¹Steven J. Jaret,¹William R. Woerner,¹Brian L. Phillips,^1,2Lars Ehm,¹Hanna Nekvasil,^3,4Shawn P. Wright,¹Timothy D. Glotch
¹Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
²Photon Sciences Directorate, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY
³Department of Geosciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
⁴Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ

We present the results of a combined study of shocked labradorite from the Lonar Crater, India, using optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, high-energy X-ray total scattering experiments, and micro-Fourier transform infrared (micro-FTIR) spectroscopy. We show that maskelynite of shock class 2 is structurally more similar to fused glass than to crystalline plagioclase. However, there are slight but significant differences – preservation of original pre-impact igneous zoning, anisotropy at infrared wavelengths, X-ray anisotropy, and preservation of some intermediate range order – which are all consistent with a solid-state transformation from plagioclase to maskelynite.

Reference
Jaret SJ, Woerner WR, Phillips BL, Ehm L,Nekvasil H, Wright SP, Glotch TD (2015) Maskelynite Formation via Solid-State Transformation: Evidence of Infrared and X-Ray Anisotropy. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets (in Press)
Link to Article [10.1002/2014JE004764]

Published by arrangement with John Wiley&Sons