Australite
A variety of 'Tektite'
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About Australite
A tektite variety from the Australasian strewnfield. Tektites from the latter have been found in Southern China, Indochina, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
Compare also indochinite, philippinite, chinite.
Australites are dark, mostly black.
Three morphological types of tektites have been found in the Australasian strewn field (1) layered or Muong Nong-type, (2) splash forms, and (3) flanged or ablated forms (Glass, 1990).
Despite the large size and young age of the Australasian strewn field (~788 ± 3 ka; Jourdan et al., 2019), the source crater has not been identified yet. Numerous authors have proposed that it must be somewhere in the Indochina area.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Australite.
Compare also indochinite, philippinite, chinite.
Australites are dark, mostly black.
Three morphological types of tektites have been found in the Australasian strewn field (1) layered or Muong Nong-type, (2) splash forms, and (3) flanged or ablated forms (Glass, 1990).
Despite the large size and young age of the Australasian strewn field (~788 ± 3 ka; Jourdan et al., 2019), the source crater has not been identified yet. Numerous authors have proposed that it must be somewhere in the Indochina area.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Australite.Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
39800 (as Australite)
10859 (as Tektite)
10859 (as Tektite)
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:39800:8 (as Australite)
mindat:1:1:10859:3 (as Tektite)
mindat:1:1:10859:3 (as Tektite)
Similar Names
Synonyms of Australite
Australasian Tektite (in part)
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Australite
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-39800.html
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References for Australite
Reference List:
Storzer, D., Wagner, G. A. (1980) Australites older than indochinites. Naturwissenschaften, 67 (2). 90-91 doi:10.1007/bf01054692
Glass, B.P. (1990) Tektites and microtektites: key facts and inferences. Tectonophysics, 171 (1) 393-404 doi:10.1016/0040-1951(90)90112-l
Fudali, R. F., Miller, Andrew, Bevan, A. W. R. (1991) Australites from Northern Australia. Meteoritics, 26 (2) 153-155 doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1991.tb01031.x
Fudali, R. F. (1993) The stratigraphic age of australites revisited. Meteoritics, 28 (1) 114-119 doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1993.tb00254.x
Folco, L., Glass, B.P., D'Orazio, M., Rochette, P. (2010) A common volatilization trend in Transantarctic Mountain and Australasian microtektites: Implications for their formation model and parent crater location. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 293 (1) 135-139 doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.02.037
Folco, L., Perchiazzi, N., D'Orazio, M., Frezzotti, M.L., Glass, B.P., Rochette, P. (2010) Shocked quartz and other mineral inclusions in Australasian microtektites. Geology, 38 (3) 211-214 doi:10.1130/g30512.1
Folco, Luigi, D'Orazio, Massimo, Gemelli, Maurizio, Rochette, Pierre (2016) Stretching out the Australasian microtektite strewn field in Victoria Land Transantarctic Mountains. Polar Science, 10 (2). 147-159 doi:10.1016/j.polar.2016.02.004
Cavosie, Aaron J. (2018) The Enduring Mystery of Australasian Tektites, in Terroir: Science Related to Grape and Wine Quality. Elements, 14 (3) 212-213 doi:10.2138/gselements.14.3.212
Cavosie, Aaron J., Timms, Nicholas E., Erickson, Timmons M., Koeberl, Christian (2018) New clues from Earth’s most elusive impact crater: Evidence of reidite in Australasian tektites from Thailand. Geology, 46 (3) 203-206 doi:10.1130/g39711.1
Jourdan, Fred, Nomade, Sebastien, Wingate, Michael T. D., Eroglu, Ela, Deino, Al (2019) Ultraprecise age and formation temperature of the Australasian tektites constrained by
40
Ar/
39
Ar analyses. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 54 (10) 2573-2591 doi:10.1111/maps.13305
Soens, Bastien, van Ginneken, Matthias, Chernonozhkin, Stepan, Slotte, Nicolas, Debaille, Vinciane, Vanhaecke, Frank, Terryn, Herman, Claeys, Philippe, Goderis, Steven (2021) Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica) Geoscience Frontiers, 12 (4) 101153pp. doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101153
Localities for Australite
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Antarctica | |
| Soens et al. (2021) |
| Folco et al. (2008) +2 other references | |
Australia | |
| R. 0. Chalmers et al. (1976) |
Laos | |
| Sieh et al. (2020) |
| Glass et al. (2020) |
Myrtle Springs, Pastoral Unincorporated Area, South Australia, Australia