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Maniitsoq Impact Structure

Monday, January 18, 2010 9:28:04 AM

,

In September 2009 the so far oldest (i.e. 2975 million years) impact crater on Earth was found near Maniitsoq (in “my days” - and in Danish - known as Sukkertoppen) in West Greenland. It is the fourth multi-ring crater discovered on Earth, besides Chicxulub, Sudbury, and Vredefort.


Location: 65°15'N, 51°50'E

Reference:
Adam A. Garde
The 2975 Ma Maniitsoq impact structure in West Greenland: the oldest and most deeply exposed meteorite crater on Earth
Abstracts, 29th Nordic Geological Winter Meeting 2010, p. 57.

Adam A. Garde at GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland) is mainly known for his work on the Ketilides/Ketiliderne (an eroded mountain range in South greenland, that was formed 1,8 billion years ago), on which he has published a multitude of papers. For some time he had been wondering about some apparently inexplicable peculiarities, until it struck him, that they could be a result of an extraterrestrial impact. So far he convinced his audience, but further studies in the field is necessary to uncover the full extent of the structure, which covers a vast area, much of which has not yet been fully mapped.

I am looking forward to a paper (or papers) on this Impact crater, no doubt to turn up sooner or later.



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