Goderis 2021-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 https://doaj.org/article/3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987121000177 https://doaj.org/toc/1674-9871 1674-9871 doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 https://doaj.org/article/3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 Geoscience Frontiers, Vol 12, Iss 4, Pp 101153- (2021) Impact cratering Impact ejecta Target stratigraphy Volatilization Antarctica Microtektites Geology QE1-996.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 2023-09-03T00:37:23Z The ~790 ka Australasian (micro)tektite strewn field is one of the most recent and best-known examples of impact ejecta emplacement as the result of a large-scale cratering event across a considerable part of Earth's surface (>10% in area). The Australasian strewn field is characterized by a tri-lobe pattern consisting of a large central distribution lobe, and two smaller side lobes extending to the west and east. Here, we report on the discovery of microtektite-like particles in sedimentary traps, containing abundant micrometeorite material, in the Sør Rondane Mountain (SRM) range of East Antarctica. The thirty-three glassy particles display a characteristic pale yellow color and are predominantly spherical in shape, except for a single dumbbell-shaped particle. The vitreous spherules range in size from 220 to 570 μm, with an average diameter of ~370 μm. This compares relatively well with the size distribution (75–778 μm) of Australasian microtektites previously recovered from the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) and located ca. 2500–3000 km from the SRM. In addition, the chemical composition of the SRM particles exhibits limited variation and is nearly identical to the ‘normal-type’ (i.e., <6% MgO) TAM microtektites. The Sr and Nd isotope systematics for a single batch of SRM particles (n = 26) strongly support their affiliation with TAM microtektites and the Australasian tektite strewn field in general. Furthermore, Sr isotope ratios and Nd model ages suggest that the target material of the SRM particles was composed of a plagioclase- or carbonate-rich lithology derived from a Paleo- or Mesoproterozoic crustal unit. The affiliation to the Australasian strewn field requires long-range transportation, with estimated great circle distances of ca. 11,600 km from the hypothetical source crater, provided transportation occurred along the central distribution lobe. This is in agreement with the observations made for the Australasian microtektites recovered from Victoria Land (ca. 11,000 km) and Larkman Nunatak ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Victoria Land Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic East Antarctica Larkman Nunatak ENVELOPE(179.383,179.383,-85.767,-85.767) Sør-Rondane ENVELOPE(25.000,25.000,-72.000,-72.000) The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains Victoria Land Geoscience Frontiers 12 4 101153 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Impact cratering Impact ejecta Target stratigraphy Volatilization Antarctica Microtektites Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Impact cratering Impact ejecta Target stratigraphy Volatilization Antarctica Microtektites Geology QE1-996.5 Bastien Soens Matthias van Ginneken Stepan Chernonozhkin Nicolas Slotte Vinciane Debaille Frank Vanhaecke Herman Terryn Philippe Claeys Steven Goderis Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
topic_facet |
Impact cratering Impact ejecta Target stratigraphy Volatilization Antarctica Microtektites Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The ~790 ka Australasian (micro)tektite strewn field is one of the most recent and best-known examples of impact ejecta emplacement as the result of a large-scale cratering event across a considerable part of Earth's surface (>10% in area). The Australasian strewn field is characterized by a tri-lobe pattern consisting of a large central distribution lobe, and two smaller side lobes extending to the west and east. Here, we report on the discovery of microtektite-like particles in sedimentary traps, containing abundant micrometeorite material, in the Sør Rondane Mountain (SRM) range of East Antarctica. The thirty-three glassy particles display a characteristic pale yellow color and are predominantly spherical in shape, except for a single dumbbell-shaped particle. The vitreous spherules range in size from 220 to 570 μm, with an average diameter of ~370 μm. This compares relatively well with the size distribution (75–778 μm) of Australasian microtektites previously recovered from the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) and located ca. 2500–3000 km from the SRM. In addition, the chemical composition of the SRM particles exhibits limited variation and is nearly identical to the ‘normal-type’ (i.e., <6% MgO) TAM microtektites. The Sr and Nd isotope systematics for a single batch of SRM particles (n = 26) strongly support their affiliation with TAM microtektites and the Australasian tektite strewn field in general. Furthermore, Sr isotope ratios and Nd model ages suggest that the target material of the SRM particles was composed of a plagioclase- or carbonate-rich lithology derived from a Paleo- or Mesoproterozoic crustal unit. The affiliation to the Australasian strewn field requires long-range transportation, with estimated great circle distances of ca. 11,600 km from the hypothetical source crater, provided transportation occurred along the central distribution lobe. This is in agreement with the observations made for the Australasian microtektites recovered from Victoria Land (ca. 11,000 km) and Larkman Nunatak ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bastien Soens Matthias van Ginneken Stepan Chernonozhkin Nicolas Slotte Vinciane Debaille Frank Vanhaecke Herman Terryn Philippe Claeys Steven Goderis |
author_facet |
Bastien Soens Matthias van Ginneken Stepan Chernonozhkin Nicolas Slotte Vinciane Debaille Frank Vanhaecke Herman Terryn Philippe Claeys Steven Goderis |
author_sort |
Bastien Soens |
title |
Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
title_short |
Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
title_full |
Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
title_fullStr |
Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) |
title_sort |
australasian microtektites across the antarctic continent: evidence from the sør rondane mountain range (east antarctica) |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 https://doaj.org/article/3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(179.383,179.383,-85.767,-85.767) ENVELOPE(25.000,25.000,-72.000,-72.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica Larkman Nunatak Sør-Rondane The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains Victoria Land |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica Larkman Nunatak Sør-Rondane The Antarctic Transantarctic Mountains Victoria Land |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Victoria Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Victoria Land |
op_source |
Geoscience Frontiers, Vol 12, Iss 4, Pp 101153- (2021) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987121000177 https://doaj.org/toc/1674-9871 1674-9871 doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 https://doaj.org/article/3db3f8ba48c34cf69a965a28f7b41593 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153 |
container_title |
Geoscience Frontiers |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
101153 |
_version_ |
1778527264515817472 |