^1,2,3Anhuai Lu et al. (>10)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, 9741-9746 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902473116]
¹Beijing Key Laboratory of Mineral Environmental Function, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
²The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
³The Key Laboratory of Metallogenic Prediction of Nonferrous Metals and Geological Environment Monitoring, School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, 410083 Changsha, People’s Republic of China

Sunlight drives photosynthesis and associated biological processes, and also influences inorganic processes that shape Earth’s climate and geochemistry. Bacterial solar-to-chemical energy conversion on this planet evolved to use an intricate intracellular process of phototrophy. However, a natural nonbiological counterpart to phototrophy has yet to be recognized. In this work, we reveal the inherent “phototrophic-like” behavior of vast expanses of natural rock/soil surfaces from deserts, red soils, and karst environments, all of which can drive photon-to-electron conversions. Using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Fe and Mn (oxyhydr)oxide-rich coatings were found in rock varnishes, as were Fe (oxyhydr)oxides on red soil surfaces and minute amounts of Mn oxides on karst rock surfaces. By directly fabricating a photoelectric detection device on the thin section of a rock varnish sample, we have recorded an in situ photocurrent micromapping of the coatings, which behave as highly sensitive and stable photoelectric systems. Additional measurements of red soil and powder separated from the outermost surface of karst rocks yielded photocurrents that are also sensitive to irradiation. The prominent solar-responsive capability of the phototrophic-like rocks/soils is ascribed to the semiconducting Fe- and Mn (oxyhydr)oxide-mineral coatings. The native semiconducting Fe/Mn-rich coatings may play a role similar, in part, to photosynthetic systems and thus provide a distinctive driving force for redox (bio)geochemistry on Earth’s surfaces.

^1,2Junyue Tang,¹ Shengyuan Jiang,¹Qiquan Quan,¹Jieneng Liang,¹Yi Shen,¹Ye Tian,³Fengpei Yuan
Planetary and Space Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2019.05.005]
¹State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, No.92, Xidazhi St., Nangang Dist, Harbin, 150001, PR China
²Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
³Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 124 Perkins Hall, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

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¹Didier Gourier et al. (>10)
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.05.009]
¹Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie de Paris (IRCP), F-75005 Paris, France
Copyright Elsevier

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis of carbonaceous, volcanic, tidal sediments from the 3.33 Ga-old Josefsdal Chert (Kromberg Formation, Barberton Greenstone Belt), documents the presence of two types of insoluble organic matter (IOM): (1) IOM similar to that previously found in Archean cherts from numerous other sedimentary rocks in the world and of purported biogenic origin; (2) anomalous IOM localized in a 2 mm-thick sedimentary horizon. Detailed analysis by continuous-wave-EPR and pulse-EPR reveals that IOM in this layer is similar to the insoluble component of the hydrogenated organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites, suggesting that this narrow sedimentary horizon has preserved organic matter of extraterrestrial origin. This conclusion is supported by the presence in this thin layer of another anomalous EPR signal at g = 3 attributed to Ni-Cr-Al ferrite spinel nanoparticles, which are known to form during atmospheric entry of cosmic objects. From this EPR analysis, it was deduced that the anomalous sedimentary layer originates from deposition, in a nearshore environment, of a cloud of tiny dust particles originating from a flux of micrometeorites falling through the oxygen-poor Archean atmosphere.

^1,2,3Wang, Y.,^2,3Hsu, W.,⁴Guan, Y.
Scientific Reports 9, 5727 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42224-8]
¹Key Laboratory of Planetary Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210034, China
²The State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Science/Space Science Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, China
³CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Purple Mountain Observatory, Nanjing, 210034, China
⁴Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States

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^1,2Jaramillo, E.A.,³Royle, S.H.,^4,5Claire, M.W.,^1,3Kounaves, S.P.,³Sephton, M.A.
Geophysical Research Letters 46, 3090-3098 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1029/2018GL081335]
¹Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
²Now at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
³Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
⁴School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Exoplanet Science, University of St. Andrews, Saint Andrews, United Kingdom
⁵Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States

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¹N. M. Curran,^1,2K. H. Joy,³J. F. Snape,¹J. F. Pernet‐Fisher,¹J. D. Gilmour,⁴A. A. Nemchin,³M. J. Whitehouse,¹R. Burgess
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13295]

¹School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
²NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771 USA
³Department of Geosciences, Swedish Museum of Natural History, SE‐104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
⁴Department of Applied Geology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, 6845 Australia
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for ~835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of ~30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al₂O₃ 15.9 wt%; FeO 12.3 wt%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as ~4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at ~3850 Ma.

¹Marcos Alberto Rodrigues Vasconcelos,¹Fernanda Farias Rocha,²Alvaro Penteado Crósta,^3,4Kai Wünnemann,³Nicole Güldemeister,²Emilson Pereira Leite,³Júlio César Ferreira,^3,5Wolf Uwe Reimold
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13298]
¹Department of Geophysics, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
²Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, R. Carlos Gomes 250, 13083‐855 Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
³Museum für Naturkunde—Leibniz‐Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
⁴Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
⁵Laboratory of Geochronology, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de Brasília, 10910‐900 Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

We present the outcomes of simulations of the formation of the Vista Alegre impact structure, Paraná Basin, Brazil. The target comprised a thick sequence of volcanic rocks of predominantly basaltic composition of the Serra Geral Formation that had been deposited on top of sedimentary rocks (sandstones) of the Pirambóia/Botucatu formations. The cratering process was modeled using the iSALE shock physics code. Our best‐fit model suggests that (1) the crater was originally ~10 km in size; (2) it was formed in ~115 s by a stony projectile of 1000 m in diameter, for an assumed impact velocity of 12 km s−1; (3) target rocks underwent a peak pressure of ~20 GPa, in agreement with previous petrographic investigations of shock deformation. Furthermore, the model points out that the sedimentary strata below the layer of volcanic rocks were raised by ~650 meters at the central part of the crater, which resulted in the current partial exposure of the sandstones at the surface. The outcomes of our modeling suggest that parameters like cohesion and strength of the target rocks, after shock compression, determined the final morphology of the crater, especially the absence of a topographically prominent central peak. Finally, the results of the numerical modeling are roughly in agreement with gravity data over the structure, in particular with respect to the presence of the uplifted sedimentary strata, which are responsible for a low gravity signature at the center of the structure.

^1,2,3Ji, J.,^1,2Hu, S.,^1,2Lin, Y.,⁴Zhou, Q.,⁴Xiao, Y.
Chinese Science Bulletin (Kexue Tongbao) 64, 579-587 Link to Article [DOI: 10.1360/N972018-00972]
¹Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
²Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
³University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
⁴National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

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¹Richard J. Lyons,²Timothy J. Bowling,¹Fred J. Ciesla,³Thomas M. Davison,³Gareth S. Collins
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13301]
¹Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60637 USA
²Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 300, Boulder, Colorado, 80302 USA
³Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Iron meteorites provide a record of the thermal evolution of their parent bodies, with cooling rates inferred from the structures observed in the Widmanstätten pattern. Traditional planetesimal thermal models suggest that meteorite samples derived from the same iron core would have identical cooling rates, possibly providing constraints on the sizes and structures of their parent bodies. However, some meteorite groups exhibit a range of cooling rates or point to uncomfortably small parent bodies whose survival is difficult to reconcile with dynamical models. Together, these suggest that some meteorites are indicating a more complicated origin. To date, thermal models have largely ignored the effects that impacts would have on the thermal evolution of the iron meteorite parent bodies. Here we report numerical simulations investigating the effects that impacts at different times have on cooling rates of cores of differentiated planetesimals. We find that impacts that occur when the core is near or above its solidus, but the mantle has largely crystallized can expose iron near the surface of the body, leading to rapid and nonuniform cooling. The time period when a planetesimal can be affected in this way can range between 20 and 70 Myr after formation for a typical 100 km radius planetesimal. Collisions during this time would have been common, and thus played an important role in shaping the properties of iron meteorites.

^1,2Marco Langbroek et al. (>10)
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13297]
¹Department of Research & Education, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands
²Dutch Meteor Society, Leiden, the Netherlands
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

A carbonaceous chondrite was recovered immediately after the fall near the village of Diepenveen in the Netherlands on October 27, 1873, but came to light only in 2012. Analysis of sodium and poly‐aromatic hydrocarbon content suggests little contamination from handling. Diepenveen is a regolith breccia with an overall petrology consistent with a CM classification. Unlike most other CM chondrites, the bulk oxygen isotopes are extremely ¹⁶O rich, apparently dominated by the signature of anhydrous minerals, distributed on a steep slope pointing to the domain of intrinsic CM water. A small subset plots closer to the normal CM regime, on a parallel line 2 ‰ lower in δ¹⁷O. Different lithologies in Diepenveen experienced varying levels of aqueous alteration processing, being less aqueously altered at places rather than more heated. The presence of an agglutinate grain and the properties of methanol‐soluble organic compounds point to active impact processing of some of the clasts. Diepenveen belongs to a CM clan with ~5 Ma CRE age, longer than most other CM chondrites, and has a relatively young K‐Ar resetting age of ~1.5 Ga. As a CM chondrite, Diepenveen may be representative of samples soon to be returned from the surface of asteroid (162173) Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft.