Ballen silica, a post-impact marker – an overview

• Authors: Romuald Kosina

Title variants

EN

Krzemionka groniasta jako marker pouderzeniowy – przegląd

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper presents an overview of the literature data and the author’s original data on ballen silica structures occurring in impactites. These structures have been discovered in more than 30 astroblemes, in various types of rocks metamorphosed by impact. Ballen structures show variations in their macromorphology as well as at the micro level in relation to single clasts or their clusters. The micro-level variations are related to the extinction of polarised light of ballen clast units, their stage of development, recrystallisation and other characteristics. Ballen structures appear as fine-grained, coarse-grained or domain mosaics. The latter may have a concentric or side-by-side pattern. Researchers link ballen structures with the transformations of silica polymorphs, crystalline ones such as cristobalite and quartz and amorphous ones such as diaplectic quartz glass or lechatelierite. Another hypothesis is that ballen structures are formed as a result of the embedding of cooled quartz clasts in an overheated rock melt. Considering the complexity of the post-impact processes, any scientific interpretation of the formation of ballen silica clasts is valid. Deposition of phyllosilicate minerals in the areas of contact between clast units is important for the mechanical stability of the clast. Post-impact dynamics can result in the release of clasts as well as their individual units and their addition to the created suevite breccias containing spherules. Thus, ballen structures can be considered as indicators of changes occurring shortly after a meteorite impact.

PL

Artykuł jest przeglądem danych literaturowych wraz z suplementem oryginalnych danych autora na temat struktur krzemionki groniastej (ang. ballen silica) występujących w impaktytach. Klast takiej krzemionki przypomina owocostan winorośli, grono, stąd nazwa polska. Termin krzemionka groniasta ma znaczenie szersze niż termin kwarc groniasty (ang. ballen quartz), często spotykany w literaturze. Struktury te odkryto w ponad 30 astroblemach, w różnych typach skał przekształconych przez impakt meteorytu, najczęściej w stopach skalnych, brekcjach, również w brekcji suewitu, natomiast rzadziej w zmetamorfizowanych skałach podłoża struktury impaktowej. Struktury groniaste wykazują zmienność makromorfologiczną (wielkość, kształt) oraz na poziomie mikro w odniesieniu do pojedynczych klastów lub ich skupień. Zmienność na poziomie mikro ujawnia się w stopniu wygaszania światła spolaryzowanego pomiędzy jednostkami w groniastym klaście, ich etapem rozwoju, rekrystalizacją i innymi cechami. Struktury groniaste krzemionki pojawiają się jako mozaiki drobnoziarniste, gruboziarniste lub domenowe. Te ostatnie mogą mieć wzór koncentryczny lub obokleżny. Badacze łączą struktury groniaste z przemianami polimorfów krzemionki, krystalicznych, takich jak krystobalit i kwarc, oraz amorficznych, takich jak diaplektyczne szkliwo kwarcowe czy lechatelieryt. Inna hipoteza głosi, że struktury groniaste powstają w wyniku zatapiania chłodnych klastów kwarcowych, wcześniej uwolnionych z impaktytów w dynamicznych procesach pouderzeniowych, w przegrzanym stopie, kolejno szybko schładzanym. Biorąc pod uwagę złożoność procesów zachodzących po impakcie, każda naukowa interpretacja powstawania klastów krzemionki groniastej powinna być uważana za cenny element poznania dynamiki procesów pouderzeniowych. Powstawanie minerałów krzemianów warstwowych w obszarach styku jednostek składowych groniastego klastu jest istotne w odniesieniu do jego mechanicznej stabilności. Dynamika pouderzeniowa może skutkować uwalnianiem klastów oraz ich jednostek składowych i dodawaniem ich do tworzonych brekcji suewitu zawierających szkliste sferule. Specyfika współwystępowania planarnych struktur deformacyjnych w kwarcu (PDF) i struktur groniastych dowodzi, że te drugie powstają w fazie pouderzeniowej modyfikacji krateru i impaktytów. Groniaste struktury krzemionki można uznać za wskaźnik zmian zachodzących wkrótce po uderzeniu meteorytu, podczas schładzania stopów skalnych i powstawania brekcji impaktowych.

Keywords

EN

PDFs; ballen clasts; extinction; juvenile units; macrostructure; mosaicism; nomenclature; spherules

Discipline

• GEOLOGY: GEOLOGY

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Meteorytowe
• Journal: Acta Societatis Metheoriticae Polonorum
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 14
• Pages: 56-69

Contributors

author

Romuald Kosina

• Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław

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• Document Type: article