Carbon-bearing phases in shock-induced melt zones of the Elga meteorite

Abstract

The mineralogy and texture of shock-induced melt veinlets and melt pockets in silicate inclusions in the Elga IIE iron meteorite have been studied by reflected-light optical microscopy, EMPA, SEM, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. The results suggest that Elga experienced two discrete impact events. The earlier event involved the collision of a metallic projectile with a silicate target and resulted in partial melting and recrystallization of the silicate material, forming schreibersite and oxide rims between the metal and silicate. The later impact event resulted in melt pockets in the silicate inclusions and was associated with fragmentation, melting, and brecciation of the rims and displacement of some fragments into the melt pockets. These fragments are shown to contain carbon-bearing phases: siderite and amorphous sp² carbon, which form carbon–oxide, siderite–oxide, and siderite–schreibersite associations. The fact that the carbon-bearing fragments are spatially constrained to shock breccia and melt zones indicates that these fragments are genetically related to the impact process and that their carbon-bearing phases are of cosmic origin.