Akaogiite
A baddeleyite-structured form of titanium dioxide made by the Ries impact.
Key facts
- Formula
- TiO2
- Family
- High-pressure minerals
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- First described
- the Ries impact crater, Germany, 2010
Akaogiite was described in 2010 from shocked gneiss in the suevite breccia of the Ries crater in Germany. It is named after Masaki Akaogi, a Japanese professor of chemistry who studies high-pressure minerals.
What it is
Akaogiite is titanium dioxide with the structure of baddeleyite, the mineral form of zirconium oxide. It is denser than rutile and forms only at high pressure. Together with riesite and other dense titanium dioxides, it shows how rutile responds to shock.
Where it is found
It was found in heavily shocked garnet–cordierite–sillimanite gneiss within the suevite of the Ries crater. The minerals around it suggest shock pressures up to about 22 gigapascals and temperatures after the shock below 500 °C.
How it is recognised
It is identified by electron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy within former rutile grains.
Did you know?
Suevite, the impact breccia of the Ries, is named after the Latin name for the region's people, the Suebi.
The Ries crater is about 24 kilometres across.