Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland

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In summary, researchers have found a new crater in Greenland that may have been responsible for the Younger Dryas period of cooling. It is currently unclear when the impact occurred, but it is likely from the Pleistocene period.
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jim mcnamara
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https://phys.org/news/2018-11-huge-crater-greenland-impact-northern.html
Paywall: advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaar8173

A 31 km wide crater in Northern Greenland has been hidden under a massive glacier, until now. Using new radar systems and older technologies, the authors document the existence of a newly found massive crater. Getting a date on the impact event is currently fuzzy. They estimate it occurred in the Pleistocene which is a lot of time. (circa 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, more than a 2 million year span) . They estimate the iron meteor was 1 km wide.

If you have an interest in punctual paleoclimate changes, then this research project - down the road - may be an interesting read as the subsequent planned research continues. There is a potential debris field, not proven yet, that is the next object of interest for the researchers.
 
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Genava said:

I was about to post on this.
The article explains much more about how the discovery came about as well as speculation about how the impact could have lead to the Younger Dryas period of cooling (fresh water from the impact melted ice disrupting the water flow in the N. Atlantic) which further speculation deals with how it might have affected North American mega fauna and the Clovis culture.
They did not want to put that in the original article because it was speculative and would raise lots of questions tangental to their crater discovery.
 
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Curious coincidence alert:
IIRC, if you look at the Iceland hot-spot back-track, it passes under that region at approx 80~100 MY.
Could this feature be much, much older than Pleistocene ??
I know there's a long and unfortunate history of impact craters being mistaken for odd volcanic features, could this be a rare example of the converse ?

FWIW, I'd be delighted if this feature is an impact crater of Pleistocene era, wholly or partly responsible for the very wide tektite 'strewn field'...
 
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Nik_2213 said:
I know there's a long and unfortunate history of impact craters being mistaken for odd volcanic features, could this be a rare example of the converse ?

No, definitely not !
volcanic eruptions don't form shocked quartz
Nik_2213 said:
FWIW, I'd be delighted if this feature is an impact crater of Pleistocene era, wholly or partly responsible for the very wide tektite 'strewn field'...
which tektite strewn field are you referring to ?

I know of no known strewn field that isn't already related to a known impact

cheers
Dave
 
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Ah, the N. American tektites have been tied to the Chesapeake Bay feature ~34 MY.
My Bad.
 
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Nik_2213 said:
Ah, the N. American tektites have been tied to the Chesapeake Bay feature ~34 MY.
yup
 
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There is a strewn field possibly related to the Hiawatha Crater Discovery. Its is the Younger Dryas . Boundary field and was documented in a paper I co-authored here, if you have any questions.: http://www.pnas.org/content/109/28/E1903
 
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1. What is the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland?

The Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland is a large impact crater located near the Hiawatha Glacier in northwest Greenland. It is estimated to be about 31 kilometers wide, making it one of the largest impact craters ever discovered on Earth.

2. When was the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland formed?

The Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland was formed during the Pleistocene epoch, which lasted from about 2.6 million years ago to 11,700 years ago. The exact age of the crater is still being studied, but it is estimated to be between 11,700 and 3 million years old.

3. How was the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland discovered?

The Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland was discovered in 2015 by scientists from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Alberta. They were studying satellite images of the Hiawatha Glacier when they noticed a circular depression in the ice. Further investigations revealed that it was a meteor impact crater.

4. What is the significance of the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland?

The discovery of the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland is significant because it is one of the largest impact craters ever found on Earth. It also provides valuable insights into the geological history of Greenland and the effects of meteor impacts on the Earth's surface.

5. What are the potential implications of the Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland?

The Pleistocene meteor crater on Greenland has the potential to provide valuable information about the impact event and its effects on the environment. It could also shed light on the possibility of other undiscovered impact craters in the Arctic region, which could have important implications for the study of meteor impact events and their potential hazards.

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