Impact-generated carbonate melts in the Talemzane impact structure (Laghouat, Algeria)

The 1750-m-diameter, bowl-shaped Talemzane impact structure in Algeria is emplaced in Senonian or Eocene flint-bearing limestones. Field studies reveal a thin layer of light-colored polymict breccia with rounded, dark inclusions beneath a limestone megablock zone located at the top of the crater rim. The matrix of the rounded, dark inclusions consists of Si-rich glass and microcrystalline calcite. The latter is characterized by high contents of Si and Al suggesting rapid crystallization of the calcite from a melt. Backscattered electron imagery shows textural evidence for liquid immiscibility between the CaCO 3 -rich and Si-rich glass of the matrix in the form of intermingling of calcite with Si-rich glass, coalesced blebs within silicate glass, individual calcite blebs within Si-rich glass, carbonate spherical globules in fresh Si-rich-glass, and sharp menisci between silicate and calcite blebs. These features are interpreted as evidence of impact melting of limestone and flint. The low totals of the Si-Al-Mg-rich glasses suggest that they contain significant amounts of volatiles. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate partial alteration of the Si-Mg-Al-rich glass to phyllosilicates.