Shock effects in feldspars: An overview

Abstract

Feldspars are the dominant mineral in the crust of most terrestrial planetary bodies, including Earth, Earth’s moon, and Mars, as well as in asteroids, and thus in meteorites. These bodies have experienced large numbers of hypervelocity impact events, and so it is important to have a robust understanding of the effects of shock waves exerted on feldspars. However, due to their optical complexity and susceptibility to weathering, feldspars are underutilized as shock barometers and indicators of hypervelocity impact. Here, we provide an overview of the work done on shocked feldspars so far, in an effort to better frame the current strengths and weaknesses of different techniques, and to highlight some gaps in the literature.