Iron oxidation state in impact glass from the K/T boundary at Beloc (Haiti) by high-resolution XANES spectroscopy.

We examined the local iron environment in nine impact glasses from the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary section at Beloc, Haiti, which formed as the result of impact melting during the Chicxulub impact event. The samples have been analyzed by Fe K-edge high-resolution X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to obtain data on both the Fe oxidation state and the coordination number. The pre-edge peak of our high-resolution XANES spectra display noticeable variations indicative of significant changes in the Fe oxidation state spanning a wide range from about 20 to 75 mol% trivalent Fe. All data plot along the same trend, falling between two mixing lines joining a point calculated as the mean of a group of tektites studied so far (consisting of four- and five-coordinated Fe2+) to [4]Fe3+ and [5]Fe3+, respectively. Thus, the XANES spectra can be interpreted as a mixture of [4]Fe2+, [5]Fe2+, [4]Fe3+, and [5]Fe3+. There is no evidence for six-fold coordinated Fe; however, its presence in small amounts cannot be excluded from XANES data alone. Our observations can be explained by two possible scenarios: either these impact glasses formed under very reducing conditions and, because of their small size, were easily oxidized in air while still molten, or they formed under a variety of different oxygen fugacities resulting in different Fe oxidation states. In the first case, the oxidation state and coordination number would imply similar formation conditions as splash-form tektites, followed by progressive oxidation.