Timescales of shock processes in chondritic and martian meteorites

The accretion of the terrestrial planets from asteroid collisions and the delivery to the Earth of martian and lunar meteorites has been modelled extensively. Meteorites that have experienced shock waves from such collisions can potentially be used to reveal the accretion process at different stages of evolution within the Solar System. Here we have determined the peak pressure experienced and the duration of impact in a chondrite and a martian meteorite, and have combined the data with impact scaling laws to infer the sizes of the impactors and the associated craters on the meteorite parent bodies. The duration of shock events is inferred from trace element distributions between coexisting high-pressure minerals in the shear melt veins of the meteorites. The shock duration and the associated sizes of the impactor are found to be much greater in the chondrite (approximately 1 s and 5 km, respectively) than in the martian meteorite (approximately 10 ms and 100 m). The latter result compares well with numerical modelling studies of cratering on Mars, and we suggest that martian meteorites with similar, recent ejection ages (10(5) to 10(7) years ago) may have originated from the same few square kilometres on Mars.     

Impact-derived features of the Xiuyan meteorite crater

Up to now, 176 meteorite impact craters have been found on the Earth. Among these craters, none of them lies in China. The Xiuyan crater is located in the Liaodong Peninsula of China. This bowl-shaped crater has a diameter of 1.8 km and depth of about 150 m. The impact-derived features include planar deformation features （PDFs） in quartz, shatter cones, impact breccia, and radial valleys on the wall of rim. It is the first confirmed meteorite impact crater in China.     

Discovery of an aurora on Mars

In the high-latitude regions of Earth, aurorae are the often-spectacular visual manifestation of the interaction between electrically charged particles (electrons, protons or ions) with the neutral upper atmosphere, as they precipitate along magnetic field lines. More generally, auroral emissions in planetary atmospheres "are those that result from the impact of particles other than photoelectrons" (ref. 1). Auroral activity has been found on all four giant planets possessing a magnetic field (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), as well as on Venus, which has no magnetic field. On the nightside of Venus, atomic O emissions at 130.4 nm and 135.6 nm appear in bright patches of varying sizes and intensities, which are believed to be produced by electrons with energy <300 eV (ref. 7). Here we report the discovery of an aurora in the martian atmosphere, using the ultraviolet spectrometer SPICAM on board Mars Express. It corresponds to a distinct type of aurora not seen before in the Solar System: it is unlike aurorae at Earth and the giant planets, which lie at the foot of the intrinsic magnetic field lines near the magnetic poles, and unlike venusian auroras, which are diffuse, sometimes spreading over the entire disk. Instead, the martian aurora is a highly concentrated and localized emission controlled by magnetic field anomalies in the martian crust.     

Seismic resurfacing by a single impact on the asteroid 433 Eros

Impact cratering creates a wide range of topography on small satellites and asteroids. The population of visible craters evolves with impacts, and because there are no competing endogenic processes to modify the surface, determining the various ways younger craters add to or subtract from the population is a fundamental aspect of small-body geology. Asteroid 433 Eros, the most closely studied small body, has regions of substantially different crater densities that remain unexplained. Here we show that the formation of a relatively young crater (7.6 km in diameter) resulted in the removal of other craters as large as 0.5 km over nearly 40 percent of the asteroid. Burial by ejecta cannot explain the observed pattern of crater removal. The limitation of reduced crater density to a zone within a particular straight-line distance through the asteroid from the centre of the large crater suggests degradation of the topography by seismic energy released during the impact. Our observations indicate that the interior of Eros is sufficiently cohesive to transmit seismic energy over many kilometres, and the outer several tens of metres of the asteroid must be composed of relatively non-cohesive material.     

Secondary craters on Europa and implications for cratered surfaces

For several decades, most planetary researchers have regarded the impact crater populations on solid-surfaced planets and smaller bodies as predominantly reflecting the direct ('primary') impacts of asteroids and comets. Estimates of the relative and absolute ages of geological units on these objects have been based on this assumption. Here we present an analysis of the comparatively sparse crater population on Jupiter's icy moon Europa and suggest that this assumption is incorrect for small craters. We find that 'secondaries' (craters formed by material ejected from large primary impact craters) comprise about 95 per cent of the small craters (diameters less than 1 km) on Europa. We therefore conclude that large primary impacts into a solid surface (for example, ice or rock) produce far more secondaries than previously believed, implying that the small crater populations on the Moon, Mars and other large bodies must be dominated by secondaries. Moreover, our results indicate that there have been few small comets (less than 100 m diameter) passing through the jovian system in recent times, consistent with dynamical simulations.     

Implications of an impact origin for the martian hemispheric dichotomy

The observation that one hemisphere of Mars is lower and has a thinner crust than the other (the 'martian hemispheric dichotomy') has been a puzzle for 30 years. The dichotomy may have arisen as a result of internal mechanisms such as convection. Alternatively, it may have been caused by one or several giant impacts, but quantitative tests of the impact hypothesis have not been published. Here we use a high-resolution, two-dimensional, axially symmetric hydrocode to model vertical impacts over a range of parameters appropriate to early Mars. We propose that the impact model, in addition to excavating a crustal cavity of the correct size, explains two other observations. First, crustal disruption at the impact antipode is probably responsible for the observed antipodal decline in magnetic field strength. Second, the impact-generated melt forming the northern lowlands crust is predicted to derive from a deep, depleted mantle source. This prediction is consistent with characteristics of martian shergottite meteorites and suggests a dichotomy formation time approximately 100 Myr after martian accretion, comparable to that of the Moon-forming impact on Earth.     

Planetary science: Meteor Crater formed by low-velocity impact

Meteor Crater in Arizona was the first terrestrial structure to be widely recognized as a meteorite impact scar and has probably been more intensively studied than any other impact crater on Earth. We have discovered something surprising about its mode of formation--namely that the surface-impact velocity of the iron meteorite that created Meteor Crater was only about 12 km s(-1). This is close to the 9.4 km s(-1) minimum originally proposed but far short of the 15-20 km s(-1) that has been widely assumed--a realization that clears up a long-standing puzzle about why the crater does not contain large volumes of rock melted by the impact.     

Discovery of a 25-cm asteroid clast in the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa

Meteorites provide a sample of Solar System bodies and so constrain the types of objects that have collided with Earth over time. Meteorites analysed to date, however, are unlikely to be representative of the entire population and it is also possible that changes in their nature have occurred with time. Large objects are widely believed to be completely melted or vaporized during high-angle impact with the Earth. Consequently, identification of large impactors relies on indirect chemical tracers, notably the platinum-group elements. Here we report the discovery of a large (25-cm), unaltered, fossil meteorite, and several smaller fragments within the impact melt of the giant (> 70 km diameter), 145-Myr-old Morokweng crater, South Africa. The large fragment (clast) resembles an LL6 chondrite breccia, but contains anomalously iron-rich silicates, Fe-Ni sulphides, and no troilite or metal. It has chondritic chromium isotope ratios and identical platinum-group element ratios to the bulk impact melt. These features allow the unambiguous characterization of an impactor at a large crater. Furthermore, the unusual composition of the meteorite suggests that the Morokweng asteroid incorporated part of the LL chondrite parent body not represented by objects at present reaching the Earth.     

一种基于特征空间的月球撞击坑自动识别算法

撞击坑不仅是月球表面常见的一种地质单元,也是研究月表地质年龄的一个重要因素,所以准确的识别撞击坑就很重要．本文提出了一种基于特征空间的对撞击坑进行自动识别的算法．新算法先将CCD图像转换成特征空间图像,在特征空间中通过自适应的区域检测寻找撞击坑候选区域．再对候选的区域进行椭圆拟合以进一步确认撞击坑,最后统计得到撞击坑个数．新算法在嫦娥一号采集的月球CCD图像上进行测试,测试结果显示该算法对月球中小撞击坑有较高的识别能力．     

基于数学形态学的月海圆形撞击坑自动识别方法

撞击坑是月球表面最为常见的地质单元,是研究月球地质演化历史的重要对象,也是月球地质定年的基本依据,因此撞击坑识别具有重要意义.本文根据嫦娥一号采集的月球CCD图像,基于数学形态学方法对撞击坑进行自动识别提取研究.在CCD图像中,撞击坑边缘的灰度变化明显,梯度较大,由此可以计算获取撞击坑的边缘形态;一般情况下,依据图像灰度梯度突变,通过边缘检测得到的撞击坑边缘比较粗糙、不连续,而且有断口和小洞.根据数学形态学的基本思想——用具有一定形态的结构元素去量度和提取图像中的对应形状,对识别出来的边缘作进一步处理,可得到较光滑、连续的撞击坑边缘弧,从而能方便地拟合出撞击坑边缘,并获得撞击坑的直径与位置.用数学形态学进行撞击坑识别与提取的主要步骤是：首先对CCD影像计算灰度的梯度,得到梯度图像,然后进行二值化,再使用数学形态学分离出边缘,最后用圆形对撞击坑进行拟合并计算出撞击坑的位置和直径.本文分别对月海和月陆地区进行撞击坑识别实验,结果表明,我们设计的算法能够识别的最小撞击坑直径为10个像素.其中月海区域撞击坑识别准确可靠;而月陆区域岩性差异大、地形起伏,造成CCD图像背景变化较大,其识别效果相对差一些,有待进一步改善.     

规则凹坑表面的连通性分析

规则凹坑表面的连通程度与表面间润滑油的流动、存储以及表面的密封性能密切相关,有关表面形貌的连通特性及其对功能影响的研究目前还很少.文章针对规则凹坑表面的结构特点,运用数学形态学的基本原理,分析了模拟规则凹坑表面的连通性特性;选择承载面积比为80%的截面,作为评价连通性的基准面;计算结果表明,规则凹坑表面的连通性系数主要受凹坑半径与凹坑间距的影响,并且随凹坑半径的增加而增大;随凹坑间距的增加而减小.     

Geochemical evidence for magmatic water within Mars from pyroxenes in the Shergotty meteorite

Observations of martian surface morphology have been used to argue that an ancient ocean once existed on Mars. It has been thought that significant quantities of such water could have been supplied to the martian surface through volcanic outgassing, but this suggestion is contradicted by the low magmatic water content that is generally inferred from chemical analyses of igneous martian meteorites. Here, however, we report the distributions of trace elements within pyroxenes of the Shergotty meteorite--a basalt body ejected 175 million years ago from Mars--as well as hydrous and anhydrous crystallization experiments that, together, imply that water contents of pre-eruptive magma on Mars could have been up to 1.8%. We found that in the Shergotty meteorite, the inner cores of pyroxene minerals (which formed at depth in the martian crust) are enriched in soluble trace elements when compared to the outer rims (which crystallized on or near to the martian surface). This implies that water was present in pyroxenes at depth but was largely lost as pyroxenes were carried to the surface during magma ascent. We conclude that ascending magmas possibly delivered significant quantities of water to the martian surface in recent times, reconciling geologic and petrologic constraints on the outgassing history of Mars.     

Automated detection of lunar craters based on object-oriented approach

The object-oriented approach is a powerful method in making classification. With the segmentation of images to objects, many features can be calculated based on the objects so that the targets can be distinguished. However, this method has not been applied to lunar study. In this paper we attempt to apply this method to detecting lunar craters with promising results. Craters are the most obvious fea- tures on the moon and they are important for lunar geologic study. One of the important questions in lunar research is to estimate lunar surface ages by examination of crater density per unit area. Hence, proper detection of lunar craters is necessary. Manual crater identification is inefficient, and a more efficient and effective method is needed. This paper describes an object-oriented method to detect lunar craters using lunar reflectance images. In the method, many objects were first segmented from the image based on size, shape, color, and the weights to every layer. Then the feature of ＂contrast to neighbor objects＂ was selected to identify craters from the lunar image. In the next step, by merging the adjacent objects belonging to the same class, almost every crater can be taken as an independent object except several very big craters in the study area. To remove the crater rays diagnosed as craters, the feature of ＂length/width＂ was further used with suitable parameters to finish recognizing craters. Finally, the result was exported to ArcGIS for manual modification to those big craters and the number of craters was acquired.     

Impact spherules as a record of an ancient heavy bombardment of Earth

Impact craters are the most obvious indication of asteroid impacts, but craters on Earth are quickly obscured or destroyed by surface weathering and tectonic processes. Earth’s impact history is inferred therefore either from estimates of the present-day impactor flux as determined by observations of near-Earth asteroids, or from the Moon’s incomplete impact chronology. Asteroids hitting Earth typically vaporize a mass of target rock comparable to the projectile’s mass. As this vapour expands in a large plume or fireball, it cools and condenses into molten droplets called spherules. For asteroids larger than about ten kilometres in diameter, these spherules are deposited in a global layer. Spherule layers preserved in the geologic record accordingly provide information about an impact even when the source crater cannot be found. Here we report estimates of the sizes and impact velocities of the asteroids that created global spherule layers. The impact chronology from these spherule layers reveals that the impactor flux was significantly higher 3.5 billion years ago than it is now. This conclusion is consistent with a gradual decline of the impactor flux after the Late Heavy Bombardment.     

An Archaean heavy bombardment from a destabilized extension of the asteroid belt

The barrage of comets and asteroids that produced many young lunar basins (craters over 300 kilometres in diameter) has frequently been called the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB). Many assume the LHB ended about 3.7 to 3.8 billion years (Gyr) ago with the formation of Orientale basin. Evidence for LHB-sized blasts on Earth, however, extend into the Archaean and early Proterozoic eons, in the form of impact spherule beds: globally distributed ejecta layers created by Chicxulub-sized or larger cratering events4. At least seven spherule beds have been found that formed between 3.23 and 3.47?Gyr ago, four between 2.49 and 2.63?Gyr ago, and one between 1.7 and 2.1?Gyr ago. Here we report that the LHB lasted much longer than previously thought, with most late impactors coming from the E belt, an extended and now largely extinct portion of the asteroid belt between 1.7 and 2.1 astronomical units from Earth. This region was destabilized by late giant planet migration. E-belt survivors now make up the high-inclination Hungaria asteroids. Scaling from the observed Hungaria asteroids, we find that E-belt projectiles made about ten lunar basins between 3.7 and 4.1?Gyr ago. They also produced about 15 terrestrial basins between 2.5 and 3.7?Gyr ago, as well as around 70 and four Chicxulub-sized or larger craters on the Earth and Moon, respectively, between 1.7 and 3.7?Gyr ago. These rates reproduce impact spherule bed and lunar crater constraints.     

钨合金弹体超高速撞击混凝土靶成坑特性研究

为探究钨合金弹体超高速撞击混凝土靶的成坑直径和成坑体积随动能变化的规律,采用二级轻气炮开展了钨合金弹体以1。97～3。66km/s的速度撞击混凝土靶实验,利用CT图像诊断方法得到了实验后的成坑特性实验数据,并基于点源假设进行了超高速撞击条件下成坑特性的量纲归—化分析。结果表明:超高速撞击条件下靶板成坑为“弹坑+弹洞”型;成坑直径和成坑体积随动能增加而单调递增,通过量纲分析得到成坑直径3次方和成坑体积都与弹体动能近似成正比,拟合指数μ接近动能主导的指数2/3,说明成坑过程主要受动能影响。      

基于局部Haar和PHOG特征的月球撞击坑综合检测方法

基于月貌图像的撞击坑的检测需要采用合理的特征选择和机器学习策略,我们提出了一种基于区域局部灰度和梯度分布特征与机器学习方法相结合的撞击坑检测方法．这种方法将Haar特征与AdaBoost结合,使候选撞击坑区域的定位更加快捷,采用局部区域的塔式梯度方向直方图（PHOG）与高效的支持向量机学习算法相结合的方法用来精确地对撞击坑候选区域进行分类．考虑到Haar特征数的繁多而采用AdaBoost作为特征提取和分类方法,并由于PHOG特征的每一项都对分类起作用,将撞击坑区域统一预处理为不含阴阳面的各向梯度向量基本一致的圆形模糊边界,使圆形撞击坑的正样本特征具备更多的稳定性．文中还讨论了几种特征和分类方法的机理和集成,以及参数调整对撞击坑检测的效率分析．     

钨球高速侵彻低碳钢板成坑直径的计算模型

为研究钨球对低碳钢板高速侵彻成坑直径的分析方法.采用12.7mm弹道枪和57.5mm/14.5mm二级轻气炮加载方式,进行了Φ6mm和Φ7mm钨球以600~2400m/s撞击速度侵彻不同厚度Q235A钢板实验,根据实验现象分析了弹-靶作用过程,对不同侵彻速度下钢板上侵彻孔边缘进行了扫描电镜(SEM)观察.研究结果表明,撞击速度在1000m/s时,靶体破坏以动态断裂为主,当撞击速度达到1500m/s以上时靶体破坏以塑性流动为主;据此,同时考虑钨球塑性变形、靶体动态屈服和塑性流动,建立了钨球高速侵彻低碳钢板成坑直径的计算模型,模型计算结果与实验偏差在12%以内.      

A 20-km-diameter multi-ringed impact structure in the North Sea

Most craters found on Earth are highly eroded, poorly preserved and only exposed on land. Here we describe a multi-ringed impact structure discovered in the North Sea from the analysis of three-dimensional seismic reflection data. The structure is 20 km in diameter, and has at least ten distinctive concentric rings located between 2 and 10 km from the crater centre. The structure affects Cretaceous chalk and Jurassic shales, and is well preserved below several hundred metres of post-impact Tertiary strata, which constrains its age to be 60-65 Myr old. The formation of concentric ringed impact structures at this relatively small scale had not previously been thought possible, especially on the terrestrial planets. We have mapped the ring structures at a resolution of tens of metres both laterally and in depth, and show that the rings are fault-bounded graben structures, similar to fault arrays formed in low-strain-rate detachment tectonic settings. Strata deeper than 500 m palaeodepth appear unfaulted, and we infer that the concentric ring structures may have accommodated post-impact extension towards the excavated crater, through detachment on weak layers within the chalk.     

Interplanetary dust from the explosive dispersal of hydrated asteroids by impacts

The Earth accretes about 30,000 tons of dust particles per year, with sizes in the range of 20-400 microm (refs 1, 2). Those particles collected at the Earth's surface--termed micrometeorites--are similar in chemistry and mineralogy to hydrated, porous meteorites, but such meteorites comprise only 2.8% of recovered falls. This large difference in relative abundances has been attributed to 'filtering' by the Earth's atmosphere, that is, the porous meteorites are considered to be so friable that they do not survive the impact with the atmosphere. Here we report shock-recovery experiments on two porous meteorites, one of which is hydrated and the other is anhydrous. The application of shock to the hydrated meteorite reduces it to minute particles and explosive expansion results upon release of the pressure, through a much broader range of pressures than for the anhydrous meteorite. Our results indicate that hydrated asteroids will produce dust particles during collisions at a much higher rate than anhydrous asteroids, which explains the different relative abundances of the hydrated material in micrometeorites and meteorites: the abundances are established before contact with the Earth's atmosphere.