Reidite

Last updated
Reidite
General
CategoryZircon group
Formula
(repeating unit)
ZrSiO4
IMA symbol Rei [1]
Strunz classification 9.AD.45
Crystal system Tetragonal
Crystal class Dipyramidal (4/m)
H-M symbol: (4/m)
Space group I41/a
Unit cell a = 4.738, c = 10.506 [Å], Z = 4
Identification
Formula mass 183.31 g/mol
ColorColorless to white
Crystal habit Epitaxial - crystallographic alignment with a precursor mineral, occurs as inclusions in other minerals.
Cleavage None
Fracture Irregular/uneven
Tenacity Brittle
Mohs scale hardness7.5
Luster Adamantine
Streak White
Diaphaneity Translucent
Specific gravity 5.16
Optical propertiesUniaxial (+)
Refractive index nω=1.64, nε=1.655
Birefringence 0.0150
Pleochroism None
References [2] [3]

Reidite is a rare polymorph of ZrSiO4 created when zircon experiences high pressure and temperature. Reidite is denser than zircon and has the same crystal structure as scheelite. All natural occurrences of reidite are associated with meteorite impact events.

Contents

On Earth, reidite has been reported from ten impact structures: the Chesapeake Bay Crater in Virginia; Ries Crater in Germany; Xiuyan Crater in China; Woodleigh Crater in Western Australia; [4] Rock Elm Crater in Wisconsin; [5] Dhala Crater in India; [6] Stac Fada in Scotland; Haughton in Canada; Steen River in Canada, and Rochechouart in France. Reidite has also been found in one lunar meteorite. [7]

Name origin and discovery

Reidite is named after Alan F. Reid, the scientist who first synthesized it during high-pressure experiments in the laboratory in 1969. [8]

Reidite was first discovered in natural samples by B.P. Glass and Shaobin Liu in 2001. [9]

Occurrence

Reidite is formed from zircon above ~30GPa in shock recovery experiments. However, the temperatures generated during meteorite impacts are much higher, and reidite can be formed down to ~9GPa under natural impact conditions. [10] Reidite has been found in lamellar, granular, and dendritic forms within host zircon, typically making up less than 10% of the grain. Reidite from Rochechouart impact structure has also been reported as bladed, wedged, and massive. [11]

Libyan desert glass may show lattice deformation in zircon that is interpreted as evidence of this material having previously contained reidite, and as such constitutes strong evidence for its impact origin. [12]

Relationship of Reidite to Other Specimens
9.AD.25 Uvarovite Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3
9.AD.25Wadalite(Ca,Mg)6(Al,Fe3+)4((Si,Al)O4)3O4Cl3
9.AD.25HoltstamiteCa3(Al,Mn3+)2(SiO4)2(OH)4
9.AD.25KerimasiteCa3Zr2(SiO4)(Fe3+O4)2
9.AD.25ToturiteCa3Sn2(SiO4)(Fe3+O4)2
9.AD.25Momoiite(Mn2+,Ca)3V23+(SiO4)3
9.AD.25EltyubyuiteCa12Fe103+Si4O32Cl6
9.AD.25HutcheoniteCa3Ti2(SiAl2)O12
9.AD.30 Coffinite (U4+,Th)(SiO4)1-x(OH)4x
9.AD.30 Hafnon HfSiO4
9.AD.30 Thorite (Th,U)SiO4
9.AD.30 Zircon ZrSiO4
9.AD.30StetinditeCe4+SiO4
9.AD.35 Huttonite ThSiO4
9.AD.35Tombarthite-(Y)Y4(Si,H4)4O12−x(OH)4+2x
9.AD.40 Eulytine Bi4(SiO4)3

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zircon</span> Zirconium silicate, a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates

Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is (Zr1–y, REEy)(SiO4)1–x(OH)4x–y. Zircon precipitates from silicate melts and has relatively high concentrations of high field strength incompatible elements. For example, hafnium is almost always present in quantities ranging from 1 to 4%. The crystal structure of zircon is tetragonal crystal system. The natural color of zircon varies between colorless, yellow-golden, red, brown, blue, and green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manicouagan Reservoir</span> Lake in Quebec, Canada

Manicouagan Reservoir is an annular lake in central Quebec, Canada, covering an area of 1,942 km2 (750 sq mi). The lake island in its centre is known as René-Levasseur Island, and its highest point is Mount Babel. The structure was created 214 (±1) million years ago, in the Late Triassic, by the impact of a meteorite 5 km (3 mi) in diameter. The lake and island are clearly seen from space and are sometimes called the "eye of Quebec". The lake has a volume of 137.9 km3 (33.1 cu mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coesite</span> Silica mineral, rare polymorph of quartz

Coesite is a form (polymorph) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) that is formed when very high pressure (2–3 gigapascals), and moderately high temperature (700 °C, 1,300 °F), are applied to quartz. Coesite was first synthesized by Loring Coes, Jr., a chemist at the Norton Company, in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impactite</span> Rock created or modified by impact of a meteorite

Impactite is rock created or modified by one or more impacts of a meteorite. Impactites are considered metamorphic rock, because their source materials were modified by the heat and pressure of the impact. On Earth, impactites consist primarily of modified terrestrial material, sometimes with pieces of the original meteorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochechouart impact structure</span> Asteroid impact structure in France

Rochechouart impact structure or Rochechouart astrobleme is an impact structure in France. Erosion has over the millions of years mostly destroyed its impact crater, the initial surface expression of the asteroid impact leaving highly deformed bedrock and fragments of the crater's floor as evidence of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Elm Disturbance</span>

The Rock Elm Disturbance is an impact crater in Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States, roughly 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Menomonie. The disturbance is named for Rock Elm, Wisconsin, a nearby town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vredefort impact structure</span> Largest verified impact structure on Earth, about 2 billion years old

The Vredefort impact structure is the largest verified impact structure on Earth. The crater, which has since been eroded away, has been estimated at 170–300 kilometres (110–190 mi) across when it was formed. The remaining structure, comprising the deformed underlying bedrock, is located in present-day Free State province of South Africa. It is named after the town of Vredefort, which is near its centre. The structure's central uplift is known as the Vredefort Dome. The impact structure was formed during the Paleoproterozoic Era, 2.023 billion years ago. It is the second-oldest known impact structure on Earth, after Yarrabubba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarrabubba impact structure</span> Oldest known impact structure, in Western Australia

The Yarrabubba impact structure is the eroded remnant of an impact crater, situated in the northern Yilgarn Craton near Yarrabubba Station between the towns of Sandstone and Meekatharra, Mid West Western Australia. With an age of 2.229 billion years, it is the oldest known impact structure on Earth.

Meteoritics is the science that deals with meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. It is closely connected to cosmochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry. A specialist who studies meteoritics is known as a meteoriticist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan desert glass</span> Desert glass found in Libya and Egypt

Libyan desert glass or Great Sand Sea glass is an impactite, made mostly of lechatelierite, found in areas in the eastern Sahara, in the deserts of eastern Libya and western Egypt. Fragments of desert glass can be found over areas of tens of square kilometers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudotachylyte</span> Glassy, or very fine-grained, rock type

Pseudotachylyte is an extremely fine-grained to glassy, dark, cohesive rock occurring as veins that form through frictional melting and subsequent quenching during earthquakes, large-scale landslides, and impacts events. Chemical composition of pseudotachylyte generally reflects the local bulk chemistry, though may skew to slightly more mafic compositions due to the preferential incorporation of hydrous and ferro-magnesian minerals into the melt phase.

The term iridium anomaly commonly refers to an unusual abundance of the chemical element iridium in a layer of rock strata at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. The unusually high concentration of a rare metal like iridium is often taken as evidence for an extraterrestrial impact event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadsleyite</span> Mineral thought to be abundant in the Earths mantle

Wadsleyite is an orthorhombic mineral with the formula β-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4. It was first found in nature in the Peace River meteorite from Alberta, Canada. It is formed by a phase transformation from olivine (α-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4) under increasing pressure and eventually transforms into spinel-structured ringwoodite (γ-(Mg,Fe)2SiO4) as pressure increases further. The structure can take up a limited amount of other bivalent cations instead of magnesium, but contrary to the α and γ structures, a β structure with the sum formula Fe2SiO4 is not thermodynamically stable. Its cell parameters are approximately a = 5.7 Å, b = 11.71 Å and c = 8.24 Å.

Shock metamorphism or impact metamorphism describes the effects of shock-wave related deformation and heating during impact events.

Dhala crater is an impact structure formed by an asteroid impact. It is situated near Bhonti village in Pichhore block of Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is the largest impact structure in India, and between the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. The diameter of the structure is estimated at 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), while other sources estimate its diameter to be 11 km diameter. It is the second such structure found in India, after Lonar lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant Moraine 79001</span> Meteorite found in Antarctica

Elephant Moraine 79001, also known as EETA 79001, is a Martian meteorite. It was found in Elephant Moraine, in the Antarctic during the 1979–1980 collecting season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bertha (lunar sample)</span> First Moon rock of Earth origin, discovered by the crew of Apollo 14

Lunar Sample 14321, better known as "Big Bertha", is a lunar sample containing an embedded Earth-origin meteorite collected on the 1971 Apollo 14 mission. It was found in the Fra Mauro region of the Moon. Big Bertha is the first discovered meteorite from Earth, and the embedded meteorite portion is the oldest known Earth rock. At 8.998 kg (19.84 lb), this breccia rock is the third largest Moon sample returned during the Apollo program, behind Big Muley and Great Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludovic Ferrière</span> Researcher

Ludovic Ferrière is a geologist and curator of the meteorite collection and of the impactite collection at the Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria. He is known for his research on meteorite impact craters.

Diane Seward is a low temperature thermochronologist. She is currently a Teaching Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and affiliated with GNS Science. Seward's work has predominantly focused on thermochronology applied to basin analysis and tectonic evolution. Her research has also been instrumental in developing dating of volcanic deposit through fission track analysis.

References

  1. Warr, L.N. (2021). "IMA–CNMNC approved mineral symbols". Mineralogical Magazine. 85 (3): 291–320. Bibcode:2021MinM...85..291W. doi: 10.1180/mgm.2021.43 . S2CID   235729616.
  2. "Reidite". mindat.org. Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. "Reidite Mineral Data". Webmineral.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. Discovery of reidite, one of the rarest minerals on Earth, may reveal Australia's biggest crater ABC News , 16 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. Oskin, Becky (3 November 2014). "Rare Mineral Discovered in Ancient Meteorite Impact Crater". Livescience.com. Livescience. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. Li, Shan-Shan; Keerthy, S.; Santosh, M.; Singh, S.P.; Deering, C.D.; Satyanarayanan, M.; Praveen, M.N.; Aneeshkumar, V.; Indu, G.K. (February 2018). "Anatomy of impactites and shocked zircon grains from Dhala reveals Paleoproterozoic meteorite impact in the Archean basement rocks of Central India". Gondwana Research. 54: 81–101. Bibcode:2018GondR..54...81L. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2017.10.006.
  7. Xing, Weifan; Lin, Yangting; Zhang, Chi; Zhang, Mingming; Hu, Sen; Hofmann, Beda A.; Sekine, Toshimori; Xiao, Long; Gu, Lixin (2020-11-16). "Discovery of Reidite in the Lunar Meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 169". Geophysical Research Letters. 47 (21). Bibcode:2020GeoRL..4789583X. doi:10.1029/2020GL089583. ISSN   0094-8276. S2CID   226337486.
  8. Reid, A. F.; Ringwood, A. E. (1969-06-01). "Newly observed high pressure transformations in Mn3O4, CaAl2O4, and ZrSiO4". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 6 (3): 205–208. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(69)90091-0. ISSN   0012-821X.
  9. Glass, B.P.; Liu, Shaobin (2001-04-01). "Discovery of high-pressure ZrSiO4 polymorph in naturally occurring shock-metamorphosed zircons". Geology. 29 (4): 371–373. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0371:DOHPZP>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0091-7613.
  10. Timms, Nicholas E.; Erickson, Timmons M.; Pearce, Mark A.; Cavosie, Aaron J.; Schmieder, Martin; Tohver, Eric; Reddy, Steven M.; Zanetti, Michael R.; Nemchin, Alexander A.; Wittmann, Axel (2017-02-01). "A pressure-temperature phase diagram for zircon at extreme conditions". Earth-Science Reviews. 165: 185–202. Bibcode:2017ESRv..165..185T. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.12.008 . ISSN   0012-8252.
  11. Plan, Anders; Kenny, Gavin G.; Erickson, Timmons M.; Lindgren, Paula; Alwmark, Carl; Holm-Alwmark, Sanna; Lambert, Philippe; Scherstén, Anders; Söderlund, Ulf; Osinski, Gordon (October 2021). "Exceptional preservation of reidite in the Rochechouart impact structure, France: New insights into shock deformation and phase transition of zircon". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 56 (10): 1795–1828. Bibcode:2021M&PS...56.1795P. doi: 10.1111/maps.13723 . ISSN   1086-9379. S2CID   238711754.
  12. Cavosie, Aaron J. (22 May 2019). "How we solved the mystery of Libyan desert glass". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-10-12.