[meteorite-list] Kofelsite

From: Bernd Pauli HD <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:50:21 2004
Message-ID: <3CA968B5.AA22ED12_at_lehrer1.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de>

George Winters wrote:

> I'm new to the whole meteorite collecting field

Hello George,

Welcome to "our" list!

> and came across a piece of Kofelsite on ebay. Can
> any one tell me if this material is legitimate?

Köfels, Austria,
Ötztal, Lat 47N / Long 11E
Cat (egory): ?

Shock Metamorphism in the Koefels Structure (Tyrol, Austria), Rouben
Surenian, Geolog. Bundesanst., Vienna, Austria: Quartz and feldspars
of gneiss and the famous pumice-like glass (Bimsstein) from Koefels
were analyzed in detail with SEM to determine their structure and
character. The planar features observed in quartz and some also in
feldspars of the gneiss from Koefels are compared to identical but
more pronounced and more common features observed in samples of
shocked gneiss obtained from the Ries crater. Some mineral phases
within the etched pumice (like lechatelierite and euhedral crystals
of quartz and feldspars), the effects of rapid cooling of the molten
material (partial fusion of quartz and feldspars), the shape of vents
in the walls of the bubbles in the pumice as well as the crystallo-
graphically controlled planar features in quartz of gneiss are strong
indicators for a meteorite impact, which triggered the largest post-
glacial landslide in the crystalline Alps at Koefels. The intensity
of shattering and deformation features is gradually diminishing in
samples collected from the surrounding area of Koefels.
(Abstract in Meteoritics, 1989, vol. 24, no. 4, p. 329).

Best wishes,

Bernd
Received on Tue 02 Apr 2002 03:15:49 AM PST