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Libyan Desert Glass

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PDM850752

Libyan Desert Glass

Floater

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Description
Locality: 
El Hamra, Wadi El-Natrun, El Beheira Governorate, Egypt
Class: 
Massive/Crystalline
Size Range: 
Thumbnail (1-3cm)
Size: 
2.2 × 1.6 × 0.6 cm
Description

Translucent yellowish, floater and damage-free specimen of “Libyan desert glass”. The surface is naturally weathered and eroded, mostly due to the desert wind. They are found scattered over hundreds of kilometres in the deserts of Libya and Egypt. The origin was not clear, believed to be produced by catastrophic events, either formed by meteorite impacts or airbursts. However, a recent study of Cavosie & Koeberl (2019) reports the first evidence of high-pressure damage, showing the glass formed during a meteorite impact. According to them, the ‘smoking gun’ is a mineral called reidite. Reidite only forms during a meteorite impact, when atoms in the mineral zircon are forced into a tighter arrangement. In this case, the location of the source crater or its size are still mysteries. It could be that it has been eroded away. Apparent ages of Libyan desert glass range between 26.0 ± 1.8 Ma and 29.0 ± 1.8 Ma (Bigazzi & De Michele, 1996).

Acquired in 2000. Ex Dr. Bob Janssens meteorite’s collection, #28.

 

Giulio Bigazzi & Vincenzo De Michele (1996). New fission‐track age determinations on impact glasses. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 31, 2, 234-236.

Aaron J. Cavosie & Christian Koeberl (2019). Overestimation of threat from 100 Mt–class airbursts? High-pressure evidence from zircon in Libyan Desert Glass. Geology, 47, 7, 609–612.

Mineral Data
What's on the rock

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