Pyroxene structural data, along with analyses of titanomagnetite, fayalite and mesostasis of the new nakhlite Miller Range (MIL) 03346, define equilibration near 1 bar, 1100 degrees degrees C, and oxygen fugacity near the FMQ buffer. There is a clear progression of oxygen fugacity (fO2) in Martian meteorites from reduced Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 to intermediate shergottites to oxidized nakhlites. This trend can be explained by polybaric graphite-CO-CO2 equilibria in the Martian mantle. Shergottites would have formed at pressures between 1.2 and 3.0 GPa, and nakhlite parent liquids formed at pressures >3.0 GPa, consistent with geochemical and petrologic data for the shergottites and nahklites. Carbon buffering in the Martian mantle could be responsible for variation in fO2 in Martian meteorites (rather than assimilation or crustal interaction), as well as C-H-O fluids that could be the source of ~30 ppb CH4 detected by recent spacecraft missions. The conundrum of an oxidized current mantle and basalts, but reduced early mantle during core-mantle equilibrium exists for both the Earth and Mars. A polybaric buffering role for graphite can explain this discrepancy for Mars, and thus it may not be necessary to have an oxidation mechanism like the dissociation of MgFe-perovskite to account for the oxidized terrestrial mantle.

We measured the concentrations and isotopic compositions of He, Ne, and Ar in 29 bulk samples from 11 different strewn field fragments of the large Jiddat al Harasis (JaH) 073 L6 chondrite shower, including 7 samples from known locations within the main mass. In addition, we measured the concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, and 41Ca in 10 samples. All fragments of this shower are characterized by low 10Be concentrations (7.6-12.8 dpm/kg), high 26Al/10Be ratios (3.55), large contributions of neutron capture 41Ca (200-1800 dpm/kgCa), low 3He/21Ne ratios (1.5-3.0), large variations in cosmogenic 21Ne (1.2-12) x 10^(-8) cm^3 STP/g, and significant contributions of neutron-capture 36Ar. Stepwise heating experiments show that neutron-capture produced 36Ar is predominantly released between 1000-1200 degrees C. All these results are consistent with a first-stage exposure of ~65 Ma within ~20 cm of the surface of the L-chondrite parent body, followed by ejection of a 1.52 m large object, which was then delivered to Earth within about 0.5 and 0.7 Ma. The cosmogenic nuclide data in JaH 073 thus corroborate the trend that many of the large chondrites studied so far experienced a complex exposure history. The observed 3He/21Ne ratios of 2.53.0 in the most shielded samples (including those of the main mass) are lower than predicted by model calculations, but similar to the lowest values found in the large Gold Basin L-chondrite shower. The Bern plot, which gives a linear correlation for 3He/21Ne versus 22Ne/21Ne, is evidently not valid for very high shielding. Some of our measured 22Ne/21Ne ratios in JaH 073 are lower than 1.06, which is not well understood, but might be explained by loss of cosmogenic neon from shocked sodium-rich plagioclase during terrestrial weathering. The amount of trapped atmospheric argon in the JaH 073 fragments varies by almost two orders of magnitude and shows only a weak correlation with the size of the fragments, which range from <100 g to >50 kg. Finally, low concentrations of radiogenic 4He and 40Ar indicate incomplete degassing <1 Ga ago, probably at the main collision event on the L-chondrite parent body ~480 Ma ago.

Triggered by re-evaluation of a 1960s report on the regional geology of the northeastern border region of Jordan and following Landsat satellite image investigation, a 5.5 km diameter, complex, circular structure was discovered in the central eastern region of the Kingdom of Jordan. Initial ground truthing revealed complex geological structures involving Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene strata, and including a prominent outer rim rising up to 60 m above the surrounding plain, an intermediate ring of up to 20 m elevation within a ring syncline, and a central zone of stratigraphically uplifted sedimentary strata characterized by intense macroscopic (folding and faulting, widespread cataclasis) and locally mesoscopic (cataclasis) deformation. Ten sites with shatter cone development in fine-grained sandstone or limestone have been mapped to date, mostly in the outer parts of the central uplifted area. This finding confirms that the Jebel Waqf as Suwwan structure was formed as the result of the impact of an extraterrestrial projectile. Search for impactdiagnostic micro-deformation has been rather unsuccessful: only 1 quartz grain with both planar deformation features and planar fractures has been detected in a sandstone sample to date. The overall majority of the approximately 70 samples investigated by micropetrographic analysis consist of extremely fine-grained chert, siltstone, or marly limestone. Cataclasis is widespread in chert and limestone, also on the micro-scale. Considering the severely limited amount of characteristic impact microdeformation, and the stratigraphic situation within the central uplift, it is likely that a relatively deep level of the central uplift is currently exposed. The extensive drainage demonstrated for this region supports the conclusion that this impact structure could be quite deeply erodedespecially as its geology involves some relatively soft lithologies (marls, limestones). The age of this impact event is at present poorly constrained at post-Middle to Lower Eocene.

Several small crater-like structures occur in Gilf Kebir region (SW Egypt). It has been previously suggested that they could be the result of meteoritic impacts. Here we outline the results of our geological and geophysical survey in the area. The proposed impact origin for these structures is not supported by our observations and analyses, and we suggest an alternative interpretation. The crater-like structures in Gilf Kebir area are likely related to endogenic processes typical of hydrothermal vent complexes in volcanic areas which may reflect the emplacement of subvolcanic intrusives.

The 1.2 micrometer band in near-infrared spectra of pyroxenes results from Fe2+ in the M1 crystallographic site. The distribution of Fe and Mg between the M1 and M2 sites is in part a function of the cooling rate and thermal history of a pyroxene. Combining near-infrared and Mössbauer spectra for a series of compositionally controlled synthetic Mg, Fe, Ca pyroxenes, we quantify the strength of the 1.2 micrometer band as a function of Fe2+ in the M1 site. Near-infrared spectra are deconvolved into component absorptions that can be assigned to the M1 and M2 sites using the modified Gaussian model. The relative strength of the 1.2 micrometer band is shown to be directly related to the amount of Fe2+ in the M1 site measured by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The strength of the 1.2 micrometer band relative to the combined strengths of the 1.2 and 2 micrometer bands, or the M1 intensity ratio, is calculated for 51 howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Diogenites and cumulate eucrites exhibit the lowest M1 intensity ratios, consistent with their formation as slowly cooled cumulates. Basaltic eucrites exhibit a large range of M1 intensity ratios, all of which are consistently higher than the diogenites and cumulate eucrites. This example illustrates how the M1 intensity ratio can be a used as a tool for characterizing the cooling history of remotely detected pyroxene-dominated rocks.