Geochemical and geochronological evidence of meteorite impact excavating the Archean basement at Lonar Crater, Central India

Lonar Impact Crater, India: the Best-Preserved Terrestrial Hypervelocity Impact Crater in a Basaltic Terrain as a Potential Global Geopark

“…The discovery of maskelynite and impact glasses from around the crater over the years is considered as one of the direct evidences of meteorite impact origin of Lonar (cf. Nayak 1972 , 1993 ; Fredriksson et al, 1973a ; Fudali et al, 1980 ; Sengupta et al, 1997 ; Ghosh 2003 ; Storzer and Koeberl, 2004 ; Chandran et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Fredriksson et al ( 1973a ) were the first to carry out a detailed study at Lonar describing the geochemistry of glassy fragments while drilling the Lonar crater floor. Lonar can be considered as one of the most extensively studied simple impact craters in the world, encompassing geochronology (Sengupta and Bhandari, 1988 ; Sengupta et al, 1997 ; Storzer and Koeberl, 2004 ; Jourdan et al, 2011 ; Nakamura et al, 2014 ; Rao and Bhalla, 1984 ; Maloof et al 2010 ), geomorphological characterisation (Fudali et al 1980 ; Maloof et al, 2010 ; Indu et al, 2022 ), ejecta emplacement characterisation (Maloof et al, 2010 ; Kumar et al, 2014 ), mineralogy (Schaal et al 1976 ; Kieffer et al, 1976 ), geochemical characterization of the target basalt rocks, and impact derivatives like melt rocks, glasses, and spherules (Nayak 1972 ; Fredriksson et al, 1973a , 1973b ; Kieffer et al, 1976 ; Morgan 1978 ; Stroube et al, 1978 ; Osae et al, 2005 ; Son and Koeberl, 2007 ), projectile characterisation (Misra et al, 2009 ; Schulz et al, 2016 ; Gupta et al, 2017 ; Ray et al 2017 ), involvement of basement rock (Chakrabarti and Basu 2006 ; Schulz et al, 2016 ; Chandran et al, 2021 ), geophysical studies (Fudali et al, 1980 ; Kumar et al, 2014 ; Sivaram et al, 2018 ), hydrological properties of surrounding rocks (Komatsu et al, 2014 ), structural characterisation (Kumar 2005 ; Misra et al, 2010 ), spectral studies of target rocks (Wright et al, 2004 ; 2011 ), and magnetic properties (Rao and Bhalla, 1984 ; Louzada et al, 2008 ; Weiss et al, 2010 ; Misra et al, 2010 ; Arif et al, 2012 ; Agarwal et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Thus, these structures have been in focus much before they were confirmed as impact craters. The younger Lonar Crater has been a focal point amongst Earth scientists as it is the best preserved terrestrial impact crater on basaltic terrain on Earth which thus, acts as an analog to Martian and Lunar craters (Fredriksson et al, 1973a ; Chandran et al 2021 ). Though, there are other craters carved in basaltic terrains such as Logancha (Russia), Vista Alegre, Vargeão Dome, and Cerro do Jarau (all three in Brazil), none retains a pristine morphology.…”

Terrestrial impact craters track the voyage of lithospheric plates

“…net/EarthImpactDatabase), which spread across diverse tectonic settings. In contrast, the other inner planetary bodies of the solar system, where active geological processes like plate tectonics do not occur, preserve ample evidence of impact cratering with hundreds of thousands of impact craters sprinkled across (Chandran et al, 2021;French & Koeberl, 2010;Indu et al, 2021;James et al, 2022;Keerthy et al, 2019;Li et al, 2018;Maloof et al, 2010).…”

“…Following various geological processes, including plate movements, subduction–accretion–collision, weathering, erosion, and deposition, only around 208 impact craters remain on Earth (Gottwald, Kenkmann, & Reimold, 2020; http://passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase), which spread across diverse tectonic settings. In contrast, the other inner planetary bodies of the solar system, where active geological processes like plate tectonics do not occur, preserve ample evidence of impact cratering with hundreds of thousands of impact craters sprinkled across (Chandran et al, 2021; French & Koeberl, 2010; Indu et al, 2021; James et al, 2022; Keerthy et al, 2019; Li et al, 2018; Maloof et al, 2010).…”