Explosive volcanism, shock metamorphism and the K-T boundary

The issue of whether shocked quartz can be produced by explosive volcanic events is important in understanding the origin of the K-T boundary constituents. Proponents of a volcanic origin for the shocked quartz at the K-T boundary cite the suggestion of Rice, that peak overpressures of 1000 kbars can be generated during explosive volcanic eruptions, and may have occurred during the May, 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Attention was previously drawn to the fact that peak overpressures during explosive eruptions are limited by the strength of the rock confining the magma chamber to less than 8 kbars even under ideal conditions. The proposed volcanic mechanisms for generating pressures sufficient to shock quartz are further examined. Theoretical arguments, field evidence and petrographic data are presented showing that explosive volcanic eruptions cannot generate shock metamorphic features of the kind seen in minerals at the K-T boundary