Meteoritics & Planetary Science 1–26 (2014)
doi: 10.1111/maps.12385
Shock metamorphism and impact melting in small impact craters on Earth:
Evidence from Kamil crater, Egypt
Agnese FAZIO1*, Luigi FOLCO1, Massimo D’ORAZIO1, Maria Luce FREZZOTTI2,
and Carole CORDIER3,4
1
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universit
a di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’ambiente e del Territorio e di Scienze della Terra (DISAT), Sezione di Scienze Geologiche
Geotecnologie, Piazza della Scienza 4, 20126 Milano, Italy
3
Universite de Grenoble Alpes, ISTerre, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble CEDEX 9, France
4
CNRS, ISTerre, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble CEDEX 9, France
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: agnesefazio@dst.unipi.it
2
(Received 20 March 2014; revision accepted 15 August 2014)
Abstract–Kamil is a 45 m diameter impact crater identified in 2008 in southern Egypt. It
was generated by the hypervelocity impact of the Gebel Kamil iron meteorite on a
sedimentary target, namely layered sandstones with subhorizontal bedding. We have carried
out a petrographic study of samples from the crater wall and ejecta deposits collected
during our first geophysical campaign (February 2010) in order to investigate shock effects
recorded in these rocks. Ejecta samples reveal a wide range of shock features common in
quartz-rich target rocks. They have been divided into two categories, as a function of their
abundance at thin section scale: (1) pervasive shock features (the most abundant), including
fracturing, planar deformation features, and impact melt lapilli and bombs, and (2) localized
shock features (the least abundant) including high-pressure phases and localized impact
melting in the form of intergranular melt, melt veins, and melt films in shatter cones. In
particular, Kamil crater is the smallest impact crater where shatter cones, coesite, stishovite,
diamond, and melt veins have been reported. Based on experimental calibrations reported in
the literature, pervasive shock features suggest that the maximum shock pressure was
between 30 and 60 GPa. Using the planar impact approximation, we calculate a vertical
component of the impact velocity of at least 3.5 km s1. The wide range of shock features
and their freshness make Kamil a natural laboratory for studying impact cratering and
shock deformation processes in small impact structures.
of the local target rocks. After its discovery in 2008,
Kamil has been explored in 2010 by our first Italian–
Egyptian geophysical campaign (Folco et al. 2010, 2011;
D’Orazio et al. 2011; Urbini et al. 2012). During this
campaign a series of target rock samples representing
the crater wall and ejecta were collected with the aim of
investigating the shock metamorphism and impact
melting induced in the local rocks by the impact of the
small (5–10 t) Gebel Kamil Ni-rich ataxite (D’Orazio
et al. 2011). In this work, we present a detailed
description of the shock features found within these
samples. We will show that the target rocks from Kamil
preserve an astonishingly wide record of shock
conditions, and we will use petrographic observations
INTRODUCTION
Shock metamorphism and impact melting in
terrestrial rocks during small-scale meteorite impacts is
still not fully known. This is mainly due to the rarity of
very small impact craters on Earth (only 17 terrestrial
craters of 184 have diameters <300 m; Earth Impact
Database), and, more importantly, to the generally low
degree of preservation of very small craters. One
exception is Kamil crater (southern Egypt). This 45 m
diameter crater shows all its original features in an
almost pristine state of preservation due to its very
young age (most likely <5000 yr), the favorable climatic
conditions of the Sahara, and the mechanical strength
1
© The Meteoritical Society, 2014.
2
A. Fazio et al.
on these shock features to constrain peak shock
pressure and impact velocity of the iron meteorite
projectile. Because the target rocks of Kamil area are
dominantly siliciclastic sedimentary rocks, our data will
be useful for comparing the better known shock effects
on crystalline rocks (e.g., St€
offler and Langenhorst
1994) with those affecting sedimentary rocks, which are
characterized by highly variable porosity, type, and
amount of matrix; grain size; water content; fabric; and
mineralogical assemblage (e.g., Kowitz et al. 2013a,
2013b).
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
A detailed account of the geology and geophysics
of Kamil is given in Urbini et al. (2012). The Kamil
impact structure is situated in a rocky desert area
in the East Uweinat district of southern Egypt
(Fig. 1). It occurs in a simple geological context:
flat, rocky desert surface, and target rocks comprising
subhorizontally layered sandstones probably belonging
to the Cretaceous Gilf Kebir Formation. The Gilf
Kebir
Formation
unconformably
overlies
the
Precambrian Basement, with a peneplaned surface
marking a considerable stratigraphic gap. No rocks
from the basement were observed in the crater and
ejecta. The impact did not involve the crystalline
basement.
Kamil is a simple, approximately circular crater,
with a diameter of 45 2 m (Figs. 1 and 2a), a depth
of approximately 10 m, an upraised rim about
3 0.7 m above the pre-impact surface as modeled by
Urbini et al. (2012). In situ, uplifted sandstone strata
are observed along the upper part of the crater walls
(e.g., Fig. 2b). Tear faults separate sectors of the crater
wall with distinct inclinations of the upturned strata.
The lower part of the crater walls are covered by slump
debris (Fig. 2c). The bottom of the crater is occupied
by a breccia lens with a maximum thickness of
approximately 6 m. A wind-blown sand deposit covers
part of the northern crater wall and crater floor. The
overall stratigraphic sequence consists of pale (top) and
reddish brown (bottom; Fig. 2b), coarse to very-coarse,
gritty, and ferruginous quartzarenite. The topmost
layers are whitish, kaolinitic, and fine-grained.
The Kamil structure is characterized by a radial
pattern of bright ejecta (Fig. 1). Three nearly straight
major ejecta rays trend to the north (approximately
355°), southeast (approximately 130°), and southwest
(approximately 210°). The ray trending to the southeast
(Fig. 3a) is also the longest (approximately 300 m from
the crater rim) and the largest one in terms of volume
of ejected material, and gives rise to a positive
topography close to the crater rim. A nearly continuous
Fig. 1. Enhanced true color QuickBird satellite scene (22
October 2005; courtesy of Telespazio) of the Kamil area
(Egypt; see inset) showing the location of the studied samples.
ejecta blanket extends for approximately 50 m from the
crater rim. Overall, the bulk of the ejecta material is
preferentially concentrated between the two main ejecta
rays trending to the north and southwest. Within
approximately 50 m from the crater rim, ejecta consist
of pale and reddish target rocks (Figs. 3b and 3d) plus
impact melt lapilli and bombs (Fig. 3c). Farther away,
the pale target rocks dominate. The masses of the
ejected debris range from approximately 4 t to dust
(Fig. 3b; Urbini et al. 2012).
Thousands of shrapnel pieces up to 34 kg in mass,
formed through fragmentation upon hypervelocity
impact of the Gebel Kamil iron meteorite, were found
concentrated due southeast of the crater with a broad
concentration maximum at approximately 200 m from
the crater rim (D’Orazio et al. 2011).
With the exception of the eolian sand deposit that
covers part of the northern crater wall, the Kamil
structure is well preserved. This is evidenced—for
instance—by the lack of erosion features on the crater
rim, and the essentially pristine distribution of bright
ejecta and meteorite fragments (D’Orazio et al. 2011;
Urbini et al. 2012). The pristine state of preservation is
in agreement with the young age of the crater
(<5000 yr; Folco et al. 2011) estimated on the basis of
archeological evidence.
Due to the high depth-to-diameter ratio of the
transient cavity, Urbini et al. (2012) suggested that
Kamil formed by the impact of a single iron mass (or a
tight cluster of fragments). Based on the geometry of
the crater and asymmetries in shrapnel and ejecta
distribution Folco et al. (2011), D’Orazio et al. (2011),
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
3
Fig. 2. Field photos of Kamil wall rocks. a) Photomosaic of the interior of the crater viewed from southwest. The location of
sample L13 is shown. The white rectangle indicates the outcrop featured in (b). b) Upturned rim strata exposed on the north
wall of the crater. Samples M26 and M27 were collected from the top pale layer and the underlying reddish layer, respectively.
The thickness of the top pale layer is about 70 cm. c) Slump debris covering the lower part of the southern crater wall. The
location of sample L14 is shown.
Fig. 3. Field photos of Kamil ejecta. a) Panoramic view from the southeast side of the crater rim showing the main ejecta ray
trending 130°E. The arrow indicates the largest ejecta boulder (sample L07; 2.1 9 0.7 9 1.1 m, equivalent to approximately 4 t),
lying about 90 m outside from the crater rim. b) Close-up view of the same boulder. The boulder is overturned with pale (sample
L07a) and reddish (sample L07b) sandstone layers at its stratigraphic top and bottom, respectively. c) Sample L08: impact melt
bomb (long axis approximately 10 cm) consisting of white pumiceous glass partially coated by a magnetic dark glass. d) Sample
R01 (long axis approximately 12 cm): ejected sandstone showing a shatter cone surface (see text for details).
and Urbini et al. (2012) concluded that the Gebel Kamil
iron meteorite arrived from the NW with an impact
angle between 30° to 45°. The minimum projectile mass
inferred from systematic meteorite search and
geomagnetic data is approximately 5 t (Urbini et al.
2012).
4
A. Fazio et al.
SAMPLES AND ANALYTICAL METHODS
Geological samples studied in this work were
collected during the first Italian–Egyptian geophysical
campaign to Kamil in February 2010 (Tables 1 and 2;
Fig. 1). Due to severe restrictions imposed by the local
authorities, only a limited selection of rock samples from
the crater wall and ejecta rays totaling less than 10 kg
was allowed for export and research abroad. Nonetheless,
these samples are a representative selection of the target
enabling a first study of shock features at Kamil.
Two to three thin sections from each sample were
made for petrographic observations by optical and
electron microscopy. An optical microscope of the Zeiss
Axioplan type and scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Philips XL30, operating at 20 kV coupled with an
energy-dispersive X-ray detector (EDX), were used at
Pisa University’s Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra. A
field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM)
Jeol JSM 6500F (upgraded to 7000 series), operating at
10 kV, was used at the Istituto di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia (INGV) of Rome. Modal abundances of
phyllosilicate minerals and iron-oxide matrix, as well as
the porosity of the rock samples from the crater rim and
ejecta were determined by digital image analysis of
backscattered electron images and X-ray element maps
using the JMicroVision software.
We determined the crystallographic orientations of
planar deformation features (PDFs) in the quartz
crystals of sample L23 following procedures described
in Langenhorst (2002) using a five-axis U-stage
mounted on a Zeiss Axioplan optical microscope. For
PDF indexing, the automated numerical index executor
(ANIE; Huber et al. 2011) was used.
Quantitative chemical microanalyses were carried
out with a Jeol JXA 8230 electron microprobe fitted
with five wavelength dispersive spectrometers at the
Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) of Grenoble.
Running conditions were 15 kV accelerating voltage,
12 nA beam current, and 1 lm nominal beam spot. The
ZAF procedure was employed for raw data reduction.
Standards used for instrumental calibration were SiO2rich glass (USNM 72854), ilmenite (USNM 96189),
and hornblende (USNM 143965). Average detection
limits are 0.04 wt% for Na2O and ZrO2; 0.02 wt% for
Al2O3, Cr2O3, and V2O3; and 0.01 wt% for MgO,
CaO, K2O, FeO, MnO, TiO2, NiO, and P2O5. Typical
precisions are better than 1% (relative standard
deviation = 1 9 standard deviation/average*100) for
oxides concentration >1 wt% and between 1 and 10%
for oxide concentrations between 1 and 0.1 wt%. The
accuracy is typically better than 5%.
In order to concentrate and identify high-pressure
silica polymorphs through X-ray powder diffraction
(XRPD), aliquots of samples L23 and M25 were
powdered, treated with dilute (approximately 8 vol%)
hydrofluoric acid for 12 h at room temperature, and then
partitioned using a high-density liquid (2.675 g cm3
sodium polytungstate aqueous solution). X-ray powder
diffraction of particles denser that 2.675 g cm3 was
conducted using a Philips PW1830 instrument at Pisa
University’s Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
operating with a Bragg-Brentano geometry and Ni
filtered Cu Ka radiation. Each 2h step (0.2°) was counted
for 1 s.
In situ identification of silica phases was conducted
through laser-induced Raman microspectroscopy using
a Horiba LabRAM HRVIS instrument of the “Centro
Scansetti” at the Torino University’s Dipartimento di
Scienza della Terra. The studied sample was a doublepolished 100 lm thick section from sample L23. Spectra
were excited using the 532.11 nm emission of an argonion laser. The Raman microprobe system (focal length
800 mm) was equipped with an Olympus BX41 optical
microscope and Peltier-cooled charge-coupled device
(CCD) detector and with an Olympus 1009 objective
lens (numerical aperture 0.9); the focal spot was
approximately 1–2 lm in diameter. Silica phase spectra
accumulation times varied between 30 and 90 s, while
diamond spectra were acquired in 1–5 s. The wave
numbers of the Raman lines were calibrated daily using
the silicon band at 520.6 cm1.
RESULTS
Petrography of Crater Wall Rocks
The layered rocks cropping out at the Kamil walls
are sandstones ranging from very-coarse quartzarenite
(sample M27; Fig. 4a) to coarse siltstone with
intercalated levels of very fine wacke (sample L13;
Fig. 4b). The location and description of crater wall
samples are summarized in Table 1.
The mineralogy of the crater wall rocks is
dominated by subrounded quartz grains. Accessory
minerals up to 400 lm in size include fine intergrowths
of Fe-Ti oxides, besides zircon, tourmaline, and rutile
(Table 3). The sum of accessory minerals usually
constitutes about 1–2 vol% of crater wall rocks. They
are more common in fine-grained rocks.
The phyllosilicate matrix is dominated by kaolinite
(Table 3). In some of the fine-grained samples, the matrix
can reach up to 40 vol% (e.g., L13 and L14, Figs. 4b and
4c and Table 2). Minor amounts (approximately 2 vol%)
of iron oxides occur in the matrix of sample M27
(Fig. 4a). Samples M26 and L02 are devoid of matrix
material, and show polygonal texture due to extensive
overgrowth of syntaxial quartz cement (Fig. 4d).
Table 1. Location, description and shock features of Kamil Crater target rocks collected from the crater walls and ejecta.
Shock features
Latitude
Sample N
Crater wall
L02
22°10 5.58″
22°10 5.47″
L14
22°10 5.59″
26°50 15.94″ S sector,
in situ
UL
26°50 15.80″ S sector,
in situ
UL
26°50 15.79″ S sector,
slump
debris
Lithology
M to C pale quartzarenite
with pervasive syntaxial
quartz. PI = 0 vol%.
VF pale wacke with level of
C pale siltstone, >20 vol%
KM. PI = 0 vol%.
M to C pale quartzarentite,
~6 vol% KM and ~3 vol%
IM with levels of C
siltstone to very F wacke,
~40 vol% KM.
PI = 4 vol%.
C pale quartzarenite with
pervasive syntaxial quartz,
<5 of both KM and IM.
PI= 0 vol%.
VC reddish quartzarenite,
~6 vol% KM and ~2 vol%
IM. PI = 17 vol%.
26°50 15.45″ N sector,
in situ,
top of
UL
0
0
M27
22°1 6.44″ 26°5 15.45″ N sector,
in situ,
bottom
of UL
Ejecta: sandstone blocks
R01
22°10 8.02″ 26°50 17.28″ 50 m due
M to F pale wacke,
NE of CR
~30 vol% KM.
PI = 0 vol%.
0
0
R02
22°1 7.13″ 26°5 18.16″ 54 m due
VC to F pale quartzarenite.
NE of the
PI = 0 vol%.
crater
L07a M pale quartzarenite.
L07
22°10 4.22″ 26°50 18.35″ 90 m due
~15 vol% KM, bottom of
ESE
the ejecta. PI= 15 vol%.
of CR
L07b M to VC reddish
quartzarentite. Up to
5 vol% KM and IM,
top of the ejecta.
PI = 24 vol%.
M24
22°10 9.89″ 26°50 16.04″ 100 m due
M to F pale wacke,
N of CR
~40 vol% KM with
levels of M– to C
siltstone, ~20 vol%
KM. PI = 0 vol%.
L23
22°10 1.23″ 26°50 30.13″ 400 m due
F to C pale quartzarenite.
SE of CR
PI = 0 vol%.
VF pale wacke to M pale
M25
22°00 45.16″ 26°50 1.73″ 740 m due
siltstone. PI = 0 vol%.
SSW of
CR
M26
22°10 6.44″
Location
Melt
veins
and
films
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<5
x
x
x
–
x
n.a.
x
–
–
x
<5
x
x
x
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
<5
x
x
x
–
–
n.a.
–
–
–
–
20–25
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
<5
x
x
x
–
–
–
–
–
–
x
5
UL = upturned layer; CR = crater rim; VF = very fine; F = fine; M = medium; C = coarse; VC = very coarse; KM = clay minerals in matrix; IM = iron-oxide matrix; PI = porosity
index; x = observed, – = not detected, n.a. = not analyzed.
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
L13
Longitude
E
Incipient
melting of
Highpressure Decomposed Intergranular accessory
Pressure
Undulose Reduction of PF/PDF PDF in
minerals
zircon
melt
(GPa)
Fractu-ring extinction birefrin-gence in quartz tourmaline phases
6
A. Fazio et al.
Table 2. Location and description of impact melt lapilli and bombs from Kamil crater.
Sample
Latitude
Longitude
Location
Description
Ejecta: impact melt lapilli and bombs
L15
22°010 6.05″ 26°050 15.77″ Inside the crater
M23
22°010 5.69″ 26°050 16.27″
L08
22°010 4.05″ 26°050 16.53″
L09
22°010 4.01″ 26°050 16.57″
L05
22°010 5.29″ 26°050 18.17″
L06
22°010 5.27″ 26°050 18.14″
E30
22°010 3.39″ 26°050 16.44″
m.s.
MNA07
m.s.
22°010 4.51″ 26°050 18.11″
L03
22°010 7.91″ 26°050 19.88″
L04
22°010 7.93″ 26°050 19.92″
Magnetic dark glass with inclusions of sandstone clasts,
diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite. Metallic blebs are
scattered in the dark glass.
Inside the crater
Gray lechatelierite. Vesicles are rounded and generally
micrometric. Single grain of decomposed zircon.
52 m due ENE of the CR White lechatelierite partially coated by a <2 mm thick
magnetic dark glass envelope.
52 m due ENE of the CR White lechatelierite with relicts of highly shocked quartz
grains (melted PDFs, amorphization) stained by reddish
iron oxi-hydroxides.
57 m due E of the CR
Magnetic dark glass with inclusions of sandstone clasts,
diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite. Metallic blebs are
scattered in the dark glass.
57 m due E of the CR
Magnetic dark glass with inclusions of sandstone clasts,
diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite. Metallic blebs are
scattered in the dark glass. Rare occurrence of
fragments of the iron projectile Gebel Kamil.
57 m due ESE of the CR
Magnetic dark glass with inclusions of sandstone clasts,
diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite. Metallic blebs are
scattered in the dark glass. Rare occurrence of fragments
of the iron projectile Gebel Kamil. Found
stuck to the surface of iron-shrapnel specimens.
61 m due SSE of the CR
Magnetic dark glass found stuck to the surface of a
shrapnel of the iron projectile Gebel Kamil. Inclusions
of sandstone clasts, diaplectic glass, and lechatelierite are
abundant. Metallic blebs are scattered in the dark glass.
Rare occurrence of meteorite fragments.
120 m due ENE of the CR White lechatelierite coated by a <2 mm thick magnetic
dark glass envelop.
120 m due ENE of the CR Pumiceous white lechatelierite. Vesicles are elongated and
can be up to 3 mm in size.
CR = crater rim; m.s. = meteorite shrapnel.
Petrography of Ejecta
most fine-grained lithologies, totaling up to 40 vol%. The
matrix of the very-coarse sandstone L07b contains
abundant iron oxides, constituting up to 5 vol% of the
bulk rock (Fig. 5b). The porosity is negligible in all
samples but L07, in which it ranges from 15 vol% (L07a)
to 24 vol% (L07b) (Table 1; Figs. 5a and 5b).
Sandstone Blocks
Six ejected sandstone samples were collected at
different distances from the crater in order to explore
possible variations of the degree of shock metamorphism
with increasing ejection distance (Table 1).
In terms of overall texture and mineral composition,
the ejected sandstone samples are indistinguishable from
those of the crater wall rocks (Table 1; Fig. 5). They range
from very-coarse pale quartzarenite to very-fine pale
wacke. Quartz is the most abundant mineral, followed by
heavy accessory minerals (1–2 vol%) including fine
intergrowths of Fe-Ti oxides, zircon, tourmaline and
rutile. The kaolinite-rich matrix is more abundant in the
Impact Melt Lapilli and Bombs
Eight impact melt lapilli and bombs, ranging from a
few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters in size, were
collected within 100 m from the crater and inside the
crater (Table 2; Fig. 1). They are divided into two
endmember compositions: a white silica-rich glass and a
Fe-Ni-rich dark glass (Fig. 6). White glass lapilli and
bombs may be coated by a more or less continuous rim
of dark glass up 2 mm thick (Fig. 3c; Table 2). Clasts
of dark glass have also been discovered stuck to the
surface of iron-shrapnel specimens (D’Orazio et al.
2011; Table 2). All samples are well preserved and they
are not affected by secondary alteration, with the only
The porosity of these rocks is generally lower than
4 vol% (Figs. 4b and 4c), and close to zero in matrixfree samples M26 (Fig. 4d) and L02. The exception is
sample M27 where porosity is 17 vol% (Fig. 4a).
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
7
Fig. 4. Photomicrographs of target rocks collected from the crater wall. a) Sample M27: very-coarse quartzarenite collected in
situ from the upturned layers in the northern sector of the crater wall (crossed polarizers, XPL). The white arrows show the
iron-oxide matrix. b) Sample L13: coarse siltstone to very fine wacke collected in situ from the southern sector of the crater wall
(plane polarized light, PPL). c) Sample L14: layered sandstone collected from the slump debris on the southern sector of the
crater wall (PPL). d) Sample M26: coarse quartzarenite collected in situ from the upturned layers in the northern sector of the
crater wall (XPL). The inset shows a detail of the extensive overgrowth of syntaxial quartz cement (black arrows).
Table 3. Representative electron microprobe analyses (oxide wt%) of the matrix clay minerals and accessory
minerals of unshocked samples.
Phyllosilicate mineral matrix
SiO2
Al2O3
Na2O
MgO
CaO
K2 O
FeOtot
MnO
TiO2
Cr2O3
NiO
V2O3
P2O5
ZrO2
Total
42.0
33.1
b.d.l.
0.10
0.04
0.05
2.43
b.d.l.
0.46
0.03
b.d.l.
0.08
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
78.5
45.9
36.8
0.07
0.13
0.19
0.05
1.51
b.d.l.
1.93
0.03
b.d.l.
0.09
0.18
b.d.l.
87.0
46.1
36.6
b.d.l.
0.12
0.17
0.05
1.44
b.d.l.
2.17
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.09
0.16
0.05
87.0
Fe-Ti oxides
38.9
30.2
0.11
0.07
0.01
0.03
1.73
b.d.l.
0.76
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.04
0.08
0.11
72.4
1.38
1.97
0.06
0.07
0.30
0.02
12.8
0.06
73.6
0.83
0.07
3.22
0.22
0.44
95.1
0.57
1.27
b.d.l.
0.19
0.12
b.d.l.
25.1
0.12
64.0
0.37
b.d.l.
2.76
0.09
0.21
94.8
Rutile
Zircon
Tourmaline
0.03
0.04
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.05
b.d.l.
93.5
0.24
b.d.l.
4.98
0.01
0.11
99.0
34.3
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
66.8
101.1
36.8
35.2
1.46
2.98
0.05
0.03
9.63
0.10
0.10
b.d.l.
0.03
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
86.4
b.d.l. = below detection limit.
Detection limits are 0.04 wt% for Na2O and ZrO2, 0.02 wt% for Al2O3, Cr2O3, and V2O3, and 0.01 wt% for MgO, CaO, K2O, FeO, MnO,
TiO2, NiO, and P2O5.
FeOtot: Total iron as FeO.
exceptions being some portions of sample L09 that are
stained by reddish iron oxi-hydroxides (Tables 2 and 4).
White glasses typically show pumiceous texture with
vesicle sizes ranging from a few tens of micrometers
(Fig. 7a) to several millimeters (Fig. 6a). Sample L09
(Table 2) contains millimetric relicts of quartz grains.
Silica content in white glass ranges from 99.2 wt% to
96 wt%. The glass is, thus, referred as lechatelierite.
8
A. Fazio et al.
Fig. 5. Photomicrographs of four ejected target rock samples (L07, M24, L23, and M25), ordered according to their
distance from the crater rim (same magnification as in Fig. 4). a) Sample L07a: undeformed pale quartzarenite (PPL).
L07b: undeformed reddish quartzarenite (PPL). c) Sample M24: pale wacke with highly fractured quartz grains (PPL).
L23: shocked pale quartzarenite (PPL). e) Sample L23: same image of (d) in XPL. f) Sample M25: pale wacke (PPL).
arrow points to a melt vein. See Table 1 for detailed sample description.
increasing
b) Sample
d) Sample
The black
Fig. 6. Impact melt bombs (cut surfaces). a) Sample L04: white, pumiceous, lechatelierite. b) Sample L06: dark, magnetic glass
with abundant sandstone clasts, lechatelierite clasts, and meteorite fragments. MF = meteorite fragment; SC = shocked sandstone
clast; LG = lechatelierite.
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
9
Table 4. Representative electron microprobe analyses (oxide wt%) of glass of impact melt lapilli and bombs.
White glass (lechatelierite)
SiO2
Al2O3
Na2O
MgO
CaO
K2 O
FeOtot
MnO
TiO2
NiO
P2O5
ZrO2
Total
Dark glass
L09
L03
L04
L06*
L04
L09
L03
L06
L06
L06
L06
99.2
0.03
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.01
b.d.l.
0.03
0.00
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.04
99.4
98.5
0.02
0.04
0.01
b.d.l.
0.01
0.04
0.01
0.02
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.7
98.5
0.03
b.d.l.
0.01
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.02
0.00
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.6
98.5
0.03
b.d.l.
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.02
0.00
b.d.l.
0.05
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.6
98.2
0.26
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.01
0.00
b.d.l.
0.01
0.02
b.d.l.
98.5
96.0
0.11
0.03
b.d.l.
0.01
0.01
3.93
0.00
b.d.l.
0.01
b.d.l.
0.04
100.2
60.2
14.8
b.d.l.
0.29
0.25
0.18
19.9
0.27
0.57
0.40
0.17
0.22
97.2
57.4
11.9
0.04
0.19
0.87
0.20
25.4
0.37
0.93
0.43
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
97.6
54.3
12.5
0.12
0.20
1.04
0.22
28.6
0.66
1.13
0.26
0.01
b.d.l.
99.0
54.3
11.4
0.07
0.22
0.74
0.28
29.7
0.55
0.87
b.d.l.
0.02
b.d.l.
98.0
49.8
12.4
0.05
0.17
0.76
0.11
32.2
0.66
1.09
2.51
0.18
b.d.l.
100.0
b.d.l. = below detection limit.
*White glass in inclusion in dark glass lapilli and bombs.
Detection limits are 0.04 wt% for Na2O and ZrO2; 0.02 wt% for Al2O3; and 0.01 wt% for MgO, CaO, K2O, FeO, MnO, TiO2, NiO, and P2O5.
FeOtot: Total iron as FeO.
FeO content is lower than 0.04 wt%, with the exception
of some portions of sample L09 where FeO content can
reach approximately 4 wt%. The Al2O3 content is lower
than 0.26 wt%.
Dark glass lapilli and bombs show scoriaceous
texture. They contain several inclusions (Fig. 7b); in
order of abundance they are: clasts up to 5 mm in size
of shocked sandstone (grain size up 700 lm) with
planar deformation features, fragments up to 3 mm in
size of vesicular white glass (lechatelierite), fragments
up to 1 mm in size of diaplectic glass, lm-sized metal
blebs and fragments up to 200 lm in size of the Gebel
Kamil iron meteorite (Figs. 6b and 7b). Dark glass has
higher contents of Al2O3 and FeO than white glass
(Table 4). The average of Al2O3/SiO2 and FeO/SiO2
ratios are 0.23 and 0.50, respectively. The maximum
NiO content of dark glass is 2.51 wt%, but it generally
ranges from 0.2 to 0.4 wt%. The inclusions of
lechatelierite glass have significantly higher NiO
content (0.05 wt%) than other lechatelierite glasses
(≤0.01 wt%; Table 4). Metal blebs are significantly
enriched in Ni (from 56.1 wt% to 69.8 wt%) and Co
(from 1.56 wt% to 2.07 wt%) relative to the Gebel
Kamil meteorite (Ni 20.6 wt% and Co 0.76 wt%;
D’Orazio et al. 2011).
Shock Metamorphic Features
Fracturing, Reduction in Birefringence, and Undulose
Extinction
Fracturing, undulose extinction, and reduction in
birefringence in quartz are common to all ejecta
sandstone samples with the exception of sample L07.
Concussion fractures, i.e., fractures due to the
collision of two or more quartz grains, are common in
samples containing relatively large quartz grains up to
hundreds of micrometers in size embedded in a more
fine-grained mineral matrix (samples M24 and R02;
Fig. 8).
The number of irregular fractures per millimeter
(f mm1) estimated according to Kowitz et al. (2013a)
decreases in the following order: sample L23
(450 f mm1), R02 (approximately 11 f mm1), R01
(approximately 110 f mm1), M25 (approximately
100 f mm1), and M24 (approximately 60 f mm1).
Note that sample R01 bears striated shattered surfaces
decorated by discontinuous lm thick silica-rich melt
films (Fig. 3d; see the Melt in Shatter Cones section for
further details). In this sample, fractures are generally
parallel to the melt films and their abundance increases
to approximately 170 f mm1 toward the lm thick
silica-rich melt films.
Planar Deformation Features
Quartz: Planar deformation features (PDFs) in
quartz grains occur in sample L23 and in several
sandstone clasts embedded in the dark impact melt
glasses (hereafter sandstone clasts). Irrespective of the
grain size of the sandstone, PDFs occurring within
individual crystals develop in domains up to 200 lm
across (Fig. 9a).
A maximum of four sets of PDFs has been
recognized in a single quartz grain (Fig. 9a). Overall, an
average of 2.1 sets of PDFs per quartz grain is
observed; PDFs occur in about 70% of quartz grains.
The spacing between PDFs belonging to the same set in
10
A. Fazio et al.
Fig. 7. Backscattered electron (BSE) images of sectioned
impact melt bombs. a) White, pumiceous, lechatelierite
(sample L04). b) Dark, magnetic, impact melt glass (sample
L06). The latter is laden with clasts of target and projectile
materials. Abbreviations: MF = meteorite fragment; SC =
shocked sandstone clast; LG = lechatelierite; DG = diaplectic
glass; MB = Ni-Fe metallic bleb.
a quartz grain is not uniform and it ranges from 0.2 lm
to 2 lm. Their thickness is rather uniform, varying
from 0.08 lm to 0.15 lm (Fig. 9a).
We measured the crystallographic orientations of
149 sets of PDFs in 70 quartz grains in two
representative thin sections of sample L23, and of 59
sets of PDFs in 29 quartz grains in three thin sections
of dark impact melt glass containing sandstone clasts.
The results of PDF indexing are summarized in Table 5
and in Fig. 10. The histograms in Figs. 10a and 10b
report the frequency distribution of PDF poles to c-axis
angle within 5° bins (i.e., with a 5° error) for sample
L23 and sandstone clasts, respectively. The histograms
in Figs. 10c and 10d show the absolute frequency
Fig. 8. BSE images of ejected sandstone. a) Kaolinite-rich
matrix between quartz grains in sample M24. b) Concussion
fractures in quartz grains in sample R02.
percent of indexed PDFs within a 5° error for sample
L23 and sandstone clasts, respectively.
The crystallographic orientations of PDFs in sample
L23 and sandstone clasts are quite similar; however,
sandstone clasts show a larger number of PDFs with
poles to c-axis angles > 40°. In sample L23, the most
frequent orientations are {1013} 23%, {1012} 14%,
{1014} 13%, {1011} 11%, and {1122} 7% (Table 5;
Fig. 10c). Instead, in sandstone clasts the orientations
{1013} and {1122} are most common at 17%, followed
by {1011}, 15%, {1012}, 12%, and {1014}, 10%
(Table 5; Fig. 10d). The unindexed planes represent the
15.4% and 15.3% of the total number of measured sets
of PDFs in sample L23 and sandstone clasts, respectively.
Amorphous planar to subplanar and subparallel
lamellae, thicker than common PDFs, were found in
some quartz grains abutting melt pockets and melt veins
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
11
Fig. 9. BSE images of features in sandstone ejecta sample L23. a) Portion of a quartz grain showing four sets of PDFs. The four
PDF orientations have been highlighted with four white-dashed lines. b) Quartz grain showing two main sets of enlarged PDFs,
which underwent preferential melting. The inset shows an enlarged PDF containing a tiny elongated vesicle (approximately
0.3 lm). The bright aggregate on the left side of the image is a fine intergrowth of baddeleyite (ZrO2) and a SiO2 phase, resulting
from the decomposition of a zircon crystal. c) Tourmaline grain surrounded by vesicles up to 50 lm in diameter as evidence of
incipient melting at the contact with the surrounding quartz grains. White rectangle indicates the area of the close-up view of
Fig. 9d. d) Close-up view of the rectangular area highlighted in (c) showing PFDs in tourmaline. e) Intergranular SiO2 melt
(lechatelierite) with a highly vesicular central region. f) Close-up view of the glass area in (e) showing the textural relationships
between the intergranular lechatelierite and PDFs in adjacent quartz grains.
(Fig. 9b). They show undulose margins with the host
grain. They are in optical and compositional continuity
with the surrounding melt and they can contain tiny
vesicles (see inset in Fig. 9b). We interpret them as
original PDFs that enlarged as consequence of the
ongoing quartz melting along them. Actually, they
represent an intermediate stage of the melting of quartz
grains. We refer to these lamellae as enlarged PDFs. A
similar occurrence of enlarged PDFs in quartz grains
has been reported by Ebert et al. (2013; Fig. 5a, Qtz-B).
Quartz grains with enlarged PDFs were not used for the
PDF crystallographic orientation measurements and
statistics.
Tourmaline: Planar deformation features were also
observed in tourmaline (Figs. 9c and 9d). They are
generally short, namely <10 lm in length, and thin,
12
Table 5. Crystallographic orientations of PDFs in quartz from sample L23 and from the sandstone clasts embedded in dark impact melt lapilli
and bombs.
PDF Reference #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
e
2+e
Miller-Bravais Indices (0001) {1013} {10
12} {10
11} {10
10} {11
22} {11
21} {21
31} {51
61} {11
20} {22
41} {31
41} {40
41} {51
60} {10
14} Unindexed
0
0
35
23%
21
14%
17
11%
0
0
11
7%
0
0
3
2%
1
1%
2
1%
3
2%
7
5%
1
1%
0
0
19
13%
23
15%
6
5%
0
0
10
17%
7
12%
9
15%
0
0
10
17%
0
0
2
3%
0
0
0
0
1
2%
1
2%
0
0
1
2%
6
10%
9
15%
3
6%
A. Fazio et al.
Sample L23
Total number of sets
Absolute frequency
Sandstone clasts
Total number of sets
Absolute frequency
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
13
Fig. 10. Histograms showing the results of PDF indexing for quartz in quartzarenite sample L23 (a) and in sandstone clasts
occurring in dark glass (b). Indexed PDFs are marked in gray, while unindexed PDFs are marked in black. (c-d) Histograms for
the same samples with polar angle values of PDFs binned at 5° intervals (i.e., the estimated measurement error). The measured
sets of PDFs that are within the area of overlap between the index {10
13} and the index {10
14} are shown in gray.
namely <0.1 lm in thickness. At least three PDF sets
were identified in a single tourmaline grain. Some of
them are decorated by tiny vesicles.
High-Pressure Phases
We found three high-pressure phases in sample L23:
coesite, stishovite, and diamond. Coesite is the most
abundant. It was positively identified by micro-Raman
and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and imaged in
the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM); stishovite was identified only by XRPD;
diamond only by micro-Raman.
Figure 11 shows the XRPD spectrum of the denser
than 2.675 g cm3 powder of sample L23. Besides the
peaks of quartz, two additional peaks occur at 2h = 28.9°
and 30.4°. They are the 100 intensity peaks of coesite
(040) and stishovite (110), respectively. No other peaks
related to these phases are detectable, due to their low
intensities and overlap with the peaks of quartz.
Coesite was confirmed both as single phase and
associated with diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt by Raman
microspectroscopy (Fig. 12a). Coesite peaks are all
slightly shifted toward higher Raman shifts by
approximately 2 cm1 with respect to literature values
Fig. 11. X-ray powder diffraction pattern for sample L23
(fraction denser than 2.675 g cm3). All X-ray peaks are from
quartz, with the exception of the peaks at 2h values of 28.9°
and 30.4°, which are the 100 intensity peaks of coesite (040)
and stishovite (110), respectively.
(e.g., Frezzotti et al. 2012). Full width at half maximum
of the coesite peak at 523 cm1 ranges from 6.2 cm1
to 11.6 cm1. Optical microscope observations indicate
that coesite is present within roundish domains of silica
glass set between highly deformed quartz grains
14
A. Fazio et al.
Fig. 12. High-pressure silica phases occurring in quartzarenite sample L23. a) Raman spectra for coesite and for coesite +
diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt of sample L23. Intensity of the spectrum for coesite + diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt was enhanced five
times with respect to the spectrum for coesite. b) Photomicrograph of intergranular colorless SiO2 melt surrounded by brownish
cryptocrystalline and amorphous material (PPL). c) BSE image of the area of photomicrograph (b). The arrows in (b) and (c)
indicate the same vesicles within the colorless SiO2 melt. d) Detail of the outer zone (white rectangle in [c]) made up of
submicrometric coesite grains (C) embedded in a glassy matrix (G).
(Fig. 12a). They were observed in approximately 60
different occurrences for each thin section of sample
L23. The average size of these coesite-bearing domains
is 400 lm in diameter. Their cores are colorless in
transmitted light and may host a few vesicles. Their
peripheries are turbid brown in transmitted light.
Backscattered FE-SEM images show that these areas
are composed of myriads of cryptocrystals (from 0.1 to
2 lm in size) of coesite, some of them showing resorbed
crystal boundaries (Fig. 12d). They are embedded in a
diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt. The abundance of diaplectic
glass/SiO2 melt increases toward the colorless vesiclebearing core. The chemical composition of one of these
roundish aggregates is reported in Table 6.
Micro-Raman spectra of a melt pocket within
sample L23 further revealed the occurrence of a peak
centered at 1336 cm1 (Fig. 13), and although shifted
toward higher Raman shifts (approximately 4 cm1
respect to literature values; e.g., Frezzotti et al. 2012), it
corresponds to diamond. Full width at half maximum
of the diamond peak ranges from 3.2 cm1 to 6.4 cm1.
Diamonds are up to 1 lm in size and are commonly
associated with diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt.
Zircon Decomposition
Zircon is one of the most common accessory
phases in the sandstones of Kamil. Some of the zircon
grains in the shocked sandstone L23 and in shocked
sandstone clasts are decomposed into baddeleyite
(ZrO2) + SiO2 fine intergrowths (Fig. 9b). A single
decomposed zircon was also found in the impact melt
bomb M23.
Intergranular Melt
Thin films (from a few micrometers up to 200 lm)
of glass occupy the intergranular space between some
quartz grains showing PDFs and between quartz and
accessory minerals in sample L23. The composition of
these intergranular melts varies from nearly pure
lechatelierite (SiO2 = 98.6 wt%; Table 6) to a
“kaolinite” glass (Al2O3/SiO2 = 0.8; Table 6). Figures 9e
and 9f show details of an intergranular glass film with
nearly pure SiO2 composition (SEM-EDS analysis)
characterized by a highly vesicular central portion. In
quartz crystals adjacent to glass films, planar
amorphous lamellae occur; they could be interpreted as
enlarged PDFs or as injected melt in fractures. They are
Table 6. Representative electron microprobe analyses (oxide wt%) of glasses and mineral phases of ejecta sandstone samples L23 and M25.
SiO2
Al2O3
Na2O
MgO
CaO
K2O
FeOtot
MnO
TiO2
Cr2O3
NiO
V2O3
P2O5
ZrO2
Total
M25
Coesite aggregate
Intergranular glass
Intergranular glass
Fe-Ti oxides
Glass 1a
Glass 2b
Melt veins
98.7
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.02
b.d.l.
0.01
b.d.l.
0.01
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.8
98.6
0.05
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.02
0.01
0.03
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.7
45.2
36.1
0.25
0.07
0.18
0.12
0.99
0.01
3.13
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
0.14
0.14
86.3
0.49
0.53
b.d.l.
0.36
0.20
0.01
23.1
1.02
68.5
0.21
0.02
3.02
0.13
b.d.l.
97.6
1.34
0.52
b.d.l.
0.41
0.14
b.d.l.
21.5
1.00
67.9
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
0.09
b.d.l.
93.0
74.7
0.68
b.d.l.
0.07
0.06
0.03
4.21
0.18
12.1
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
0.06
b.d.l.
92.1
98.7
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
0.02
b.d.l.
0.01
b.d.l.
0.01
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
b.d.l.
b.d.l.
98.8
46.1
27.8
0.15
0.09
0.08
0.10
1.22
b.d.l.
1.62
n.d.
b.d.l.
n.d.
0.25
0.14
87.3
53.7
32.9
0.67
0.17
0.23
0.18
1.39
0.04
2.06
n.d.
0.02
n.d.
0.17
0.01
91.5
46.9
39.3
0.26
0.11
0.20
0.41
1.27
b.d.l.
3.16
n.d.
0.02
n.d.
0.08
0.11
91.9
b.d.l. = below detection limit. Detection limits are 0.04 wt% for Na2O and ZrO2; 0.02 wt% for Al2O3 Cr2O3, and V2O3; and 0.01 wt% for MgO, CaO, K2O, FeO, MnO, TiO2, NiO,
and P2O5; n.d. = not determined.
a
Analysis of the glass from approximately 10 lm from the fine intergrowths of Fe-Ti oxides (see text for explanation).
b
Analysis of the glass from approximately 130 lm from the fine intergrowths of Fe-Ti oxides (see text for explanation).
FeOtot: Total iron as FeO.
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
L23
15
16
A. Fazio et al.
minerals occur in the veins. Quartz is the most common and
sometimes it shows planar or subplanar amorphous
lamellae (Fig. 14b). These structures resemble the enlarged
PDFs occurring in shocked quartz grains of sample L23
(Fig. 9b). The chemical composition of glass in melt veins is
the result of the mixing between kaolinite-derived, quartzderived, and Fe-Ti oxide-derived melts. The Al2O3/SiO2
ratio of the glasses of melt veins varies between 0 and 0.84
(Table 6; Fig. 14c; Al2O3/SiO2 ratio of pure kaolinite
endmember = 0.85), with most values above 0.5 indicating
that the kaolinite fraction in the melt is generally above
50%. The veins brighter in the SEM-BSE images contain
up to 3.16 wt% and 1.39 wt% of TiO2 and FeO,
respectively, as a result of the melting of Fe-Ti oxides
(Table 6; Figs. 14a and 14b). These compositional
variations give rise to schlieren, which emphasize flow
textures (Figs. 14a and 14b). No high-pressure phases were
identified by Raman microspectroscopy in the melt veins.
Fig. 13. Raman spectra for diamond and for diamond +
diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt found in diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt
pocket of sample L23. Diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt peaks are
those with the asterisk. Intensity of the spectrum for diamond
+ diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt was enhanced five times respect
the spectrum for diamond.
in optical and compositional continuity evidencing an
intimate genetic relationship.
Figure 9c shows a tourmaline crystal whose
boundaries abutting quartz grains underwent melting.
Melting is documented by the occurrence of vesicles up
to 50 lm in diameter. The glass surrounding a Fe-Ti
oxide crystal shows a compositional variation that we
interpret as the mixing between a Fe-Ti-rich melt and a
SiO2 melt (Table 6). The contents of FeO and TiO2 are,
respectively, 23.1 wt% and 68.5 wt% in the unmelted
oxide, 21.5 wt% and 67.9 wt% in the glass analyzed at
approximately 10 lm from the oxide, and 4.21 wt%
and 12.1 wt% in the glass analyzed at approximately
130 lm from the oxide. The TiO2/FeO ratio is,
however, almost unchanged (3.0 in the unmelted
portion, 3.1 in the glass at approximately 10 lm from
the oxide boundary, and 2.9 in the glass at
approximately 130 lm from the oxide boundary).
Intergranular melts have been also observed between
quartz and zircon grains in sample L23.
Melt Veins
A few melt veins crosscut sample M25. They are
typically a few tens of micrometers wide with some up to
0.2 mm (Figs. 5f and 14). The contact with the host rock is
sharp and no shock features occur in the latter (Fig. 14a).
Occasionally, orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal injection
veins propagate from a main vein (Fig. 14a). Several relict
Melt in Shatter Cones
The external surfaces of the pale wacke sample R01
show mesoscopic fractures with striae that are arranged
in poorly defined cm-scale horse-tail patterns in
hierarchical branched structures (Figs. 3d, 15a, and
15b). Some striated surfaces have semiconical
morphology (Fig. 15b). Overall, we identify these
structures as shatter cones.
The striated surfaces of the cones are coated by thin
films (<200 lm in thickness) of glass (white films
indicated by black arrows in Fig. 15b). Sections
orthogonal to the cones (Figs. 15c and 15d) show
undulating sample morphology. In thin section
(Fig. 15e), the thin films of glass are nearly opaque.
Backscattered electron images reveal that the glass is
highly vesicular and clast-laden (Figs. 15f and 15g).
Clasts include mainly relicts of silica mineral grains.
Backscattered electron images of sections broadly
parallel to the direction of the striae show the fracture
number in the host wacke increases by about 1.59 on
approaching the contact with the melt (see Fracturing,
Reduction in Birefringence and Undulose Extinction
section), and that vesicles in the melt are coherently
stretched defining a shear fabric (Fig. 15g). The major
axes of the vesicles form an angle of approximately 45°
relative to the contact with the host wacke. The glass is
silica- and alumina-rich with Al2O3/SiO2 = 0.48 (SEMEDS analyses), very close to the Al2O3/SiO2 ratio (0.46;
SEM-EDS analyses) of the whole rock.
DISCUSSION
All samples from the crater wall of Kamil and the
largest ejecta boulder (sample L07) do not show any
shock feature; these rocks, thus, experienced shock
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
17
Fig. 14. BSE images of ejected wacke sample M25. a) Finely
vesicular melt vein. The bright material is enriched in Fe and
Ti. Note the straight contact with the undeformed host rock,
and the arrowed injection vein on the right side of the vein. b)
Close-up view of the white rectangular area in (a) showing a
finely vesicular portion with schlieren and relict quartz grains
with planar amorphous lamellae. c) Highly vesicular silicaand alumina-rich melt forming a melt vein. It is the result of
the preferential melting of the phyllosilicate mineral matrix
and quartz of the host rock.
All other ejecta samples exhibit a wide range of
shock features from fracturing to impact melting. Shock
features have been divided into two categories, as a
function of their abundance at the thin section scale (1)
pervasive shock features are the most abundant and can
represent up to the 100 vol% of the sample: they include
fracturing, PDFs, and impact melt lapilli and bombs, and
(2) localized shock features occur in <1 vol% of the
sample: they include high-pressure phases and localized
impact melting in the form of intergranular melt, melt
veins, and melt films on shatter cones.
Pervasive shock features also allow us to estimate
shock pressures suffered by the target rocks, whereas
localized shock features are the consequence of local
enhancement of shock pressure and temperature in
correspondence to heterogeneities of the target rock.
Pervasive Shock Features and Shock Pressures
pressures <1 GPa (Kieffer 1971; Table 1). The only
impact-related macroscopic structures observed on
crater wall samples are striated surfaces on tear fault
planes described by Urbini et al. (2012).
According to Kowitz et al. (2013a) the fracture
density is directly proportional to the shock pressure
suffered by rocks. As the porosity of sandstone used for
the experimental calibration by Kowitz et al. (2013a) is
higher than the porosity of sandstone rocks of Kamil
area, we cannot apply their calibration to our sample.
We can only constrain the shock pressure suffered by
sample M24 (approximately 60 f mm1), M25
(approximately 100 f mm1), R01 (approximately
110 f mm1), and R02 (approximately 115 f mm1) to
below 5 GPa and suggest that pressure increased from
sample M24 to sample R02. Shock pressure below
5 GPa for sample R01 showing shatter cones is
consistent with the most common low-pressure
formation regime for shatter cones, ranging from
approximately 2 to approximately 10 GPa (French
1998). Sample L23, which has a fracture density of
approximately 450 f mm1 suggests the highest shock
pressures (>>5 GPa), that is confirmed also by the
occurrence of PDFs.
The overall distribution of crystallographic
orientations of PDFs in quartz crystals of sample L23
and of the sandstone clasts embedded in impact melt
is similar. They are both dominated by {10
13}
18
A. Fazio et al.
Fig. 15. Mesoscopic and microscopic features of wacke sample R01. a) Shatter cone structures with striae arranged in a horsetail patterns. b) Close-up view of the rectangular area in image (a). Striations on the shatter cone surface radiate from a common
apex. They are discontinuously coated with by a white film (100s of lm thick) of silica-rich glass (black arrows). The white
arrow indicates where images (c) and (d) were taken, and where the thin section featured in (e) was cut. c) A cross sectional view
of the shatter cone surface coated by silica-rich glass. d) Close-up view of the same feature shown in (c). e) Mosaic of
photomicrographs of a thin section of sample R01 cut perpendicular to the shattered surface. The silica-rich melt appears as a
discontinuous brown coating. The black arrow indicates where the BSE image shown in (f) was taken. f) BSE image of the silicarich glass coating. The glass is highly vesicular and contains quartz relics (see white arrows) of the host rock. g) BSE image of
the silica-rich glass coating of a section broadly parallel to the direction of the striae; vesicles in the melt are coherently stretched
defining a shear fabric forming an angle of approximately 45° (see dashed white lines) relative to the contact with the host
wacke.
orientations and by the lack of (0001) orientations
(Table 5; Fig. 10). In sedimentary targets, the formation
of PDFs with (0001) and {10
13} orientations is usually
prevented because the shock energy is initially used to
close the pores of the target rocks (Robertson 1980). As
a result, PDFs are generally rare in sedimentary targets
(e.g., 5 vol% in Coconino Sandstone, Barringer crater,
Arizona, USA; Robertson 1980) or their orientations
are dominated by high angles to the c-axis (e.g., {1122},
{1011}; Grieve and Therriault 1995; Grieve et al. 1996).
Some target rocks at Kamil have low porosity (e.g.,
porosity in crater wall sandstones is <17 vol% and
typically <4 vol%; Table 1). It is thus likely that only a
small fraction of the shock energy was used for pore
collapse, thereby preventing formation of PDFs with
(0001) orientation and allowing formation of PDFs with
{1013} orientation. In other words, due to their low
porosity, some of the Kamil target rocks behaved like
crystalline rocks. This behavior allows us to infer shock
pressures using experimental calibrations on single
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
quartz crystals reported in the literature (e.g., St€
offler
and Langenhorst 1994). The distribution of PDF
orientations in sandstone clasts exhibits a higher
abundance of high angles to c-axis orientations (>40°)
relative to sample L23 (Table 5; Fig. 10). The
distribution in sandstone clasts is dominated by the
{1013}, {11
22}, and {10
11} orientations, indicating
shock pressures between 10 and 20 GPa. The
distribution in sample L23 is dominated by index
{1013} and {10
12}, indicating shock pressures between
20 and 25 GPa. Planar deformation features are
distributed in domains within individual crystals; their
maximum length is approximately 200 lm; their spacing
ranges from 0.2 lm to 2 lm; the maximum number of
PDF sets occurring within a single crystal domain is
four.
In nonporous crystalline rocks, melting of
individual minerals starts at approximately 40 GPa,
whereas whole-rock melting starts at approximately
60 GPa (St€
offler 1971). In sandstones (e.g., Coconino
Sandstone, porosity: 10–20 vol%), shock melting of
individual quartz grains starts at pressures as low as
approximately 5 GPa and whole-rock melting occurs
above approximately 30–35 GPa (Kieffer et al. 1976;
Kowitz et al. 2013b). Recent experiments on porous
sandstones (porosity: 25–30 vol%) show that
approximately 80 vol% of the target material melts or
transforms into high-pressure phases at 17.5 GPa
(Kowitz et al. 2013b). Whole rock melting at Kamil is
documented by impact melt lapilli and bombs
(Figs. 3c, 6, and 7; Table 2). These consist of white
lechatelierite and black Fe-Ni-rich glass (Figs. 6 and 7;
Table 4). The former is the result of bulk melting of
the target rocks. The latter testifies to melting of the
iron meteorite projectile and mixing with the targetderived melts (see also Folco et al. 2011). In particular,
the nearly pure SiO2 composition (SiO2 > 96 wt% and
Al2O3 <0.24 wt%; Table 4) of the white glass indicates
that the most likely precursor material among the
target rocks studied in this work was similar to the
quartzarenite almost free or devoid of kaolinite-rich
matrix (e.g., samples L02 and M26 collected from the
crater wall at the top of the stratigraphic sequence).
The porosity of these quartzarenite rocks is extremely
low (typically <4 vol%; Table 1) due to pervasive
growth of syntaxial quartz (e.g., Fig. 4d). Sedimentary
target rocks of this nature are expected to behave like
crystalline rocks. We thus infer that shock pressures
experienced by the precursor rocks of the white glass
were between approximately 30 and approximately
60 GPa. More likely, shock pressures were >50 GPa,
on the basis numerical modeling by W€
unnemann et al.
(2008) for rocks with a very low initial porosity
(approximately 4 vol%).
19
Impact Velocity
The planar impact approximation (Melosh 2013)
provides a theoretical basis for constraining a
fundamental parameter for the definition of the Kamil
impact scenario: the impact velocity at the contact with
the target. The vertical component of the impact
velocity was calculated using the linear shock-particle
velocity equation of state parameters of an iron
meteorite projectile and a sedimentary target with the
physical properties of the Coconino Sandstone (Melosh
2013). Input shock pressures were 30 GPa and 60 GPa,
i.e., the range of maximum shock pressures recorded by
the target rocks at Kamil that generated impact melt
lapilli and bombs.
The results of the planar impact approximation
indicate that the vertical component of the impact
velocity is 3.5 km s1 for 30 GPa and of 5.5 km s1 for
60 GPa. Assuming an impact angle of 45°, as inferred
by Urbini et al. (2012), the Gebel Kamil iron projectile
impacted the ground with a face-on impact velocity
between 5.0 km s1 (30 GPa) and 7.5 km s1 (60 GPa).
Localized Shock Features
The closure of the pores upon shock loading of
porous and heterogeneous target rocks can generate
local amplification of shock pressure and temperature
(e.g., Grady 1980; W€
unnemann et al. 2006, 2008;
Schade and W€
unnemann 2007; Ogilvie et al. 2011;
Kowitz et al. 2013b). For instance, experimental work
and modeling by G€
uldemeister et al. (2013) showed that
the initial shock pressure in porous and heterogeneous
sandstones may experience a four-fold increase. Pressure
amplification due to pore collapse can, thus, determine
the localized occurrence of high-pressure phases and
melting in rocks that underwent low to intermediate
shock pressures (5 GPa–20 GPa).
A wide range of localized shock features are
recorded in the sandstone target rocks at Kamil
(Table 1). They can be divided into two main groups
(1) high-pressure phases, namely coesite, stishovite, and
diamond; (2) localized shock melt, namely intergranular
shock melt, melt veins, and shock melt films on shatter
cones. Some of these localized shock features have
never been reported before from small impact structures
(Table 7).
Three high-pressure mineral phases were identified
in sample L23 (Table 1): coesite, stishovite, and
diamond. Coesite occurs in a roundish area, described
in Figs. 12b and 12c. Figure 12d shows that coesite
occurs as irregularly shaped submicrometric crystals
more abundant toward the periphery of intergranular
diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt pockets. Silica glass pockets
20
Table 7. Summary table of shock features in small terrestrial impact craters with diameters ranging from 13.5 m to 1.5 km. Data about Kamil
Crater are highlighted in bold.
PF and/
or PDF
HP
phases
Diaplec-tic
glass
Melt
veins
Interstitial
glass
Whole-rock
impact glassa
Projectile
impact
meltb
Shock in
other
minerals
Crater
Location
Target
Projectile
Age (Ma)
Shatter
cones
Notes
Ref.
Carancas
Haviland
Peru
Kansas,
USA
Australia
0.0135
0.015
S
S
Chondrite
pallasite
0.000007
0.001
n.r.
n.r.
x deb.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
Melt deb.
(1), (2), (3)
(1)
0.024
C
stony-iron
0.02
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
dens. of Qtz
(r.a.f.)
(1), (4)
Russia
Alberta,
Canada
Egypt
0.027
0.036
C
S
iron-IIAB
iron-IIIAB
0.000067
<0.0011
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x deb.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x
n.r.
n.r.
0.045
S
iron-ung.
<0.005?
x
x
x*
x
x
x
x L and B
x
Argentina
0.05
C
<0.004
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
Russia
Estonia
Australia
Poland
Estonia
0.053
0.08
0.08
0.1
0.11
C
S
S
S
S
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x (r.a.f.)
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1), (7), (8)
Saudi
Arabia
0.116
S
<0.001
0.0066
<1
<0.1
0.004
0.01
0.00014
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x
Wabar
iron-IABcomplex
iron
unk.
iron-IIAB
iron
iron-IABcomplex
iron-IIIAB
x(-Fe-Ti oxide,
Tur, Zrn)
n.r.
n.r.
x
x coe
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x L and B
x
n.r.
Henbury
Australia
0.157
S
iron-IIIAB
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
xL
x
n.r.
Odessa
0.168
S
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x (r.a.f.)
x
n.r.
(1), (15)
0.17
C
iron-IABcomplex
iron-IIAB
n.r.
Boxhole
Texas,
USA
Australia
0.0042
0.019
<0.0635
(1), (9), (10),
(11),
(12), (13)
(1), (13), (14)
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x
n.r.
(1), (16)
Macha
Russia
0.3
S
iron
n.r.
x
x Stv
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
Only one
glassy
spherule
(0.12 mm)
n.r.
(1), (17)
Aouelloul
Mauritania
0.39
S
iron
n.r.
x
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
x
5 a-iron
particles,
only
one
spherule
x
x (Zrn)
(1), (18)
Amguid
Algeria
0.45
S
unk.
n.r.
x (planar
elements;
r.a.f.)
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
(1), (19)
Dalgaranga
Sikhote Alin
Whitecourt
Kamil
0.0054
0.0015
<0.007
3.0
0.3
<0.1
(1)
(1), (5)
*Coe, Stv,
and Dia
(1), (6)
(1)
A. Fazio et al.
Campo
del Cielo
Sobolev
Ilumets€a
Veevers
Morasko
Kaalij€arv
Diameter
(km)
Table 7. Continued. Summary table of shock features in small terrestrial impact craters with diameters ranging from 13.5 m to 1.5 km. Data
about Kamil Crater are highlighted in bold.
HP
phases
Diaplec-tic
glass
Melt
veins
Interstitial
glass
Whole-rock
impact glassa
Projectile
impact
meltb
Shock in
other
minerals
Crater
Location
Target
Projectile
Age (Ma)
Shatter
cones
Monturaqui
Chile
0.46
C
<1
n.r.
x
x Coe
x
n.r.
n.r.
x
x
x (Pl, Bt, Ap)
Kalkkop
South
Africa
Australia
0.64
S
iron-IABcomplex
unk.
x s.c.-like
x
n.r.
x
n.r.
n.r.
x
n.r.
n.r.
0.875
S
iron-IIIAB
0.25
0.05
<0.3
n.r.
x (r.a.f.)
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
South
Africa
1.13
C
chondrite
0.220
0.052
n.r.
x
n.r.
x
n.r.
n.r.
x
x sulfides
spherules
X (Afs)
Arizona,
USA
Mongolia
1.19
S
x
n.r.
x
x
x
x
n.r.
n.r.
x Coe
Stv
n.r.
n.r.
C
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
Finland
Finland
1.5
1.5
C
C
unk.
unk.
0.049
0.003
150
20
230
>600
n.r.*
1.3
iron-IABcomplex
unk.
x (r.a.f.)
x
x (r.a.f.)
x
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
n.r.
Wolfe Creek
Tswaing
(ex-Pretoria
Saltpan)
Barringer
TabunKhara-Obo
Karikkoselk€a
Saarij€arvi
Notes
Ref.
(1), (13), (20)
suevite
breccia
dens. of Qtz
(r.a.f.)
suevite
breccia
(1), (21)
*suspected
n.r.
(1), (9), (24),
(25), (26)
(1)
x (Bt, Afs) (r.a.f.)
x (Bt, Chl)
(1), (27)
(1), (28)
(1), (22)
(1), (23)
Ref. = references; S = sedimentary; C = crystalline; ung. = ungrouped; unk. = unknown; x = observed; n.r. = not reported; r.a.f. = reported in abstract form; deb. = debated;
dens. = densification; L = lapilli; B = bombs; s.c. = shatter cones; Coe = coesite; Stv = stishovite; Dia = diamond; Qtz = quartz; Tur = tourmaline; Zrn = zircon; Pl = plagioclase;
Bt = biotite; Ap = apatite; Afs = alkalifeldspar; Chl = chlorite.
a
Whole-rock impact glass indicates a glass resulting only by the melting of the target rocks.
b
Projectile impact melt includes both whole-rock impact glass contaminated by meteoritic components and metal spherules.
(1) http://www.passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/saarijarvi.html; (2) Tancredi et al. (2009); (3) Kenkmann et al. (2009); (4) Miura and Kato (1991); (5) Kofman et al. (2010); (6) This
work; (7) Dietz (1968); (8) Smith and Hodge (1993); (9) Bunch and Cohen (1964); (10) Chao et al. (1961); (11) H€
orz et al. (1989); (12) Mittlefehldt et al. (1992); (13) Gibbons et al.
(1976); (14) Taylor (1967); (15) Smith and Hodge (1997); (16) Hodge and Wright (1970); (17) Gurov and Gurova (1998); (18) Koeberl et al. (1998); (19) McHone et al. (1990);
(20) Bunch and Cassidy (1972); (21) Reimold et al. (1998); (22) Miura (1995); (23) Reimold and Koeberl (2014); (24) Mark (1995); (25) Kieffer et al. (1976); (26) Mittlefehldt et al.
€
(2005); (27) Personen et al. (1999); (28) Ohman
and Preeden (2013).
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
PF and/
or PDF
Diameter
(km)
21
22
A. Fazio et al.
are often vesicular toward the center (Figs. 12b and
12c). The microstructural setting of coesite in sample
L23 is very similar to that of coesite found by Kieffer
et al. (1976; fig. 7a, p. 56) in Coconino Sandstones
shocked between 20 and 30 GPa and described as
symplectic regions. Kieffer et al. (1976) proposed that
these microstructures were formed by a complex
multistage process of phase changes (see fig. 25, p. 89,
in Kieffer et al. 1976), summarized as follows (1) a hot,
amorphous water-bearing silica material (called “jet”) is
injected into the pores during the shock wave passage;
(2) during the initial decompression crystals of coesite
nucleate and grow, water present in the initial jet
concentrates in the residual melt; (3) upon further
pressure release, crystals of coesite in the central region
of the original pore begin to melt; (4) subsequently,
water vapor exsolves from the melt forming vesicles
within the glass. Due to the similarity between the
coesite-melt microstructures observed in shocked
quartzarenite rocks from Kamil and in shocked
Coconino Sandstone from Barringer crater, we suppose
that the above-described process probably occurred also
during the shock metamorphism of Kamil target rocks.
The full width at half maximum for the coesite
main peak and diamond peak indicate that these phases
are crystalline. Peaks for coesite and diamond are
slightly shifted toward higher Raman wave numbers,
suggesting a moderate confining pressure (e.g., Hemley
1987) probably exerted by the diaplectic glass/SiO2 melt
that has a higher volume than other SiO2 phases
(Figs. 12a and 13).
Films of intergranular melt occurring in quartzarenite
sample L23 at the contact between quartz grains have a
variable composition from pure SiO2 to pure kaolinite.
This indicates that the precursor material of sample L23
contained some (likely small) amount of phyllosilicate
mineral matrix. The films of silica glass are often in
continuity with enlarged PDFs (Fig. 9b). The sequence of
images shown in Figs. 9a and 9b features some analogies
with the PDF formation model proposed by Langenhorst
(1994). According to this model, PDFs start to form by
solid-state amorphization at pressures between 5 GPa
and 10 GPa, i.e., at a shock pressure regime unable to
produce shock temperatures and postshock temperatures
above the melting temperature of quartz (Fig. 9a).
Between 25 GPa and 35 GPa small bands of melt form in
correspondence to PDFs, because shock temperature
exceeds melting temperature. Over 35 GPa, both shock
and postshock temperatures are higher than melting
temperature and the quartz crystals are more extensively
consumed by melting (Fig. 9b). Finally, over 50 GPa
lechatelierite forms (see inset Fig. 9b).
Localized shock melting due to amplification of
shock pressures and temperatures associated to pore
collapse is also documented at the crystal boundaries
between accessory mineral and quartz in sample L23
(Fig. 9c). Note that when hydrated minerals like
tourmaline are involved, the melt volume and the vesicle
size are greater than that produced by anhydrous
minerals, documenting a role of volatiles in shock
melting.
The chemical composition of the melt veins of sample
M25 (Table 6) indicates that they derived from the
preferential melting of the phyllosilicate mineral matrix of
the host rock. Phyllosilicate minerals have lower melting
and breakdown temperatures (up to 650 °C), Mohs
number (up to 4), indentation hardness (up to 2 GPa),
yield strength (up to 0.66 GPa), and shear yield strength
(up to 30 GPa) than other common rock-forming
minerals (Spray 2010). We thus conclude that coarse
siltstone levels in sample M25 played an important role in
the formation of these melt veins. Sample L13 show
alternating sandstone and siltstone levels and it could
represent the protolith of sample M25 (Table 1; Fig. 4b).
The hundred micrometers thick glass films observed
on ejecta sandstone sample R01 on shatter cone surfaces
(Fig. 15) is characterized by a highly vesicular texture
and high silica and alumina composition (Al2O3/
SiO2 = 0.48) consistent with localized melting of the host
wacke (Al2O3/SiO2 = 0.46). Melt films at the surface of
shatter cones were also reported from the Sudbury
(Ontario, Canada) and Vredefort (South Africa) impact
structures (e.g., Gay 1978; Gibson and Spray 1998;
Nicolaysen and Reimold 1999) and, possibly, from the
Santa Fe (New Mexico, USA) impact structure
(Fackelman et al. 2008). Although it is generally accepted
that shatter cones typically develop at low shock
pressures between approximately 2 and approximately
10 GPa (French 1998), the precise mechanism of shatter
cone formation is still debated (e.g., Sagy et al. 2002,
2004; Baratoux and Melosh 2003; Wieland et al. 2006).
Nonetheless, evidence from Kamil sample R01 confirms
that melting conditions can be attained at the interface
between adjacent shatter cone surfaces. Furthermore, the
micrometric-scale shear fabric observed in the melt films
(namely, parallel to the major axis of the shatter cones;
Fig. 15g) suggests that frictional melting contributed, at
least in part, to their formation, as previously suggested
by Nicolaysen and Reimold (1999) based on the
occurrence of microdisplacements on the surface of some
shatter cones from the Vredefort impact structure.
Comparison of Small (<1.5 km in Diameter) Impact
Structures
Kamil is the sixth smallest impact structure (45 m
in diameter) known on Earth. In common with most of
very small (<300 m in diameter) and small (<1.5 km in
Shock metamorphism and impact melting at Kamil crater
diameter) impact structures, Kamil was formed by the
impact of an iron or stony-iron meteorite (19 of 27) on
a sedimentary target (17 of 27; Table 7). The age of the
impact is still uncertain. It is, however, likely younger
than 5000 yr based on archeological evidence (Folco
et al. 2011) and, therefore one of the ten youngest
impact craters of Earth.
As discussed in the previous sections, ejecta at
Kamil show a wide range of shock features, some of
them never reported for impact craters with sizes
comparable to Kamil (Table 7). Urbini et al. (2012)
estimated that the volume of rock excavated by the
impact of the Gebel Kamil meteorite was about
3800 m3. Not all the excavated rocks suffered shock
pressure sufficient to produce shock effects, for example
the large quartzarenite boulder L07. During impact
cratering, the volume of rock that suffered shock
pressures between 1 and 5 GPa is much larger than the
volume of rock shocked over 5 GPa (French 1998).
Moreover, incoherent deposits are easily eroded and
weathered. Thus, the common occurrence of shock
metamorphosed rocks and impact melt lapilli and
bombs is a further proof of the pristine state of
preservation of Kamil. There are three reasons for the
exceptional state of preservation of Kamil (1) the young
age of the impact (most likely <5000 yr; Folco et al.
2011); (2) the mechanical strength of the target rocks,
namely quartzarenite (Table 1); and (3) the low erosion
rates of arid desert areas (e.g., 1–16 m Ma1 for the
Namib Desert; Bierman and Caffee 2001).
Table 7 shows that shock features have been
reported only for 19 small impact craters of 27, and
often in abstract form only. In very small impact craters
<300 m diameter, observations about shock features are
reported almost exclusively for impact craters younger
than 5000 yr. Besides Kamil, significant shock features
have been reported only from Wabar (Saudi Arabia).
Extending the comparison to impact craters up to
1.5 km diameter, extensive shock features have been
reported for Aouelloul (Mauritania), Monturaqui
(Chile), and Barringer (Arizona, USA).
The most common shock features in small impact
craters are PDFs and impact melt lapilli and bombs.
Planar deformation features are, however, rare in very
small impact craters (5 of 17 very small impact craters).
Shatter cones and high-pressure phases have been
reported only from 4 small impact craters (including
Kamil). Melt veins have been reported only from Kamil
(Table 7),
although,
in
Kalkkop
a
possible
pseudotachylite veinlet was found (Reimold et al. 1998).
The shock features found in ejecta from the Kamil
indicate that the formation of these features is possible
also in very small impact structures formed by metersized projectiles impacting the ground with a high
23
velocity, i.e., >3 km s1 (hypervelocity impact). Their
detection
requires
a
combination
of
special
circumstances like the young age of the crater, the high
mechanical strength of target rocks, and minimal burial
and low erosion rates.
CONCLUSIONS
This is a detailed report of the petrography and
some chemical observations of samples from the crater
wall and ejecta deposits from Kamil crater (Egypt)
collected during the first Italian-Egyptian geophysical
expedition in February 2010. Data allow us to draw the
following conclusions in terms of shock effects recorded
by target rocks, impact scenario, and unique state of
preservation of the ejecta rocks:
1. A broad set of shock features is recorded in the
target rocks at Kamil (45 m in diameter), ranging
from fracturing to whole-rock impact melting.
2. Shock features are classified into two categories (1)
pervasive shock features, including fracturing,
planar deformation features, and impact melt lapilli
and bombs, and (2) localized shock features
including high-pressure phases and localized impact
melts occurring as intergranular melt, melt veins,
and melt films enveloping shatter cones.
3. Kamil is the smallest impact structure where shatter
cones, coesite, stishovite, diamond, and impact melt
(target and projectile) have been reported.
4. Because of the occurrence of impact melt lapilli and
bombs, the maximum shock pressure during the
impact of the iron meteorite Gebel Kamil was
between 30 GPa and 60 GPa.
5. The maximum shock pressures recorded at Kamil
can be achieved through face-on impact velocities
from 5.0 km s1 (30 GPa) and of 7.5 km s1
(60 GPa), assuming an impact angle of 45°.
6. Localized shock features, namely high-pressure
phases (coesite, stishovite, and diamond) and
localized impact melts (intergranular melt, melt veins,
and melt films on shatter cones), are the result of
enhanced shock pressure and temperature related to
pores collapse and heterogeneities of the target rocks.
7. Shatter cones from Kamil are coated by thin
(<200 lm) films of glass, confirming that melting
conditions can be attained at the surfaces of shatter
cones, and evidence for shear shows that frictional
melting contributed, at least in part, to their
formation.
8. The hypervelocity impact of meter-sized iron
meteorite projectiles can produce shock effects
similar to those observed in high velocity, larger
impacts. The young age of the crater (most likely
<5000 yr), the mechanical strength of target rocks,
24
A. Fazio et al.
and the low erosion rates of the hot-desert area
played a crucial role in the preservation of all these
shock features.
Acknowledgments—This work was supported by the
Italian Ministero degli Affari Esteri—Progetti di Grande
Rilevanza, Protocollo Esecutivo ITALIA-EGITTO. The
2010 geophysical expedition work was carried out within
the framework of the 2009 Italian–Egyptian Year of
Science and Technology. We thank Prof. M. Alsherbiny
(former president of the Egyptian National Academy for
Scientific Research and Technology) and Prof. F. Porcelli
(Scientific Attache, Italian Embassy, Egypt) for
diplomatic and institutional support; the Egyptian Army
for logistical support. Agnese Fazio was supported by
the PhD School Scuola di Dottorato in Scienze di Base
Galileo Galilei program on Earth Science of the
University of Pisa, and by the Barringer Family Fund for
Meteorite Impact Research 2014. Luigi Folco and
Massimo D’Orazio are also supported by the University
of Pisa Fondi di Ateneo. Institut des Sciences de la Terre
(ISTerre) of Grenoble is part of Labex OSUG@2020
(ANR10 LABX56). Astrid Kowitz and John G. Spray
are thanked for constructive reviews, and Uwe Reimold
for editorial handling. The authors are grateful to
Valentina Batanova, Andrea Cavallo, and Cristian
Biagioni for their assistance during electron microprobe
analysis at ISTerre (Grenoble), field emission scanning
electron microscope analysis at Istituto di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia (Rome), and X-ray powder diffraction
analysis at Pisa University’s Dipartimento di Scienze
della Terra, respectively. Raman facilities by the Center
“G. Scansetti” for studies on asbestos and other toxic
particulates were funded by the Compagnia di San
Paolo, Torino. PNRA is acknowledged for preliminary
Raman microspectroscopy analyses.
Editorial Handling—Dr. Uwe Reimold
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