Under the endless waters of the Atlantic Ocean, a secret is hiding waiting to be revealed. Scientists have shed new light on Earth’s distant past by showing images of an asteroid impact crater buried 300 meters below the ocean floor. Behind this remarkable discovery is Dr. D., a geologist from Heriot-Watt University who has been working on the hidden structures of the Earth for years. Featuring Wisdin Nicholson.
While exploring the seafloor off the coast of Guinea in West Africa, Nicholson and his team spotted an 8.5-mile-wide trench that piqued their curiosity. His keen eye led to the discovery of Nadir Crater, a silent witness to a monumental event 66 million years ago.
Three-dimensional image of rare asteroid crater
High-resolution 3D seismic data provided by global geophysical company TGS confirmed the suspicions. The data showed that the asteroid, which was between 1,476 and 1,640 feet wide, hit Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period.
New images paint a picture of a catastrophic event.
“We can tell it came from around 20 to 40 degrees north-east because of the shock-induced spiral ridges surrounding the central peak of the crater, which only form after a low-angle oblique impact,” Dr Nicholson said.
“And we think it will hit the Earth at about 12 miles per second, or 45,000 miles per hour, but we still need to confirm that with a new set of impact models.”
What happened after the crash?
Using seismic data, scientists reconstructed the immediate consequences of the impact. They initially observed the formation of a bowl-shaped crater, rock liquefying and flowing upward, and a damage zone spanning thousands of square miles. As a result, a massive tsunami exceeding 2,600 feet in height will sweep across the Atlantic.
“There are about 20 confirmed marine craters around the world, and none of them have been photographed with this level of detail. It’s brilliant,” Dr. Nicholson said.
“We went from a blurry two-dimensional image to an incredibly high-resolution image of Nadir Crater,” he said, likening the evolution of imaging to the evolution of ultrasound.
Echoes of the dinosaur-killing impact
Interestingly, Nadir crater is the same age as the 125-mile-wide Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico, which is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This raises the question of whether Earth was hit by more than one asteroid at the same time.
The team is not satisfied with the images. “We applied for a new international drilling programme, IODP3, to drill into the seabed and extract core from the crater,” Dr Nicholson said.
“This will give us more information about the shock pressure generated during the collision, as well as the exact age and sequence of events that occurred after that event.”
Information about the asteroid crater
Employees are buzzing with excitement.
“3D seismic imaging of a fully preserved impact crater is a fantastic research opportunity that allows us to look at how impact processes and craters change with impact size to understand the evolution of Earth and other worlds,” said Dr Sean Gulick. stated the University of Texas at Austin.
From the University of Arizona, Dr. “We see pristine impact craters on airless bodies like the Moon, but we have no information about the structure of the subsurface,” added Veronica Bray.
“On Earth, the opposite is true: We have structural data from seismic surveys, field maps, and drill cores, but craters are often very blurry at the surface. Nadir’s new 3D seismic image gives us both. This is a stunningly beautiful view of the impact crater.” image!”
Today’s Asteroid Threats: The Bennu Case
While ancient attacks are fascinating, they are also a reminder of the potential dangers lurking in space. Asteroid Bennu, about 1,300 feet in diameter, is considered the most dangerous object in Earth orbit. According to NASA scientists, the overall probability of impact by 2300 is about 1 in 1,750 (or 0.057%).
They also identified September 24, 2182 as the single most significant date of potential impact, with a 1 in 2700 (or approximately 0.037%) chance. It is thought-provoking that events similar to the event that caused the formation of Nadir Crater may occur again.
Preparing for the future by reading the past
Dr Nicholson noted: “The closest people have come to seeing something like this is the Tunguska event of 1908, when a 50 meter asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded in the sky over Siberia.” Data from Nadir Crater provide an unprecedented opportunity to study impact craters in detail.
“The new 3D seismic data on Nadir Crater is an unprecedented opportunity to test hypotheses about impact craters, develop new crater models in the marine environment, and understand the consequences of such an event,” he said.
This discovery not only peels back layers of sediment, it also peels back layers of time. By studying Nadir Crater, scientists hope to uncover secrets of Earth’s past and better prepare for future encounters with asteroids. The full text of the research was published in the journal Contact Earth and Environment.
Source: Port Altele
