We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Evidence for a spatially extensive hydrothermal system at the Ries impact structure, Germany.
- Authors
Sapers, H. M.; Osinski, G. R.; Flemming, R. L.; Buitenhuis, E.; Banerjee, N. R.; Tornabene, L. L.; Blain, S.; Hainge, J.
- Abstract
The ~15 Ma, 26 km diameter Ries impact structure in south-central Germany was one of the first terrestrial impact structures where evidence of impact-associated hydrothermal alteration was recognized. Previous studies suggested that pervasive, high-temperature hydrothermal activity was restricted to the area within the 'inner ring' (i.e., the crater-fill impactite units). Here we present mineralogical evidence for localized hydrothermal activity in the ejecta beyond the crater rim in two previously unstudied settings: a pervasively altered lens of suevite ejecta directly overlying the Bunte Breccia at the Aumühle quarry; and suevite ejecta at depth overlain by ~20 m of lacustrine sediments sampled by the Wörnitzostheim 1965 drill core. A comprehensive set of X-ray diffraction analyses indicates five distinct alteration regimes (1) surficial ambient weathering characterized by smectite and a minor illitic component; (2) locally restricted hydrothermal activity characterized by an illitic component and minor smectite; (3) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and calcite; (4) hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, calcite, zeolites, and clinochlore; and (5) pervasive hydrothermal activity at depth characterized by smectite, a minor illitic component, and minor clinochlore. These data spatially extend the Ries postimpact hydrothermal system suggesting a much more extensive, complex, and dynamic system than previously thought. Constraining the mineralogical alteration regimes at the Ries impact structure may also further our understanding of impact-associated phyllosilicate formation on Mars with implications for climate models and habitability.
- Subjects
GERMANY; IMPACT craters; HYDROTHERMAL alteration; SMECTITE; PHYLLOSILICATES; ATMOSPHERIC models; BRECCIA; GEOLOGY
- Publication
Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 2017, Vol 52, Issue 2, p351
- ISSN
1086-9379
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/maps.12796