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Meteorite traces on a shatter cone surface from the Agoudal impact site, Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2015

M. SCHMIEDER ,
H. CHENNAOUI AOUDJEHANE ,
E. BUCHNER  and
E. TOHVER
M. SCHMIEDER*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environment, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
H. CHENNAOUI AOUDJEHANE
Affiliation:
Hassan II University Casablanca, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock, GAIA Laboratory, BP 5366 Maârif 20000, Casablanca, Morocco
E. BUCHNER
Affiliation:
HNU – Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Wileystrasse 1, 89231 Neu-Ulm, Germany Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallchemie, Universität Stuttgart, Azenbergstraße 18, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany
E. TOHVER
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environment, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

The recently discovered Agoudal impact site in Morocco is a small, eroded impact structure with well-developed shatter cones. A scanning electron microscopic study of a shatter cone surface has revealed the presence of schreibersite – a phosphide very rare on Earth but common in iron meteorites – and Fe–Ni oxides. This is the first reported evidence for primary meteoritic matter adherent to shatter cones and suggests that the Agoudal crater was formed by the impact of an iron meteorite, probably the Agoudal IIAB iron. Shatter cones from other terrestrial impact structures might also hold valuable information about the nature of the impacting projectiles.

Keywords

shock metamorphismshatter conesiron meteoritesschreibersiteAgoudalMorocco
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 152 , Issue 4 , July 2015 , pp. 751 - 757
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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