^1,2Jordi Llorca,^3,4Marc Campeny,⁵Neus Ibáñez,⁶David Allepuz,⁷Josep Maria Camarasa,⁸Josep Aurell‐Garrido
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13455]

¹Institute of Energy Technologies, Department of Chemical Engineering, Barcelona, Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, EEBE, Eduard Maristany 10‐14, E‐08019 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
²Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Carrer del Carme 47, E‐08001 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
³Departament de Mineralogia, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Passeig Picasso s/n, E‐08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
⁴Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès s/n, E‐08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
⁵Botanic Institute of Barcelona, IBB, CSIC‐Ajuntament de Barcelona, Passeig del Migdia s/n, E‐08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
⁶Sant Julià de Vilatorta Observatory, E‐08514 Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Catalonia, Spain
⁷Seminari d’Història de la Ciència Joan Francesc Bahí. Fundació Carl Faust. Passeig Carles Faust, 9. E‐17300 Blanes, Catalonia, Spain
⁸Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, E‐08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

On Christmas Day 1704, at 17 h (UT), a meteorite fell in Terrassa (about 25 km NW of Barcelona). The meteorite fall was seen and heard by many people over an area of several hundred kilometers and it was recorded in several historical sources. In fact, it was interpreted as a divine sign and used for propaganda purposes during the War of the Spanish Succession. Although it was believed that meteorite fragments were never preserved, here we discuss the recent discovery of two fragments (49.8 and 33.7 g) of the Barcelona meteorite in the Salvador Cabinet collection (Botanic Institute of Barcelona). They are very well preserved and partially covered by a fresh fusion crust, which suggests a prompt recovery, shortly after the fall. Analysis of the fragments has revealed that the Barcelona meteorite is an L6 ordinary chondrite. These fragments are among the oldest historical meteorites preserved in the world.

^1,2Masayuki Ikeda,^2,3,4Ryuji Tada
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 537, 116168 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116168]
¹Department of Geosciences, Graduate School of Science, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, 790-8577, Japan
²Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
³The Research Center for Earth System Science, Yunnan University, Chenggong District, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650500, China
⁴Institute for Geo-Cosmology, Chiba Institute of Technology, 2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
Copyright Elsevier

Astronomical solutions for planetary orbits beyond several tens of million years (Myr) ago have large uncertainties due to the chaotic nature of the Solar System, mainly Myr-scale cycles related with the Earth-Mars secular resonance. Our only accessible archive for unraveling the Earth’s orbital variations in the geologic past are sedimentological records, yet their reliability and uncertainties are still debated. Here, we describe Myr-scale orbital signals of early Mesozoic monsoon records from two different sedimentary settings (lake level records of the equatorial Pangea and biogenic silica burial flux of deep-sea Panthalassa), along with a marine carbon isotope compilation. Although most of the dominant multi-Myr cycles are not exactly of the same frequency, 1.8 Myr cycles during ∼216–210 Ma are detected from the two mutually-independent sedimentary settings, and differ from available astronomical solutions. This finding provides not only convincing evidence for the chaotic nature of the Solar System in the geological past, but also additional constraints on astronomical models. On the other hand, besides the orbital cycles, tectonic forcing and consequent climatic perturbations could also have affected the proxies on multi-Myr timescales during episodes of large igneous province emplacement, such as Siberian trap volcanism (252–245 Ma), Wrangellia (233–225 Ma), Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (202–200 Ma), and Karoo-Ferrar volcanism (184–180 Ma). If we can distinguish orbital signals from other effects, such as tectonic and volcanic processes, the multi-Myr cycles in geologic records have the potential to reconstruct the chaotic evolution of the Solar System.