Scientists Map Ancient Crater

[Red]

JULY 31, 14:00 ET
Scientists Map Ancient Crater

By The Associated Press


With unprecedented detail, scientists have mapped a small but well-preserved crater formed by a meteorite they believe smacked into Earth 60 to 65 million years ago.

The impact crater, buried beneath the North Sea's rich oil and gas fields off England's eastern seaboard, measures about six miles wide and sits beneath 120 feet of seawater and more than 900 feet of sediment.

Researchers believe the so-called Silverpit crater was formed after the catastrophic impact near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that scientists suspect contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

``We know so little about how impact structures are created when meteorites and comets hit,'' said University of New Brunswick geologist John G. Spray, who reviewed the crater data for the journal Nature, which published details in its current issue. ``Any new example helps.''

Details of most impact craters on Earth have eroded by rain, wind and earthquakes over millions of years.

The simplest type of impact crater is a smooth, bowl-shaped depression like the famous Baringer Crater in Arizona. By comparison, the Silverpit is shaped like a basin with multiple rings like shock waves encircling the sides, scientists said.

Silverpit's main crater is 1.5 miles wide with a central peak that probably formed when the Earth rebounded from the impact of the incoming cosmic projectile, scientists said.

A series of at least 10 concentric impact rings radiate beyond it, expanding its size to some degree. Still, it's small and well-preserved as craters go and that makes it ``very intriguing,'' Spray said.

The Silverpit crater was identified by a pair of petroleum geoscientists reviewing seismic data collected 80 miles from the city of Hull in northeast England. They mapped the crater's features using powerful three-dimensional computer imaging normally reserved to plan energy drilling.

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[Manu]

Very cool.

Its a humbling thought to think of what could happen to us, during an impact, and there would be virtually nothing we could do.