A Shock Feature by Any Other Name…

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Before researchers can frame a question, it is important that they agree on terminology to communicate their observations clearly. When our understanding becomes more sophisticated, it often becomes necessary to revise terminology by reframing our classification, accounting for new observations and incorporating new ideas. A group in Germany, led by Dieter Stöffler, present a revised classification of impact features and shock grades. The new understanding is that impact structures and shock features change just as much with the nature of the target as they do with the size and angle of the impactor.

Shock metamorphism of planetary silicate rocks and sediments: Proposal for an updated classification system