suevite

views updated

suevite A breccia of rock fragments in a matrix of glass, found within meteorite impact craters near the site of impact. The shock waves associated with the meteorite impact produce extremely high pressures and temperatures in the rocks for a few microseconds. Near the point of impact, these can brecciate the rock and also melt it. When the melt chills after the passage of the shock wave it produces the glass component known as ‘impactite glass’.