Shock metamorphism records the transient, extreme pressures and temperatures generated by hypervelocity impacts. It bridges microscale deformation features and macroscale cratering events and serves as one of the most diagnostic tools for recognizing impact structures across the Solar System.

The field has been rapidly advanced by the convergence of several recent advances. Returned samples from Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 (Moon), Hayabusa2 (Ryugu), and OSIRIS-REx (Bennu) are revealing new complexity in shock-induced mineral alteration and impact chronology. Dynamic high-pressure techniques can now replicate key aspects of natural impact P–T–t paths at the nanosecond scale. Multiscale numerical modelling is quantitatively linking microscale mineral deformation to macroscale crater formation in complex planetary environments.

These developments have sharpened several fundamental questions:

· How do impactor size, velocity, and target lithology and stucture control the thresholds and kinetics of shock-induced phase transformations?

· What information do high-pressure polymorphs and shock microstructures encode about the excavation and ejection history of planetary materials?

· How can experimental data, microstructural observations, and numerical simulations be better integrated to establish robust shock pressure calibrations?

· What are the atomic-scale mechanisms of shock-induced amorphization, defect generation, and high-pressure polymorph formation in common rock-forming minerals?

· How are shock features preserved or altered during post-impact thermal and chemical processing?

To address these challenges, this Thematic Issue highlights the current state of knowledge in shock metamorphism and aims to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue among experimentalists, sample analysts, modellers, and planetary geologists. Contributions that integrate multiple approaches are particularly encouraged—for example, studies that couple shock-recovery experiments with numerical simulations, or investigations that link meteorite shock features with remote-sensing data of parent-body surfaces. The intention is to refine petrological recorders of shock, improve the fidelity of impact models, and extend the applicability of shock metamorphism as a tool for understanding planetary evolution, resource distribution, and impact processing, and planetary surface modification.

 

Topics of Interest (non-exhaustive)

· Shock wave experiments and simulations

Dynamic compression studies using light-gas guns, high-power lasers, Z-pinch platforms, and pulsed-power facilities; complementary hydrocode and multiphysics simulations (iSALE, CTH, SPH, ANSYS AUTODYN) replicating planetary impact conditions.

· Shock features in returned samples and meteorites

Petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical characterization of shock-induced microstructures, high-pressure polymorphs (coesite, stishovite, seifertite, reidite, diamond, ringwoodite, bridgmanite), melt veins, and impact glass; implications for parent-body collisional histories and regolith evolution.

· Planetary impact crater studies

Morphological, structural, stratigraphic, and geophysical analyses of terrestrial, lunar, Martian, and small-body impact craters; remote-sensing investigations of fresh craters coupled with geophysical constraints (e.g., InSight seismic data).

· Numerical modelling of impact cratering

 Advances in multi-physics simulations of crater formation, shock wave propagation, ejecta dynamics, and post-impact thermal evolution and modification.

· Atomic-scale mechanisms of mineral phase transformations

DFT, molecular dynamics, and in-situ experimental studies (FIB-TEM, Raman spectroscopy, atom probe tomography) of shock-induced phase changes, amorphization, and defect evolution in silicates, oxides, and planetary analogue materials.

· Shock barometry and thermochronology

Calibration and application of shock pressure indicators and isotopic chronometers to constrain impact conditions and timing.

· Shock effects in regolith and breccia

Impact processing of granular materials, shock lithification, and the generation of agglutinates and impact melts on airless bodies.

· Terrestrial impact structures and interdisciplinary applications

Diagnostic shock features (shatter cones, planar deformation features, impact melts) in well-preserved terrestrial craters; links between large impacts, planetary habitability, climate perturbation, and extreme materials synthesis.

Studies that integrate two or more of these themes are especially encouraged.

 

Submission Information

All submitted manuscripts will undergo the journal’s standard rigorous peer-review process. Authors are requested to prepare manuscripts according to the Planet author guidelines, available at https://journal.hep.com.cn/planet/EN/guidelines , and to submit via the online submission system at https://journalsubmission.hep.com.cn/ , selecting the Thematic Issue “Shock Metamorphism” during the submission process.

This Thematic Issue is expected to assemble a high-quality collection that captures the vitality and interdisciplinarity of contemporary shock metamorphism research. Submissions from the global scientific community are warmly encouraged.

 

Guest Editors

Runlian PANG

Associate Professor

Research Center for Planetary Science, Chengdu University of Technology

Email: pangrunlian@cdut.edu.cn

 

Jing YANG

Associate Professor

Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Email: yang-jing@mail.gyig.ac.cn

 

Key Dates

Manuscript submission deadline	30 September 2026
Target first decision	31 October 2026
Revised manuscript deadline	20 November 2026
Final acceptance	30 November 2026
Planned publication	December 2026 (Volume 2, Issue 4)

 

About Planet

Planet is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal published quarterly, covering the full spectrum of planetary science — from planetary geology and geophysics to atmospheres, magnetospheres, astrobiology, and small-body studies. The journal ensures permanent archiving and unrestricted global access to all published content. Guided by an editorial board of leading researchers spanning the planetary science community, Planet is committed to rigorous peer review, rapid editorial handling, and the widest possible dissemination of high-quality research. Planet now invites submissions for a Thematic Issue on Shock Metamorphism, to be published in December 2026.

 

Why Submit to Planet and This Thematic Issue?

· Open Access & Global Visibility: All accepted articles are published open access (free to read worldwide, no subscription barriers) and indexed in NASA ADS, ICI Journal, Dimensions, CNKI and Google Scholar.

· Rigorous, Expedited Review: Thematic Issue submissions receive prioritized peer review by international experts in the field, with a target first-decision time of approximately two weeks.

· Timely Publication: Accepted manuscripts are published online immediately upon acceptance, with the full thematic issue released in December 2026.

· Community Impact: This collection is intended to serve as a benchmark reference for shock metamorphism research, positioning each contribution within a curated, high-visibility interdisciplinary volume.