Origin of moldavites - complex geochemical study

Central European tektites, moldavites, represent high silica, dry impact glasses, genetically related to the Ries crater. They occur in several discrete areas, sub-strewnfields. Substantial intra- and intersample compositional variations have been reported for them. No larger internally consistent data set, covering their various properties, exists recently to constrain their source material and formational process more precisely. About 150 moldavites representing individual sub-strewnfields and isolated finds from the Czech Republic and possibly also from Lusatia and Austria will be used to collect the new chemical data using INAA, EPMA, and LA-ICP-MS. Chemical composition analyzed both in bulk samples and on the micrometer scale will reveal details of element distribution. Evaluation of these new internally consistent chemical data and critically assessed field geological information would constrain the source material as well as possible original distribution of moldavites, which is important for more accurate modeling of distal impact ejecta formation and transport.