1967010060 ASTROGEOLOGIC STUDIES / ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT " July 1, 1965 to July 1, 1966 ° 'i t PART B - h . CRATERINVESTIGATIONS N 67_1_389 N 57-" .]9400 (ACCEC_ION [4U _" EiER! (THRU} .2_ / PP (PAGLS) (CO_ w ) _5 (NASA GR OR I"MX OR AD NUMBER) (_ATEGORY) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOQICAL SURVEY • iri i i i i iiii i i 1967010060-002 ASTROGEOLOGIC STUDIES ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT July i, 1965 to July I, 1966 PART B: CRATER INVESTIGATIONS November 1966 This preliminary report is distributed without editorial and technical review for conformity with official standards and nomenclature. It should not be quoted without permission. This report concerns work done on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 1967010060-003 • #' C OING PAGE ,BLANK NO/" FILMED. CONTENTS PART B--CRATER INVESTIGATIONS Page Introduction ........................ vii History and origin of the Flynn Creek crater, Tennessee: final report, by David J. Roddy .............. 1 Introductien ..................... 1 Geologic history of the Flynn Creek crater ....... 5 Origin of the Flynn Creek crater ............ ii Conc lusions ...................... 32 References cited .................... 35 Geology of the Sierra Madera structure, Texas: progress report, by H. G. Wilshire ............ 41_ Introduction ...................... 41 Stratigraphy ...................... 41 Petrography and chemical composition .......... 49 S truc ture ....................... 62 References cited ............. ...... 69 Some aspects of the Manicouagan Lake structure in Quebec, Canada, by Stephen H. Wolfe ................ 71 f Craters produced by missile impacts, by H. J. Moore ..... 79 Introduction ...................... 79 Experimental procedure ................. 80 Experimental results .................. 81 Summary ........................ 103 References cited .................... 103 Hypervelocity impact craters in pumice, by H. J. Moore and / F. G. Robertson ...................... 107/ Introduction ...................... 107 Experimental procedure ................. 107 Description ...................... 109 iii -- _ , mn_'--- "-'-_ !7' -'c'''_'_''''- '_'"""-.- ..... _ "--_ _- .... _ ' - _ I I | • Ilia 1967010060-004 Page Correlation of data .................. Iii Discussion of data ................... 121 Summary ........................ 124 References cited .................... 124 Compilation of data on craters produced by explosives, by Francis G. Robertson ................... 127 _'/ Introduction ...................... 127 Collection and recording of data ............ 128 Results ........................ 129 References cited ................. 134 Impact met_unorphism, by E. C. T. Chao ............ 135 Introduction ...................... 135 Diagnostic petrographic criteria of hypervelocity meteorite impact ................... 136 Progressive stages of meteorite impact metamorphism . 152 Implications of the sequence of phase transitions and estimated pressures and temperatures during passage of a shock wave ................... 161 Metamorphic features in meteorites and tektites and the study of returned lunar samples ......... 163 References cited ................... 164 Nickel-iron spherules from the Aouelloul glass of Mauritania, Africa, by E. C. T. Chao, E. J. Dwornik, and Celine W. Merrill .................... 169 f Large-scale plane wave shock experiments designed for sample recovery, by T. J. Ahrens, D. D. Keough, and D. J. Milton ....................... 181 _.__i Influence of stress history on low-temperature thermo- luminescence of halite, by Carl H. Roach ......... 189 P_- J Introduction and acknowledgments ........... 189 Theory of thermoluminescence .............. 190 Thermo luminescence measurements ............ 191 iv i l • "" _ -- _ --r___ _........... _. ,,_ .-.---- _-- ii_ i i ,, 1967010060-005 Page Experimental studies of shock- and stress-induced , low-temperature thermoluminescence in halite .... 196 I Project Gnome ..................... 202 Project Dribble, Salmon event ............. 217 Interpretation and geological application of results . 227 References cited ................... 229 fleology of the Moses Rock intrusion, San Juan County, Utah, by Thomas R. McGetchin .................. 231 Introduction and regional setting ......... 231 Moses Rock .................... 232 Structure of the dike ................ 232 Intrusive material ................. 234 Emplacement of the Moses Rock intrusion ....... 250 References cited ................... 253 V m- n 1967010060-006 : PRECEDING PAGE BLt, NK ]',,IOF FILMED, INTRODUCTION This Annual Report Js the sixth of a series describin_ the results of research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This report, which covers the period .July I, 1964 to July i, 1965, Is i_-_ four volumes correspondin_ to three main areas of research: Pa:t A, Lunar and Planetary Investigations; Part B, Crater Investigations; Part C, Cosmic Chemistry and PetroloFy ; and _Part D, Spacc Flight Investigations; and a map supplement. An additional volume presents in abstract form summaries of the papers in Parts A-D. The major long-range objectives of the astrogeologic studies program are to determine and map the stratigraphy and structure of the Moon's crust, to work out from these the sequence of events that led to the present condition of the Moon's surface, and to determine the processes by which these events took place. Work being carried out that leads toward these objectives includes a program of lunar geologic mapping; studies on the discrimination of geologic materials on the lunar surface by their photometric, polarimetric, and infrared properties; field studies of structures of impact, explosive, and volcanic origin; labor&tory studies on the behavior of rocks and minerals subjected to shock; and study of the chemical, petrographic and physical properties of materials of possible lunar origin and the development of special techniques for their analysis. Part B, Crater Investigations, contains the results of field and laboratory studies of craters and related phenomena. Field investigations have been made of naturally formed craters and roots of craters: _i) the Flynn Creek structure in east Tennessee, (2) the Sierra Madera structure in west Texas, (3) the Manicouagan Lake structure in Quebec, Canada, and (4) the Moses Rock diatreme in Utah. The first three are thought to be eroded impact structures; the fourth is the root of a maar-type crater. vii 1967010060-007 s Results of two experimental studies of impact craters are reported in (I) "Craters Produced by Missile Impacts," and (2) "Hypervelocity Impact Craters in Pumice"; a third paper provides a compilation of data cn craters formed by explosives. Another paper describes a new technique for field explosive shock experiments. Surmnaries of field and laboratory studies of shock-induced changes in rocks are given in three papers: (I) 'Impact Metamorphism," (2) "Nickel-Iron Spherules from the Aouelloul Glass of Mauritania, Africa," and (3) "Influence of Stress History on Low-Temperature Thermoluminescence of Halite." viii 1967010060-008 HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE FLYNN CREEK CRATER, TENNESSEE: FINAL REFORT N 57- 19390 By David J. Roddy .. INTRODUCTION The Flynn Creek structure in north-central Tennessee (fig. I) consists of a partly exhumed crater about 330 feet deep and 11,500 feet in diameter that is filled with breccia and Upper Devionian ! shale and Lower Misslsslpplan chert that were deposited after the crater formed. The crater is surrounded by a folded and faulted rim composed of Middle and Upper Ordnvlclan limestones, and its center is occupied by a hill of uplifte_ Lower Ordovlcian strata (figs. 2, 3). The origin of this unusual structure has been t_. subject of controversy for nearly a century Of the various ori_j$:_sproposed, i_pact and volcanic gas-phreatlc explosions have bee__ ,_i_gested as the most likely causes, _,tt only one shcrt, Inconcl_.,ve study _,as been actually directed _oward this problem (Wilscc ,nd Born, 193b). Most of the specific: information presented !,,_ was gath- ered during the recent study by- _he author, and i_ _, now appar- ent that the structural deformation _s very ,.nt,_,,_,._nd is restrict- ed to the area occupied by the crater and _.,_e_.,_rroundingstrata in the rim. The deformation and chaotic mixing ot fragments in the breccia, and the presence of a large ejected mass of breccia on the rim Imply the occurrence of at least one dynamic event, presum- ably violent in nature. The observed deformational features could have originated at r very near the ground surface during middle Paleozolc time, and only a moderate amount of erosion might have occurred before the crater was buried. Reconnaissance studies of -- several hundred square miles surrounding the Flynn Creek area show 1967010060-009 ill I ,,_'.",,,,, _ = \ _'_ r.. z \_s._ I o_ I ', "I ,.__ I i" . "'-...'>--, I ',"-....+.% ".,',...i _ _>. --... -% ,_ I _ - r,," _L""-..."<_%>.--.<,,".'-..._._ i , _. ,i__x:,_oI_ ,, ,, ,,,,,_,.,. _, I.-- ___ _"_ i, ".....-..'_---. I _ ._lg -"'- ' :'< -",i,-i ,-r"-----_ _ ._ _I .. -,,, _..-" I -- =_-.__I %->, I I i I _,-S'PO_ ._ I I "''_ I,_ " I I_ - __ it 2 l i : t IIN ..... III H -- -- _ I m 1967010060-010 I. 0 0 C _ 0 C0 0co 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 _0 e-0 J 0 ,0_" 0 0 0_ _ t... ,._ _ ,_ ,_ _ _o O, , , ,..o m m m I _ _ I I Ji I 73A37 V35 _[- ', _,,', .__>0 ,00z 0 0 ,, (/)IZ (.9 X: L9 U..l ?n _ _, C" I..--