This Thesis investigates the number of possible meteorite impacts in Sweden since the year 2000. Sweden did not until recently have any photographic monitoring of incoming meteorites, thus a search through media reporting observations from the public has been performed. A theoretical approximation, based on an established extra-terrestrial mass ux, gives the number of 210 possible meteorite impacts for this time period. All of these could have been reballs, but by subtracting the daylight hours and bad weather conditions, only 47 reballs could have been seen during the 15 years. All of the 210 events could also have dropped meteorites on the ground, but when subtracting areas where it is very unlikely to recover a meteorite, like large forest areas and lakes, the number of possible meteorites is 73. The newspaper articles published since 2000 regarding reball observations gives 37 plausible meteorites. The theoretical value and the number of observations are similar enough that the theoretical approximation is probable to be correct.

No description available.

The origin of the Silverpit structure, UK North Sea has been contested since its discovery on seismic data in 2002. The Silverpit structure consists of a 3 - 4km central zone of deformation, which includes a conical uplift. This is surrounded by a series of ring faults up to a maximum diameter of 20km. Meteorite impact, evaporite withdrawal, pull-apart basin tectonics and halokinesis tectonics have all been suggested as possible origins. This thesis uses a multi-discipline approach to test these hypotheses and determine with certainty the origin of the Silverpit structure. Seismic interpretation of the Silverpit structure has highlighted that deformation in the central deformation zone and beneath the structure is comparable with other meteorite craters. However, the ring faults are comparable with other structures formed by regional evaporite dissolution and movement. Seismic interpretation on a regional, 3500km2 scale proved that the structure is unique and that salt movement was taking place at the same time as the Silverpit structure was created. Unusual diagenesis in the chalk beneath the Silverpit structure was identified as a result of the presence of both unusual geophysical and geochemical signatures. An anomalous sonic log response is attributed to a significantly decreased porosity at the base of the chalk unit. Anomalously negative stable oxygen isotopes were also found in the chalk beneath the structure. Unusually elevated heat flow is the likely cause of these irregularities. The evidence presented in this thesis leads to the conclusion that the origin of the Silverpit structure is in fact two-phase. Meteorite impact has lead to the formation of the central zone of deformation and conical uplift. It has also influenced the diagenesis of the chalk beneath the crater and created a more brittle chalk unit. Regional salt withdrawal is responsible for the formation of the ring faults, which have only formed in the meteorite impact induced brittle chalk. In simple terms, a meteorite impact formed the 3km crater and then salt withdrawal produced the circular rings during several million years after the impact.

A suite of lightning strike glasses and unmelted starting materials has been studied by electron microscope and Mossbauer spectroscopy to determine Fe oxidation states. Nine of eleven samples are reduced compared to the starting materials; four of the glasses contain Fe0. Only one sample contained evidence of reduction by carbon, and the results support the reduction of Fe as intrinsic to the rapid, high temperature processing during lightning strikes.A thermodynamic modeling code is used to model the formation of moldavite tektites and the reduction of Fe from sediments around the Ries crater. During isentropic cooling from a strong shock, Fe3+ is reduced to Fe2+ at all modeled conditions. The best matches to an average moldavite composition and the compositions of the Bohemian and Bohemian:Radomilice sub-strewn fields occur with a mixture of surface and subsurface sands along a 4500 J/kg-K isentropic cooling path, consistent with an asteroid impact. The Lusatian and Moravian sub-strewn fields are better represented by starting materials of entirely surface sands, consistent with the uppermost layers of surface material having traveled the farthest from the impact.The thermodynamic code is also used to investigate the formation of lunar regolith agglutinates and reduction of Fe to Fe0. Forming Fe0 requires assuming Fe0 is miscible in silicate liquid at elevated temperatures and pressures. When Fe0 is included in the liquid solution, it is stable at modeled conditions. Simple separation of liquid from vapor is not sufficient to reproduce agglutinate glass. When the vapor phase is allowed to partially redeposit and some Fe0 is directly condensed from vapor, the resulting liquid better reproduces mare agglutinate glasses. This model cannot reproduce highland agglutinate glass, because the Al concentration remains too high in the liquid. The best match to mare glass is produced using the <10 µm fraction of the mare soil along the 8000 J/kg-K cooling isentrope at 100 bars, 4370 K with 95% vapor redeposition and 50% of the Fe(g) directly condensed as Fe0. The reduced fulgurite samples and the results of the impact models suggest that Fe reduction is intrinsic to the rapid, high temperature processing of silicates.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-121).

L'élucidation du mécanisme de formation de divers verres naturels peut aider à comprendre la dynamique de la Terre car ces matériaux retiennent l'état de formation dans leurs structures. La spectroscopie XAFS appliquée aux matériaux amorphes issue des météorites fournit des informations sur les changements structuraux locaux des éléments présents. En effectuant des analyses dans la phase de verre des météorites et dans les verres issus de l'impact météoritiques des informations sur les conditions de formation des ces matériaux peuvent être obtenues. Dans cette thèse, l'analyse de la structure locale d’éléments de transition (Ti, Zr) dans les minéraux et les verres naturels a été réalisée par la XAFS. Des expériences de chauffage au laser à haute température et de flux gazeux sur zircon ont également été effectuées pour observer les changements structuraux à haute température dans les phases cristallines qui accompagnent le verre météoritique. La structure locale de ces matériaux est semblable à celle du Zr dans les sédiments de la limite Crétacé – Paléogène (K-Pg). Ce dernier ne montre aucune influence de diagenèse ou d'altération, ce qui suggère que les sédiments Cependant, l'abondance de Zr dans les sédiments n'est pas toujours suffisante pour obtenir des informations fiables sur la structure locale du Zr. Nous nous sommes ainsi intéressés à la structure local du Ti, qui appartient au même groupe que le Zr. Les conditions d'impact des météorites sur Mars et du passage des météorites à travers l'atmosphère peuvent être estimées par l'analyse de la structure locale de Zr dans la partie vitrifiée des météorites. L'analyse de la structure locale du Zr dans la météorite martienne de Tissint montre la croûte de fusion de cette météorite est semblable à celle des tectites et du verre d'impact qui les accompagne, alors que la partie intérieure vitreuse de Tissint est similaire à celle de la baddeleyite et de la fulgurite. Cette dernière aurait subi une vitrification pendant le passage à travers l'atmosphère. Afin de confirmer le changement structurel de Zr à haute température, nous avons effectué des expériences de chauffage du zircon, ainsi qu’une expérience de diffraction des rayons X sur poudre pendant le chauffage. L'analyse chimique dans le MEB a montré l'évaporation de la composante SiO2. Nous avons aussi obtenu un nouveau digramme de phase ZrO2-SiO2 dans lequel la région d’immiscibilité liquide proposée auparavant n’a pas pu être confirmée / Elucidation of the formation mechanism of various natural glasses can help to understand the dynamics of the Earth because these materials record the formation condition in their structures. XAFS applied to natural meteorite-related glasses provides information about the local structural changes of elements therein. By performing high-accuracy XAFS analyses for trace elements and their local structure in sedimentary rocks, in the glass phase of meteorites and in the meteorite impact-related glasses such as tektite and impact glass, information on the formation condition of these materials can be obtained. We have performed local structure analysis of IVb transition metal elements (Ti, Zr) in natural minerals and glasses K-edge XANES and EXAFS as well as high-temperature laser heating and gas flow experiments on zircon, to observe structural changes at high temperature in the crystalline phases that accompany the meteoric glass. The local structure of these materials is similar to that of of Zr in K-Pg sediments, which do not show any influence from diagenesis and weathering, suggesting that K-Pg sediments maintain the thermal quenching history of the meteorite impact. However, the low abundance of Zr in sediments prompted us to study Ti, which belongs to the same group as Zr and is much more abundant. Combination of the information about the local structures of Ti and Zr allows a higher reliability for the estimation of meteorite impact event. The local structure of Zr in the fusion crust and inner glassy part of the Martian meteorite of Tissint are similar, respectively, to that in tektite and accompanying impact glass and to that in baddeleyite and fulgurite. The latter was likely vitrified part during the passage through the atmosphere. It should be possible to estimate the conditions of meteorite impact on Mars and the passage of meteorites through the Earth’s atmosphere through the analysis of the local structure of Zr in the glassy part of meteorites. In order to confirm this hypothesis, we performed heating experiments of zircon with in-situ powder X-ray diffraction experiment was performed for ZrSiO4 and ZrO2. SEM analysis confirmed evaporation of the SiO2 component. We have obtained a new ZrO2-SiO2 phase diagram where the liquid-immiscible region proposed earlier does not appear.

<p>Magnetic surveys are one of the principal geophysical methods employed to map the structure of basement rocks deeply buried below cover strata. In resource studies, aeromagnetic surveys are commonly acquired at regional scales (100-1000’s km2) while very few studies have attempted to resolve basement structures at site-scale (<10 >km2). In this study, high-resolution lake-based magnetic survey methods were evaluated for mapping of deeply-buried basement faults (Küçükçekmece Lagoon, Turkey; 6 km2) and a suspected meteorite impact crater (Charity Shoal, Lake Ontario; 9 km2). Total magnetic intensity (TMI) surveys were acquired using a single Overhauser magnetometer with 50-150 m line spacing. Interpretation of the magnetic data was aided by forward modelling of TMI data and depth to basement estimates using Euler and analytic signal methods. Total magnetic intensity (TMI) maps of Küçükçekmece Lagoon identify several north-northwest trending (340-350°) magnetic lineaments that are aligned with strike-slip faults mapped from offshore seismic data. The pattern of magnetic anomalies in the lagoon is consistent with extensional normal faulting of bedrock and lake sediments. Magnetic results from Charity Shoal reveal a large (>1400 nT) parabolic-shaped magnetic anomaly centered over the crater basin and an annular magnetic high (40-50 nT) corresponding with the basin rim. Modelling results exclude the origin of the CSS as a shallow glacial erosional or karst sinkhole feature and are most consistent with a pre-Paleozoic meteorite impact in the Precambrian basement.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

The Gatun Structure (N 09º 05’ 58.1”, W 79º 47’ 21.8”, situated in the triple-canopy rainforest 10 km to the WSW of the Gamboa and about 2 km south of the Isle of Barbacoas, Republic de Panama), is a partially inundated, quasi-concentric surface feature ~3km in diameter, which appears in aerial photographs and in radar imagery as an arcuate chain of islands with a raised center. Although the structure has been heavily weathered and altered, it has retained morphology consistent with complex craters: an elevated circular central uplift 500-600 m in diameter and approximately 70 m high, and arcuate boundary ridges (a rim structure?) ranging from ~50-110 meters high. Within the central peak, highly altered and fractured siltstone of the Gatuncillo Formation (?) (Eocene) ± older rocks are uplifted and exposed through surrounding calcareous units of the Caimito Formation (Oligocene) and the Las Cascadas Formation (Miocene), the major target rocks in the region. Lithologies in the structure include highly fractured siliciclastic rocks (siltstone, sandstones and greywackes), limestones with anomalous spherical glass inclusions, both black and white hypocrystalline glasses (possible melt rocks), lithic fragmental breccias, and melt-bearing breccias (possible impact melt breccias and suevites) containing flow banding and evidence for selective melting of minerals. Three types of spherules (glass, fluid-drop and lithic), a pyroxenequartz “necklace” disequilibrium structure (coronas), plagioclase feldspars exhibiting mosaicism and partially amorphization and zeolitization, possible liquid immiscibility between melts of calcite and felpspathic glass, as well as decomposition of titano-magnetite, are all petrographic criteria that suggest a hypervelocity impact event. The structure is crosscut by numerous dikes of unshocked basalt and basaltic andesite related to volcanism along the Panamanian segment of the Central American arc to the south. However, the lithologies of the Gatun Structure are chemically inconsistent with the regional volcanic rocks and the unshocked volcanic rocks that crosscut the structure. An impact origin is our preferred interpretation for the Gatun structure due to the lack of an igneous relationship between the Gatun structure and the explosive volcanism of Panamanian arc, the presence of classical impactite lithologies within the site, the occurrence of spherules, maskelynite (as suggested by Raman Spectroscopy) and other disequilibrium shock features in the Gatun suite of rocks.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 558 pages. / Original thesis submitted in HTML and can be accessed at http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-10122001-142859/unrestricted/frame.html / td.pdf / Thesis (M.S.)--University of South Florida, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The Gatun Structure, (Latitude N 09° 05&softsign; 58.1", Longitude W 79° 47&softsign; 21.8", situated in the triple-canopy rainforest 10 km to the WSW of the Gamboa and about 2 km south of the Isle of Barbacoas, Republic de Panama), is a partially inundated, quasi-concentric surface feature 2.2 - 3km in diameter, which appears in aerial photographs and in radar imagery as an arcuate chain of islands with a raised center. Although the structure has been heavily weathered and altered, it has retained morphology consistent with complex craters: an elevated circular central uplift 500-600 m in diameter and 50m high, and arcuate boundary ridges (a rim structure?) ranging from 50-100 meters high. Within the central peak, highly altered and fractured siltstone of the Gatuncillo (?) formation (Eocene) (+-) older rocks are uplifted and exposed through surrounding calcareous units of the Caimito formation (Oligocene) and the Las Cascadas formation (Miocene), the major target rocks in the region. / ABSTRACT: Lithologies in the structure include highly fractured siliciclastic rocks (siltstone, sandstones and greywackes), limestones with anomalous spherical glass inclusions, both black and white hypocrystalline glasses (possible melt rocks), lithic fragmental breccias, and melt-bearing breccias (possible impact melt breccias and suevites), some of which contain flow banding and evidence for selective melting of minerals. Three types of spherules (glass, fluid-drop and lithic), a pyroxene-quartz "necklace" disequilibrium structure (coronas), plagioclase feldspars exhibiting mosaicism and partially amorphization, possible liquid immiscibility between melts of calcite and felpspathic glass, as well as decomposition of titanomagnite or ulvospinel, are all petrographic indicators of a hypervelocity impact event. / ABSTRACT: The structure is crosscut by numerous dikes of unshocked basalt and basaltic andesite related to volcanism along the Panamanian segment of the Central American arc to the south. However, the lithologies of the Gatun Structure are chemically inconsistent with the regional volcanic rocks and the unshocked volcanic rocks that crosscut the structure. The lack of an igneous relationship between the Gatun structure and the explosive volcanism of Panamanian arc the presence of classical shock lithologies within the site, and the occurrence of spherules, maskelynite and other disequilibrium shock features in the rocks, an impact origin is our preferred interpretation for the Gatun structure. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.