Meteorite cratering: Hooke, Gilbert, Barringer and beyond

McCall, G. J. H.

doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.2006.256.01.22

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In the seventeenth century it was speculated that craters on the Moon were the result of meteor impacts, but the impact origin of lunar craters was still under debate as recently as the 1960s (McCall 2006). Pivotal work by Hartmann (1965) tied together the known age and crater population in the Canadian shield to observed crater densities and predicted lunar mare age, which turned out to be an accurate prediction after Apollo mission sampling, building confidence in the interpretation and descriptions of lunar crater populations.…”

Section: Crater Count: Moonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of yet-to-find impact crater population on Earth

Stewart

2011

JGS

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One hundred and seventy-six craters on Earth are currently accepted as resulting from bolide impact; this list is growing at a rate of approximately two craters per year because of new discoveries and revised interpretations. Here we take the subset of craters most relevant to sedimentary basin exploration and utilization (Phanerozoic kilometre-scale craters) and tackle the question of how many remain to be found in Phanerozoic strata on Earth. A surprising range in predictions of crater numbers is obtained from published crater population functions, reaching two orders of magnitude variation for craters in the range 1-5 km diameter. This range in predictions is largely due to variations in treatment of impactor breakup in the atmosphere. Also required is quantification of the total area and timespan of Phanerozoic sediment currently preserved on Earth; an estimate of 8.87 3 10 15 km 2 a is derived here. Together with a relatively conservative crater population function this yields a prediction of 845 craters; subtracting the 131 known Phanerozoic craters larger than 1 km leaves a predicted population yet to find of 714, of which 228 are larger than 2.5 km. Uncertainties, subsets of this population, and spatial distribution are also considered.Kilometre-scale impact craters are rare but significant phenomena in the rock record. As a result of conversion of impact energy to seismic energy they represent the epicentres of very large earthquakes, unrelated to tectonic structures, offering an explanation for enigmatic seismogenic structures such as largescale dewatering (e.g. Alvarez et al. 1998). Environmental effects of the largest impacts are of global significance. Impact craters and associated damaged strata represent large-scale geological features that may be encountered during the exploration or exploitation of sedimentary basins for hydrocarbon recovery and future applications such as CO 2 or radioactive waste sequestration. This paper reviews predictions of impact crater frequency and applies the results to the Phanerozoic sedimentary basins of the world to produce an estimate of the total population of impact craters on Earth that can be compared with the known inventory to yield the yet-to-be-found population. A number of single basins are also examined to illustrate particular aspects of the results and how to apply the approach at a local scale.The inventory of known impact craters on Earth, proved by the presence of shock metamorphism, stands at 176 at the time of writing (Earth Impact Database 2009). Other solid bodies in the Solar System have vastly greater numbers of impact craters, leading to the question, how many more might be found on Earth? Given the level of tectonosedimentary activity on Earth, many of the yet-to-be found craters on Earth are likely to be buried in sedimentary basins. In spite of the considerable uncertainties involved in tackling this question, the results give a quantitative perspective on the likelihood of finding impact structures. Exploration geoscientists face a relentl...

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Section: Crater Count: Moonmentioning

confidence: 99%