Understanding the behaviour of volatiles during impact cratering: informing our exploration of the Solar System

Tracing the abundance and distribution of water and other volatiles (elements and compounds which boil and condense at relatively low temperatures) is critical to understanding planet formation processes, the magmatic and tectonic history of planets, and the origin and sustenance of life.

However, the behaviour of volatiles during impact events, the collision of asteroids or comets with planetary bodies, is poorly understood.This project will provide a comprehensive model of the behaviour of volatiles during impact melting by defining the abundance and distribution of volatiles in the three largest, accessible impact melt sheets on Earth.

The study will comprise three strands:(i) the abundance of water and halogens in the mineral apatite will be measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS); (ii) the abundance of water in clinopyroxene will be measured by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); and (iii) high-precision U–Pb geochronology of zircon will be done by chemical abrasion–isotope dilution–thermal ionisation mass spectroscopy (CA-ID-TIMS).The four-year project will capitalise on the researcher’s expertise in impact cratering and the appropriate analytical techniques, as well as a sample set already in his possession, to open up an entirely new research avenue.

This timely and novel research will inform models of planet formation, aid the interpretation of data for extra-terrestrial samples, and ultimately inform the search for extra-terrestrial life.