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Niobium and tantalum, rare metals and high field strength elements (HFSEs) that are essential to modern technologies, are concentrated among others in lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites and rare metal granites. The most important hosts for Nb-Ta in these types of deposits are the columbite group minerals (columbite-tantalite), but at some ore deposits significant Ta is also contained in wodginite, microlite, and tapiolite. Previous solubility experiments of HFSE minerals have been limited to high temperatures because of the slow diffusivities of HFSEs in granitic melts. An experiment protocol is described herein that allows HFSE mineral solubilities to be determined at lower temperatures, more in line with the estimated solidus temperatures of LCT pegmatites and rare metal granites. This is achieved through the interaction of a melt that is enriched in high field strength elements (e.g., P and Nb or Ta) with a fluid enriched in a fluid-mobile element (FME, e.g., Mn). A starting glass enriched in a slow diffusing HFSE was synthesized, and HFSE mineral saturation is obtained via the diffusion of a FME into the melt via interaction with a fluid. This interaction can occur at much lower temperatures in reasonable experimental durations than for experiments that require diffusion of niobium and tantalum. The solubility product of columbite-(Mn) from the fluid-melt interaction experiment in a highly fluxed granitic melt at 700 °C is the same as those from dissolution and crystallization (reversal) experiments at the same P-T conditions. Thus, both methods produce reliable measurements of mineral solubility, and the differences in the metal concentrations in the quenched melts indicates that the solubility of columbite-(Mn) follows Henry's Law. Results show that columbite-(Mn) saturation can be reached at geologically reasonable concentrations of niobium in melts and manganese in hydrothermal fluids. This experimental protocol also allows the investigation of HFSE mineral crystallization by fluid-melt interactions in rare-metal pegmatites. Magmatic origins for columbite group minerals are well constrained, but hydrothermal Nb-Ta mineralization has also been proposed for pegmatite-hosted deposits such as Tanco, Greenbushes, and granite-hosted deposits such as Cínovec/Zinnwald, Dajishan, and Yichun. This study shows that columbite-(Mn), lithiophilite, and a Ca-Ta oxide mineral (that is likely microlite) crystallized from experiments in fluid-melt systems at temperatures as low as 650 °C at 200 MPa. It is important to note that HFSE minerals that crystallize from fluid-melt interactions texturally occur as euhedral crystals as phenocrysts in glass, i.e., are purely magmatic textures. Therefore, crystallization of HFSE minerals from fluid-melt interactions in rare metal granites and pegmatite deposits may be more widespread than previously recognized. This is significant because the formation of these deposits may require magmatic-hydrothermal interaction to explain the textures present in deposits worldwide, rather than always being the result of a single melt or fluid phase.

Knowing the amount and timing of water incorporation into the Moon has fundamental implications for our understanding of how the Earth–Moon system formed. Water has been detected in lunar samples but its abundance, distribution and origin are debated. To address these issues, we report water concentrations and hydrogen isotope ratios obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) of plagioclase from ferroan anorthosites (FANs), the only available lithology thought to have crystallized directly from the lunar magma ocean (LMO). The measured water contents are consistent with previous results by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Combined with literature data, δD values of lunar igneous materials least-degassed at the time of their crystallization range from −280 to +310‰, the latter value being that of FAN 60015 corrected for cosmic ray exposure. We interpret these results as hydrogen isotopes being fractionated during degassing of molecular hydrogen (H_2) in the LMO, starting with the magmatic δD value of primordial water at the beginning of LMO being about −280‰, evolving to about +310‰ at the time of anorthite crystallization, i.e. during the formation of the primary lunar crust. The degassing of hydrogen in the LMO is consistent with those of other volatile elements. The wide range of δD values observed in lunar igneous rocks could be due to either various degrees of mixing of the different mantle end members, or from a range of mantle sources that were degassed to different degrees during magma evolution. Degassing of the LMO is a viable mechanism that resulted in a heterogeneous lunar interior for hydrogen isotopes.

Zinc and germanium enrichments have been discovered in sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater, Mars, by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer on the rover Curiosity. Concentrations of Zn (910 ± 840 ppm) and Ge (65 ± 58 ppm) are tens to hundreds of times greater than in Martian meteorites and estimates for average silicate Mars. Enrichments occur in diverse rocks including minimally to extensively altered basaltic and alkalic sedimentary rocks. The magnitude of the enrichments indicates hydrothermal fluids, but Curiosity has not discovered unambiguous hydrothermal mineral assemblages. We propose that Zn- and Ge-rich hydrothermal deposits in the source region were dispersed in siliciclastic sediments during transport into the crater. Subsequent diagenetic mobilization and fractionation of Zn and Ge is evident in a Zn-rich sandstone (Windjana; Zn ~4000 ppm, Ge ~85 ppm) and associated Cl-rich vein (Stephen; Zn ~8000 ppm, Ge ~60 ppm), in Ge-rich veins (Garden City; Zn ~2200 ppm, Ge ~650 ppm), and in silica-rich alteration haloes leached of Zn (30–200 ppm). In moderately to highly altered silica-rich rocks, Ge remained immobile relative to leached elements (Fe, Mn, Mg, and Ca), consistent with fluid interaction at pH ≪ 7. In contrast, crosscutting Ge-rich veins at Garden City suggest aqueous mobilization as Ge-F complexes at pH

Volcanic glasses are rarely preserved in the rock record, and the quality of preservation generally declines with increasing age. Records preserved in ancient basaltic glasses therefore provide important links between processes operating in the distant past, and those that are active on the Earth today. Microbial colonization has been linked to the formation of characteristic structures in basaltic glass, including tubules and granule-filled tubules, which are thought to be produced by microbially mediated glass dissolution. Structures of similar occurrence and morphology but filled almost entirely with fine-grained titanite have been documented in some ancient metabasalts. It has been suggested that the ancient titanite-mineralized structures are mineralized equivalents of hollow tubules in modern glassy basaltic rocks, but a direct link has not been firmly established. We report the discovery of tubular bioalteration structures in fresh and minimally altered basaltic glasses of middle Jurassic (164 Ma) age from the Stonyford Volcanic Complex (SFVC), Coast Range Ophiolite, California. Tubular structures hosted in unaltered basaltic glass are typically hollow, whilst those in zones of zeolitic alteration are mineralized by titanite. Tubules are continuous across zeolite-glass interfaces, which mark an abrupt change from titanite-filled to hollow tubules, demonstrating that titanite growth occurs preferentially within pre-existing tubular structures. Titanite mineralization in the SFVC represent a link between tubular structures in modern basaltic glass and titanite-mineralized features of similar morphology and spatial distribution in ancient metabasalts. Our observations support a link between textures in modern glassy basaltic rocks and some of the oldest-known putative ichnofossils.

Hollow tubular structures in subaqueously-emplaced basaltic glass may represent trace fossils caused by microbially-mediated glass dissolution. Mineralized structures of similar morphology and spatial distribution in ancient, metamorphosed basaltic rocks have widely been interpreted as ichnofossils, possibly dating to similar to 3.5 Ga or greater. Doubts have been raised, however, regarding the biogenicity of the original hollow tubules and granules in basaltic glass. In particular, although elevated levels of biologically-important elements such as C, S, N, and P as well as organic compounds have been detected in association with these structures, a direct detection of unambiguously biogenic organic molecules has not been accomplished. In this study, we describe the direct detection of proteins associated with tubular textures in basaltic glass using synchrotron X-ray spectromicroscopy. Protein-rich organic matter is shown to be associated with the margins of hollow and partly-mineralized tubules. Furthermore, a variety of tubule-infilling secondary minerals, including Ti-rich oxide phases, were observed filling and preserving the microtextures, demonstrating a mechanism whereby cellular materials may be preserved through geologic time.

The ~15 Ma, 26 km diameter Ries impact structure in south-central Germany was one of the first terrestrial impact structures where evidence of impact-associated hydrothermal alteration was recognized. Previous studies suggested that pervasive, high-temperature hydrothermal activity was restricted to the area within the “inner ring” (i.e., the crater-fill impactite units). Here we present mineralogical evidence for localized hydrothermal activity in the ejecta beyond the crater rim in two previously unstudied settings: a pervasively altered lens of suevite ejecta directly overlying the Bunte Breccia at the Aumuhle quarry; and suevite ejecta at depth overlain by ~20 m of lacustrine sediments sampled by the Wornitzostheim 1965 drill core. A comprehensive set of X-ray diffraction analyses indicates five distinct alteration regimes (1) surficial ambient weathering characterized by smectite and a minor illitic component; (2) locally restricted hydrothermal activity characterized by an illitic component and minor smectite; (3) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and calcite; (4) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, calcite, zeolites, and clinochlore; and (5) pervasive hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and minor clinochlore. These data spatially extend the Ries postimpact hydrothermal system suggesting a much more extensive, complex, and dynamic system than previously thought. Constraining the mineralogical alteration regimes at the Ries impact structure may also further our understanding of impact-associated phyllosilicate formation on Mars with implications for climate models and habitability.

Our understanding of the impact cratering process continues to evolve and, even at well-known and well-studied structures, there is still much to be learned. Here, we present the results of a study on impact-generated melt phases within ejecta at Barringer Crater, Arizona, one of the first impact craters on Earth to be recognized and arguably the most famous. We report on previously unknown impact melt-bearing breccias that contain dispersed fragments of the projectile as well as impact glasses that contain a high proportion of projectile material – higher than any other glasses previously reported from this site. These glasses are distinctly different from so-called “melt beads” that are found as a lag deposit on the present-day erosion surface and that we also study. It is proposed that the melts in these impact breccias were derived from a more constrained sub-region of the melt zone that was very shallow and that also had a larger projectile contribution. In addition to low- and high-Fe melt beads documented previously, we document Ca–Mg-rich glasses and calcite globules within silicate glass that provide definitive evidence that carbonates underwent melting during the formation of Barringer Crater. We propose that the melting of dolomite produces Ca–Mg-rich melts from which calcite is the dominant liquidus phase. This explains the perhaps surprising finding that despite dolomite being the dominant rock type at many impact sites, including Barringer Crater, calcite is the dominant melt product. When taken together with our estimate for the amount of impact melt products dispersed on, and just below, the present-day erosional surface, it is clear that the amount of melt produced at Barringer Crater is higher than previously estimated and is more consistent with recent numerical modeling studies. This work adds to the growing recognition that sedimentary rocks melt during hypervelocity impact and do not just decompose and/or devolatilize as was previously thought. This has implications for understanding the processes and products of impacts into sedimentary rocks and for estimating the amount of climatically active gases released by impact events.

We investigate an outcrop of ∼187 Ma lacustrine pillow basalts of the Talcott Formation exposed in Meriden, Connecticut, USA, focusing on coordinated analyses of one pillow lava to characterize the aqueous history of these basalts in the Hartford Basin. This work uses a suite of multidisciplinary measurements, including hyperspectral imaging, other spectroscopic techniques, and chemical and mineralogical analyses, from the microscopic scale up to the scale of an outcrop. The phases identified in the sample are albite, large iron oxides, and titanite throughout; calcite in vesicles; calcic clinopyroxene, aegirine, and Fe/Mg-bearing clay in the rind; and fine-grained hematite and pyroxenes in the interior. Using imaging spectroscopy, the chemistry and mineralogy results extend to the hand sample and larger outcrop. From all of the analyses, we suggest that the pillow basalts were altered initially after emplacement, either by heated lake water or magmatic fluids, at temperatures of at least 400–600 °C, and the calcic clinopyroxenes and aegirine identified in the rind are a preserved record of that alteration. As the hydrothermal system cooled to slightly lower temperatures, clays formed in the rind, and, during this alteration, the sample oxidized to form hematite in the matrix of the interior and Fe 3+ in the pyroxenes in the rind. During the waning stages of the hydrothermal system, calcite precipitated in vesicles within the rind. Later, diagenetic processes albitized the sample, with albite replacing plagioclase, lining vesicles, and accreting onto the exterior of the sample. This albitization or Na-metasomatism occurred when the lake within the Hartford Basin evaporated during a drier past climatic era, resulting in Na-rich brines. As Ca-rich plagioclase altered to albite, Ca was released into solution, eventually precipitating as calcite in previously-unfilled vesicles, dominantly in the interior of the pillow. Coordinated analyses of this sample permit identification of the alteration phases and help synthesize the aqueous history of pillow lavas of the Talcott Formation. These results are also relevant to Mars, where volcanically-resurfaced open basin lakes have been found, and this Hartford Basin outcrop may be a valuable analog for any potential volcano–lacustrine interactions. The results can also help to inform the utility and optimization of potentially complementary, synergistic, and uniquely-suited techniques for characterization of hydrothermally-altered terrains.

Ore minerals of niobium and tantalum are typically associated with pegmatites and rare metal granites; these include columbite, tantalite, wodginite, titanowodginite, microlite and pyrochlore. Solubility and crystallization mechanisms for columbite-(Mn) and tantalite-(Mn) have been extensively studied in haplogranitic melts, with little research into other ore minerals. In this study the solubilities of wodginite, titanowodginite, microlite and pyrochlore are compared to those for columbite-(Mn) and tantalite-(Mn) in a flux-rich haplogranitic melt of alumina saturation index (ASI) 1.0 (ASILi of 0.83) at 700–850 °C and 200 MPa. The effect of melt composition on the solubilities of wodginite, titanowodginite, and microlite compared to tantalite-(Mn) is also investigated in highly fluxed haplogranitic melts of ASI 1.0, 1.10, and 1.24 (ASILi of 0.83, 0.90, 1.02), at 700 °C and 800 °C and 200 MPa. The log solubility product (logKsp) at 750 °C and melt ASI of 1.0 is highest for tantalite-(Mn) (−2.32 mol2/kg2) followed by columbite-(Mn) (−2.68 mol2/kg2), and pyrochlore (−3.71 mol3/kg3) titanowodginite (−3.73 mol3/kg3), wodginite (−3.77 mol3/kg3), and microlite (−3.78 mol3/kg3), the latter four of which are almost identical within error. However, solubility can also be expressed as a mineral-melt partition coefficient, with higher partition coefficients reflecting lower solubilities. The tantalum mineral-melt partition coefficients of wodginite (27.0), titanowodginite (30.2), and tantalite-(Mn) (29.6) are identical within error; microlite is higher (80.3, reflected by lower concentrations of tantalum in the melt for stoichiometric saturation) because it contains a major melt cation, sodium. The niobium mineral-melt partition coefficient for columbite-(Mn) (66.1) is higher than for pyrochlore (50.1). Wodginite, titanowodginite, pyrochlore, columbite-(Mn) and tantalite-(Mn) have similar temperature and melt composition dependences, but conversely, microlite solubility increases with ASI. As all studied minerals have been shown to have similar relative solubilities at stoichiometric saturation, it can be concluded that, in general, the presence of bivalent (Ca, Mn, Fe) and some tetravalent cations (Sn, Ti) control which tantalum and niobium phases crystallize in rare metal deposits.

Guyanaite, naturally occurring β-CrOOH, has been identified in a xenolith of Cr-rich omphacitite from the Moses Rock diatreme in the Navajo Volcanic Field of the southwestern United States. It occurs as the dominant phase in small clusters of accessory minerals, intergrown with kosmochlor-rich omphacite, zincian chromite, eskolaite, and carmichaelite. The assemblage is interpreted as the result of metasomatism of chromite-bearing serpentinite by slab-derived fluids during subduction of the Farallon Plate in Laramide time. At the time of entrainment of the xenolith, the rock was undergoing prograde metamorphism, with guyanaite dehydrating to eskolaite plus water. This reaction, and the coeval dehydration of the inferred accompanying host serpentinites (which would have been much more volumetrically significant), provided water for hydration of the subcontinental upper mantle, contributing to uplift of the Colorado Plateau. Recognition of guyanaite as a component of a subducted slab supports recent proposals, based on laboratory experiments, that high-pressure polymorphs of other common crustal oxy-hydroxide minerals such as boehmite and goethite (i.e., high-pressure δ-AlOOH and ɛ-FeOOH) can also transport and store water in the mantle.

It has long been suggested that hydrothermal systems might have provided habitats for the origin and evolution of early life on Earth, and possibly other planets such as Mars. In this contribution we show that most impact events that result in the formation of complex impact craters (i.e., >2–4 and >5–10 km diameter on Earth and Mars, respectively) are potentially capable of generating a hydrothermal system. Consideration of the impact cratering record on Earth suggests that the presence of an impact crater lake is critical for determining the longevity and size of the hydrothermal system. We show that there are six main locations within and around impact craters on Earth where impact-generated hydrothermal deposits can form: (1) crater-fill impact melt rocks and melt-bearing breccias; (2) interior of central uplifts; (3) outer margin of central uplifts; (4) impact ejecta deposits; (5) crater rim region; and (6) post-impact crater lake sediments. We suggest that these six locations are applicable to Mars as well. Evidence for impact-generated hydrothermal alteration ranges from discrete vugs and veins to pervasive alteration depending on the setting and nature of the system. A variety of hydrothermal minerals have been documented in terrestrial impact structures and these can be grouped into three broad categories: (1) hydrothermally-altered target-rock assemblages; (2) primary hydrothermal minerals precipitated from solutions; and (3) secondary assemblages formed by the alteration of primary hydrothermal minerals. Target lithology and the origin of the hydrothermal fluids strongly influences the hydrothermal mineral assemblages formed in these post-impact hydrothermal systems. There is a growing body of evidence for impact-generated hydrothermal activity on Mars; although further detailed studies using high-resolution imagery and multispectral information are required. Such studies have only been done in detail for a handful of martian craters. The best example so far is from Toro Crater (Marzo, G.A., Davila, A.F., Tornabene, L.L., Dohm, J.M., Fairen, A.G., Gross, C., Kneissl, T., Bishop, J.L., Roush, T.L., Mckay, C.P. [2010]. Icarus 208, 667–683). We also present new evidence for impact-generated hydrothermal deposits within an unnamed ∼32-km diameter crater ∼350 km away from Toro and within the larger Holden Crater. Synthesizing observations of impact craters on Earth and Mars, we suggest that if there was life on Mars early in its history, then hydrothermal deposits associated with impact craters may provide the best, and most numerous, opportunities for finding preserved evidence for life on Mars. Moreover, hydrothermally altered and precipitated rocks can provide nutrients and habitats for life long after hydrothermal activity has ceased.

Dioctahedral clays from an active continental geothermal system have been studied to assess their usefulness as proxies of paleo-hydrological and thermal conditions in the subsurface. Drill cuttings from Well WK244 in the Te Mihi area of the Wairakei Geothermal Field, New Zealand, were analyzed to determine the mineralogical, morphological, and isotopic characteristics of hydrothermal clays in these samples. Mixed-layer illite-dioctahedral smectite (I-S) and R0 chlorite-trioctahedral smectite are the main clay minerals, with I-S clays varying downward from R1 to R3 ordering and 50 to >90% illite over 160 m. The proportion of illite in I-S correlates positively with downhole temperature (r = 0.98) and I-S morphology changes from high aspect ratio ribbons, laths, and hairy fibers to pseudo-hexagonal plates with depth. Swelling clay percentages determined using the methylene blue method show a strong positive correlation with %S in I-S (r = 0.91), validating use of methylene blue as a rapid field tool for characterizing the smectite to illite transition in this active geothermal environment. The oxygen isotopic composition of I-S (dd18OI-S) decreases systematically with depth, and mostly reflects a progressive increase in subsurface temperature during clay formation. Estimates of water/rock ratios calculated using δ18OI-S values display stratigraphic variability that corresponds to variations in permeability. Oxygen isotopic measurements of I-S are a useful tool for understanding reservoir and permeability evolution in such geothermal systems and their related fossil analogs.

The Wood Lake meteorite was found in the Muskoka region of Ontario in July 2003. We examine the mineralogy, physical properties, shock, and weathering state of this recently reported Canadian meteorite. Bulk physical properties for Wood Lake (bulk density 3.57 ± 0.10 g/cm3, grain density 3.64 ± 0.01 g/cm3, and magnetic susceptibility log χ = 5.17) are typical of slightly weathered H chondrite falls and consistent with visual observations of its observed low weathering state (W1). Reconnaissance X-ray micro computed tomography of a Wood Lake fragment yields a similar bulk density (3.56 g/cm3) and allows for a three-dimensional description of the meteorite. Petrographic and electron probe microanalysis examination of the Wood Lake meteorite reveal sharp definition of chondrule margins, occasional mesostasis chondrule glass, only minor development of recrystallized matrix feldspar, and little variation in silicate chemical compositions, indicating Wood Lake to be an H4 ordinary chondrite. Mineral chemistry for Wood Lake olivine (Fa18.6 ± 0.7, n = 26) and low-Ca pyroxene (Fs17.5 ± 2.6, n = 16) agrees well with H chondrite averages for these minerals. The bulk of the stone has undergone a low to moderate level of shock (S3), as indicated in thin section by undulose optical extinction and the presence of planar dislocations in olivine and pyroxene grains. Moderate distortion of olivine crystal structures observed using in situ micro X-ray diffraction quantifies the shock deformation as a full width half maximum (FWHMχ) of 3.38° ± 1.13° (16 reflections from seven olivine grains), consistent with shock stage S3 ordinary chondrites. Wood Lake is confirmed as a new Canadian meteorite find that likely arrived on Earth not long before it was recovered.

Recent observations of carbonate minerals in ancient Martian rocks have been interpreted as evidence for the former presence of circumneutral solutions optimal for carbonate precipitation. Sampling from surface and subsurface regions of the low-pH system of Río Tinto has shown, unexpectedly, that carbonates can form under diverse macroscopic physicochemical conditions ranging from very low to neutral pH (1.5-7.0). A multi-technique approach demonstrates that carbonate minerals are closely associated with microbial activity. Carbonates occur in the form of micron-size carbonate precipitates under bacterial biofilms, mineralization of subsurface colonies, and possible biogenic microstructures including globules, platelets and dumbbell morphologies. We propose that carbonate precipitation in the low-pH environment of Río Tinto is a process enabled by microbially-mediated neutralization driven by the reduction of ferric iron coupled to the oxidation of biomolecules in microbially-maintained circumneutral oases, where the local pH (at the scale of cells or cell colonies) can be much different than in the macroscopic environment. Acidic conditions were likely predominant in vast regions of Mars over the last four billion years of planetary evolution. Ancient Martian microbial life inhabiting low-pH environments could have precipitated carbonates similar to those observed at Río Tinto. Preservation of carbonates at Río Tinto over geologically significant timescales suggests that similarly-formed carbonate minerals could also be preserved on Mars. Such carbonates could soon be observed by the Mars Science Laboratory, and by future missions to the red planet.

– Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94204, an enstatite achondrite, is a coarse-grained, highly recrystallized, chondrule-free and unbrecciated rock dominated (about 70 vol%) by anhedral, equigranular crystals of orthoenstatite of nearly endmember composition (Fs0.1–0.4, Wo0.3–0.4) with interstitial plagioclase, kamacite, and troilite. Abundance of approximately 120° triple junctions and the close association of metal–sulfide and plagioclase-rich melts indicate that QUE 94204 has undergone limited partial melting with inefficient melt extraction. Mineral chemistry indicates a high degree of thermal metamorphism. Kamacite in QUE 94204 contains between 2.09 and 2.55 wt% Si, similar to highly metamorphosed EL chondrites. Plagioclase has between 4.31 and 6.66 wt% CaO, higher than other E chondrites but closer in composition to plagioclase from metamorphosed EL chondrites. QUE 94204 troilite contains up to 2.55 wt% Ti, consistent with extensive thermal metamorphism of an E chondrite-like precursor. Results presented in this study indicate that QUE 94204 is the result of low degree, (about 5–20 vol%, probably toward the lower end of this range) partial melting of an E chondrite protolith. Textural and chemical evidence suggests that during the metamorphism of QUE 94204, melts formed first at the Fe,Ni-FeS cotectic near approximately 900 °C, followed by plagioclase-pyroxene silicate partial melts near approximately 1100 °C. Neither the Fe,Ni-FeS nor the plagioclase-pyroxene melts were efficiently segregated or extracted. QUE 94204 belongs to a grouplet of similar “primitive enstatite achondrites” that are analogous to the acapulcoites-lodranites, but that have resulted from the partial melting of an E chondrite-like protolith.

Meteorite impacts are among the very few processes common to all planetary bodies with solid surfaces. Among the effects of impact on water-bearing targets is the formation of post-impact hydrothermal systems and associated mineral deposits. The Haughton impact structure (Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, 75.2 °N, 89.5 °W) hosts a variety of hydrothermal mineral deposits that preserve assemblages of primary hydrothermal minerals commonly associated with secondary oxidative/hydrous weathering products. Hydrothermal mineral deposits at Haughton include intra-breccia calcite-marcasite vugs, small intra-breccia calcite or quartz vugs, intra-breccia gypsum megacryst vugs, hydrothermal pipe structures and associated surface "gossans," banded Fe-oxyhydroxide deposits, and calcite and quartz veins and coatings in shattered target rocks. Of particular importance are sulfide-rich deposits and their associated assemblage of weathering products. Hydrothermal mineral assemblages were characterized structurally, texturally, and geochemically with X-ray diffraction, micro X-ray diffraction, optical and electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Primary sulfides (marcasite and pyrite) are commonly associated with alteration minerals, including jarosite (K,Na,H(3)O)Fe(3)(SO(4))(2)(OH)(6), rozenite FeSO(4)·4(H(2)O), copiapite (Fe,Mg)Fe(4)(SO(4))(6)(OH)(2)·20(H(2)O), fibroferrite Fe(SO(4))(OH)·5(H(2)O), melanterite FeSO(4)·7(H(2)O), szomolnokite FeSO(4)·H(2)O, goethite α-FeO(OH), lepidocrocite γ-FeO(OH) and ferrihydrite Fe(2)O(3)·0.5(H(2)O). These alteration assemblages are consistent with geochemical conditions that were locally very different from the predominantly circumneutral, carbonate-buffered environment at Haughton. Mineral assemblages associated with primary hydrothermal activity, and the weathering products of such deposits, provide constraints on possible microbial activity in the post-impact environment. The initial period of active hydrothermal circulation produced primary mineral assemblages, including Fe sulfides, and was succeeded by a period dominated by oxidation and low-temperature hydration of primary minerals by surface waters. Active hydrothermal circulation can enable the rapid delivery of nutrients to microbes. Nutrient availability following the cessation of hydrothermal circulation is likely more restricted; therefore, the biological importance of chemical energy from hydrothermal mineral deposits increases with time. Weathering of primary hydrothermal deposits and dissolution and reprecipitation of mobile weathering products also create many potential habitats for endolithic microbes. They also provide a mechanism that may preserve biological materials, potentially over geological timescales.

Glassy volcanic rocks and their metamorphosed equivalents are a recently realized setting in the search for traces of early life on Earth, as revealed by ichnofossils. Numerous authors have demonstrated that the record of microbial colonization of submarine basaltic glass extends to at least 3.5 Ga. Microbes rapidly colonize the glassy surfaces along fractures and cracks exposed to water, producing characteristic granular and tubular bioalteration textures. We present results of a mineralogical study of the materials mineralizing bioalteration structures in oceanic crust samples from the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), and subaqueously emplaced, formerly glassy, basaltic rocks from the Abitibi greenstone belt (AGB). Previously reported Ca-and Ti-rich material in the OJP tubules was determined to be very fine-grained crystalline titanite (CaTiSiO 5 ) by micro X-ray diffraction (μXRD). Formerly glassy pillow lavas and interpillow hyaloclastites in AGB samples contain tubular and granular structures that also have been preserved by titanite mineralization, as confirmed by μXRD. Titanite mineralization associated with bioalteration in the OJP samples strongly suggests that mineralization of these trace fossils occurred penecontemporaneously with bioalteration. Early precipitation of titanite within the alteration structures enables their preservation in the geological record, potentially for billions of years in the absence of penetrative deformation. Mineralogical identification of titanite by in situ non-destructive μXRD has provided essential phase information, which is complementary to other microscopic and microanalytical data.

The Tagish Lake meteorite, an ungrouped C2 chondrite that is related to CI and CM chondrites, is a heterogeneous accretionary breccia with several distinct lithologies that, in bulk, are thought to represent the first known sample of a primitive carbonaceous D-type asteroid. Textural and chemical zoning of clasts and matrix have been little studied and promise additional insight into early solar system processes in both the solar nebula and on the Tagish Lake parent asteroid. We have examined an intact 2.9 g fragment and two polished thin sections from the spring 2000 (non-pristine) Tagish Lake collection to ascertain the major mineralogy and textures of notable features such as chondrules, amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs), inclusions, clasts, matrix, and fusion crust. We designed three stages of analysis for this friable meteorite: an initial, non-destructive in situ reconnaissance by μXRD to document meteorite mineralogy and textures and to identify features of interest, followed by spatially correlated μXRD, SEM-EDX and colour SEM-CL analysis of polished thin sections to fully understand mineralogy and the record of texture development, and finally higher resolution SEM-BSE mapping to document smaller scale relationships. Our analyses reveal several previously unreported or poorly characterized features: (1) distinctive colour cathodoluminescence (CL) zoning in relict CAI spinel, in chondrule and AOA forsterite, and in calcite nodules occurring throughout the Tagish Lake matrix. Forsterite frequently shows CL colour and intensity zonation that does not correspond with major or minor element differences resolvable with EPMA, indicating a trace element and/or structural CL-activation mechanism for the zonation that is likely of secondary origin; (2) an irregular inclusion dominated by magnesioaluminate spinel, dolomite, and phyllosilicates with traces of a Ca, Ti oxide phase (likely perovskite) interpreted to be a relict CAI; (3) variable preservation of mesostasis glass in porphyritic olivine chondrules. We anticipate that our multi-technique methodology, particularly non-destructive μXRD, can be successfully applied to other rare and friable materials such as the pristine Tagish Lake fragments.

Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-17 17:10:11.078

Large (> 100 km) meteorite impact cratering events play important roles in surface and biosphere evolution, however, their potential for widespread ductile modification of the lithosphere has been difficult to assess, due partly to our inability to isotopically age-correlate deep mineral fabrics with surface records. We have integrated benchmark U–Pb zircon dating methods (ID-TIMS, SHRIMP) with new microstructural techniques (EBSD, µXRD) to demonstrate that crystal–plastic deformation can cause rapid out-diffusion of radiogenic Pb and accompanying trace element alteration in crystalline zircon. We have used this phenomenon to directly date fabric in Archean zircons and xenoliths of the lower crust of South Africa at 2023 ± 15 million years, coeval with the 2020 ± 3 million year old Vredefort cratering event at surface, with extent ≥ 20,000 km 2 . Our findings indicate that regional exogenic fabrics, similar to high-temperature tectonic fabrics, exist in ancient crust. Moreover, our results establish that crystal-plastic deformation in the lithosphere can now be directly dated and linked to planetary evolution by zircon U–Pb strain chronometry.

Shock metamorphism, caused by hypervelocity impact, is a poorly understood process in feldspar due to the complexity of the crystal structure, the relative ease of weathering, and chemical variations, making optical studies of shocked feldspars challenging. Understanding shock metamorphism in feldspars, and plagioclase in particular, is vital for understanding the history of Earth's moon, Mars, and many other planetary bodies. We present here a comprehensive study of shock effects in andesine and labradorite from the Mistastin Lake impact structure, Labrador, Canada. Samples from a range of different settings were studied, from in situ central uplift materials to clasts from various breccias and impact melt rocks. Evidence of shock metamorphism includes undulose extinction, offset twins, kinked twins, alternate twin deformation, and partial to complete transformation to diaplectic plagioclase glass. In some cases, isotropization of alternating twin lamellae was observed. Planar deformation features (PDFs) are notably absent in the plagioclase, even when present in neighboring quartz grains. It is notable that various microlites, twin planes, and compositionally different lamellae could easily be mistaken for PDFs and so care must be taken. A pseudomorphous zeolite phase (levyne-Ca) was identified as a replacement mineral of diaplectic feldspar glass in some samples, which could, in some instances, also be potentially mistaken for PDFs. We suggest that the lack of PDFs in plagioclase could be due to a combination of structural controls relating to the crystal structure of different feldspars and/or the presence of existing planes of weakness in the form of twin and cleavage planes.