^1,2Jiří Mizera
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13912]
¹Nuclear Physics Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Řež 130, 250 68 Husinec-Řež, Czech Republic
²Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Czech Academy of Sciences, V Holešovičkách 41, 182 09 Praha 8, Czech Republic
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

The quest for the parent impact structure for Australasian tektites (AAT) has remained without solution for almost a century. The present paper doubts the plausibility of the recently proposed location of the impact site at the Bolaven volcanic field in Southern Laos by showing problems with most of the presented lines of evidence. The geochemical incompatibility of the AAT composition with a mixture of weathered basalts and Mesozoic sandstones that were proposed as source materials of AAT is demonstrated by a two-component mixing calculation for major element oxides and the Nd-Sr isotopic system. Deficiency of the basaltic component as a source of Ni, Co, Cr, and 10Be in AAT and inconsistency with trends observed for O and Pb isotopes are shown. The size of the putative crater, conclusiveness of a gravity anomaly identification, signs of complete crater burial by postimpact lava flows, and identification of proximal ejecta blanket are doubted. Remarks on the shortcomings of the current consensus location of an impact site for AAT in Indochina are presented.

Nazarovite, Ni12P5, a new terrestrial and meteoritic mineral structurally related to
nickelphosphide, Ni3P
^1,2Sergey N. Britvin,¹Mikhail N. Murashko,¹Maria G. Krzhizhanovskaya,¹Oleg S. Vereshchagin,³Yevgeny Vapnik,⁴Vladimir V. Shilovskikh,⁵Maksim S. Lozhkin,⁶Edita V. Obolonskaya
American Mineralogist 107, 1946-1951 Link to Article [http://www.minsocam.org/msa/ammin/toc/2022/Abstracts/AM107P1946.pdf]
¹Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab. 7/9, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
²Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersman Str. 14, 184200 Apatity, Russia
³Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
⁴Centre for Geo-Environmental Research and Modeling, St. Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya ul. 1, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
⁵Nanophotonics Resource Centre, St. Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya ul. 1, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
⁶The Mining Museum, Saint Petersburg Mining University, 2, 21st Line, 199106 St. Petersburg, Russia
Copyright: The Mineralogical Society of America

Nazarovite, Ni12P5, is a new natural phosphide discovered on Earth and in meteorites. Terrestrial
nazarovite originates from phosphide assemblages confined to pyrometamorphic suite of the Hatrurim
Formation (the Mottled Zone), the Dead Sea basin, Negev desert, Israel. Meteoritic nazarovite was
identified among Ni-rich phosphide precipitates extracted from the Marjalahti meteorite (main group
pallasite). Terrestrial mineral occurs as micrometer-sized lamella intergrown with transjordanite (Ni2P).
Meteoritic nazarovite forms chisel-like crystals up to 8 μm long. The mineral is tetragonal, space
group I4/m. The unit-cell parameters of terrestrial and meteoritic material, respectively: a 8.640(1)
and 8.6543(3), c 5.071(3), and 5.0665(2) Å, V 378.5(2), and 379.47(3) Å3, Z = 2. The crystal structure
of terrestrial nazarovite was solved and refined on the basis of X-ray single-crystal data (R1 = 0.0516),
whereas the structure of meteoritic mineral was refined by the Rietveld method using an X-ray powder
diffraction profile (RB = 0.22%). The mineral is structurally similar to phosphides of schreibersite–
nickelphosphide join, Fe3P-Ni3P. Chemical composition of nazarovite (terrestrial/meteoritic, electron
microprobe, wt%): Ni 81.87/78.59, Fe <0.2/4.10; Co <0.2/0.07, P 18.16/17.91, total 100.03/100.67, leading to the empirical formula Ni11.97P5.03 and (Ni11.43Fe0.63Co0.01)12.07P4.94, based on 17 atoms per for- mula unit. Nazarovite formation in nature, both on Earth and in meteorites, is related to the processes of Fe/Ni fractionation in solid state, at temperatures below 1100 °C.

¹Ioannis Baziotis,¹Stamatios Xydous¹Angeliki Papoutsa,²Jinping Hu,²Chi Ma,³Stephan Klemme,³Jasper Berndt,⁴Ludovic Ferrière,^5,6Razvan Caracas,²Paul D. Asimow
American Mineralogist 107, 1868-1977Link to Article [http://www.minsocam.org/msa/ammin/toc/2022/Abstracts/AM107P1868.pdf]
¹Agricultural University of Athens, Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Laboratory of Mineralogy and Geology, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece
²California Institute of Technology, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Pasadena, California 91125, U.S.A.
³Westfälische Wilhelms‑Univ. Münster, Institut für Mineralogie, Correnstrasse 24, 48149 Münster, Germany
⁴Natural History Museum, Burgring 7, A‑1010, Vienna, Austria
⁵CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon LGLTPE UMR5276, Centre Blaise Pascal,46 allée d’Italie Lyon 69364, France
⁶The Center for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
Copyright: The Mineralogical Society of America

Jadeite is frequently reported in shocked meteorites, displaying a variety of textures and grain sizes
that suggest formation by either solid‑state transformation or by crystallization from a melt. Some‑
times, jadeite has been identified solely on the basis of Raman spectra. Here we argue that additional
characterization is needed to confidently identify jadeite and distinguish it from related species. Based
on chemical and spectral analysis of three new occurrences, complemented by first-principles calcula‑
tions, we show that related pyroxenes in the chemical space (Na)M2(Al)M1(Si2)TO6–(Ca)M2(Al)M1(AlSi)
TO6–()M2(Si)M1(Si2)TO6 with up to 2.25 atoms Si per formula unit have spectral features similar to
jadeite. However, their distinct stability fields (if any) and synthesis pathways, considered together
with textural constraints, have different implications for precursor phases and estimates of impactor
size, encounter velocity, and crater diameter. A reassessment of reported jadeite occurrences casts a
new light on many previous conclusions about the shock histories preserved in particular meteorites

¹Y.Liu et al. (>10)
Science 377, 1513-1519 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1126/science.abo2756]
¹Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
Reprinted with permission of AAAS

The geological units on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars, are part of a wider regional stratigraphy of olivine-rich rocks, which extends well beyond the crater. We investigated the petrology of olivine and carbonate-bearing rocks of the Séítah formation in the floor of Jezero. Using multispectral images and x-ray fluorescence data, acquired by the Perseverance rover, we performed a petrographic analysis of the Bastide and Brac outcrops within this unit. We found that these outcrops are composed of igneous rock, moderately altered by aqueous fluid. The igneous rocks are mainly made of coarse-grained olivine, similar to some martian meteorites. We interpret them as an olivine cumulate, formed by settling and enrichment of olivine through multistage cooling of a thick magma body.

^1,2PAUL FROSSARD,¹CLAUDINE ISRAEL,^3,4AUDREY BOUVIER,¹MAUD BOYET
Science 377, 1527-1532 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1126/science.abq735]
¹Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, OPGC, Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
²Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
³Bayerisches Geoinstitut, Universität Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
⁴Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada.
Reprinted with permission from AAAS

The samarium-146 (146Sm)–neodymium-142 (142Nd) short-lived decay system (half-life of 103 million years) is a powerful tracer of the early mantle-crust evolution of planetary bodies. However, an increased 142Nd/144Nd in modern terrestrial rocks relative to chondrite meteorites has been proposed to be caused by nucleosynthetic anomalies, obscuring early Earth’s differentiation history. We use stepwise dissolution of primitive chondrites to quantify nucleosynthetic contributions on the composition of chondrites. After correction for nucleosynthetic anomalies, Earth and the silicate parts of differentiated planetesimals contain resolved excesses of 142Nd relative to chondrites. We conclude that only collisional erosion of primordial crusts can explain such compositions. This process associated with planetary accretion must have produced substantial loss of incompatible elements, including long-term heat-producing elements such as uranium, thorium, and potassium.

¹K.A.Farley et al. (>10)
Science 377, 6614 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1126/science.abo2]
¹Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Reprinted with permisson from AAAS

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, to investigate ancient lake and river deposits. We report observations of the crater floor, below the crater’s sedimentary delta, finding that the floor consists of igneous rocks altered by water. The lowest exposed unit, informally named Séítah, is a coarsely crystalline olivine-rich rock, which accumulated at the base of a magma body. Magnesium-iron carbonates along grain boundaries indicate reactions with carbon dioxide–rich water under water-poor conditions. Overlying Séítah is a unit informally named Máaz, which we interpret as lava flows or the chemical complement to Séítah in a layered igneous body. Voids in these rocks contain sulfates and perchlorates, likely introduced by later near-surface brine evaporation. Core samples of these rocks have been stored aboard Perseverance for potential return to Earth.

¹Michail Samouhos,¹Petros Tsakiridis,²Magued Iskander,¹Maria Taxiarchou,¹Konstantinos Betsis
Planetary and Space Science 212, 105414 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2021.105414]
¹School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Heroon Politechniou St, GR15780, Zografou, Athens, Greece
²Civil & Urban Engineering Department, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, 6 Metrotech Ctr, RH419, Brooklyn, NY11201, USA

We currently do not have a copyright agreement with this publisher and cannot display the abstract here

¹Jeffrey R.Johnson,²William M.Grundy,³Mark T.Lemmon,⁴W.Liang,⁵James F.BellIII,⁶A.G.Hayes,⁷R.G.Deen
Planetary and Space Science 222, 105563 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2022.105563]
¹Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
²Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
³Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
⁴Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ, USA
⁵Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
⁶Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
⁷Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA

We currently do not have a copyright agreement with this publisher and cannot display the abstract here

¹T. Michalik,¹K. Stephan,²E. A. Cloutis,¹K.-D. Matz,³R. Jaumann,⁴A. Raponi,¹K. A. Otto
The Planetary Science Journal 3, 182 Open Access link to Article [DOI https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac7be0]
¹Institute for Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center, DLR e.V., Rutherfordstr. 2, D-12489 Berlin, Germany; tanja.michalik@dlr.de
²Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada
³Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany
⁴Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Rome, Italy

We currently do not have a copyright agreement with this publisher and cannot display the abstract here

^1,2Tomoya Obase,¹Daisuke Nakashima
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115290]
¹Division of Earth and Planetary Materials Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
²Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810, Japan
Copyright Elsevier

Astronomical observations of solar-like stars and theoretical predictions have proposed a high long-term average solar wind flux in the past, such as more than ~10 times higher than the present-day value at ~3 Ga. Solar-gas-rich meteorites are lithified asteroidal regolith materials that had been exposed to solar wind in the past and some of which may record the ancient solar wind. To test the hypothesis of dense solar wind in the past Solar System, we quantified the past solar wind 36Ar particle fluxes based on the correlations between the solar and cosmogenic noble gas concentrations in individual solar-gas-rich meteorites. As a result, the past solar wind fluxes recorded in six solar-gas-rich meteorites were comparable to the present-day value except for the R chondrite PRE 95410, showing a few times higher solar wind flux. The howardite Kapoeta perhaps records the solar wind flux at some time between ~1 and ~ 2 Ga, suggesting that the solar wind flux in the past at least ~1 Ga had been similar to the present-day value. These results may indicate that the past solar wind flux had been lower than that proposed by the astronomical observations and the theoretical predictions. Otherwise, the six meteorites would have acquired recent solar wind when the solar wind flux had already been down to the present-day level.