Petrographic Criteria for Recognizing Certain Types of Impact Spherules in Well-Preserved Precambrian Successions

Abstract

Impact spherule layers in sedimentary successions can open a new window on large impacts to complement the better-known record of terrestrial craters. At least six spherule layers have been found in well-preserved late Archean to Paleoproterozoic strata, and a growing body of geochemical evidence indicates they are impact ejecta. The most distinctive characteristics of these impact spherules are: (1) a predominance of highly spherical grains; (2) the presence of grains with unusual shapes such as teardrops and dumbbells; (3) fibroradial aggregates of K-feldspar crystals nucleated on the edges of spherules; and (4) clear internal spots representing both cement-filled vesicles and replaced glass cores, which, in contrast to the nuclei of ooids and armored lapilli, are not always located in the centers of the spherules. These characteristics permit the reliable differentiation of these impact spherules from spheroidal particles of other origins, such as sedimentary ooids or volcanic accretionary lapilli, often with just a hand lens. However, petrographic identification becomes progressively more difficult as the spherules become smaller or more altered. Moreover, impact spherules in other layers of other ages sometimes have different textures, so the ones described here are not representative of all types of impact spherules. They are provided as a starting point for researchers interested in identifying impact spherule layers. Given the visible record of impacts on the Moon and the much greater mass of the Earth, there should be many more impact spherule layers on Earth than have been discovered to date.