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Friction melt distribution in a multi-ring impact basin

J G Spray1, L M Thompson

  • 1Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada.

Nature
|January 12, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Multi-ring basins form from massive impacts. Friction melt in Earth's Sudbury basin suggests rings originated as large displacement fault zones, offering clues to other planetary basins.

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Area of Science:

  • Planetary Science
  • Impact Cratering
  • Structural Geology

Background:

  • Multi-ring basins are common on terrestrial planets but their formation mechanism remains debated.
  • Most studies rely on remote sensing of lunar and Martian basins.
  • Earth provides rare opportunities to study these structures directly, such as the Sudbury basin.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the formation mechanism of multi-ring basins.
  • To analyze the distribution of friction melt (pseudotachylyte) in the Sudbury impact basin.
  • To infer the origin of rings in terrestrial and extraterrestrial multi-ring basins.

Main Methods:

  • Field examination of pseudotachylyte distribution within the Sudbury impact basin.
  • Analysis of the relationship between friction melt and basin structure.
  • Comparative analysis with other known multi-ring basins.

Main Results:

  • Pseudotachylyte veins and dykes decrease in thickness and frequency towards the basin periphery.
  • Significant volumes of friction melt are concentrated in four distinct rings around the central melt sheet.
  • Field evidence links these rings to large-displacement fault zones active during the modification stage.

Conclusions:

  • The rings of the Sudbury basin originated as large-displacement fault zones.
  • Frictional melting within these fault zones during the collapse stage created the observed pseudotachylyte distribution.
  • By analogy, rings in other multi-ring basins are likely remnants of similar faulting processes.

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