My OperaPermian Mass Extinction Crater Found?
Saturday, June 3, 2006 8:00:40 AM
An apparent crater with a diameter of 500 km has been found in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica. Scientists think it was carved by a space rock that caused the greatest mass extinction on Earth at the end of Permian 250 million years ago. (See my blog Mass Extinctions – end of Permian). The crater's location, in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica, south of Australia, suggests it might have instigated the break-up of the so-called Gondwana supercontinent, which pushed Australia northward (see my blog Antarctic ice and plate tectonics).
The Permian-Triassic extinction paved the way for the dinosaurs to rise to prominence. The dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago, probably because the earth was hit by another space rock at the Chicxulub crater.
Caption: Airborne radar image of land elevation in East Antarctica. Higher elevations appear red, purple, and white; the location of the Wilkes Land crater is circled (above center). An inset of the Chicxulub crater is included for comparison.
Credit: Image courtesy of Ohio State University.
PS
Some people claim that an impact must have triggered huge eruptions on the exact opposite side of the Earth.. The Nature paper's lead author claims that an Antarctic impact would make Siberia erupt in massive basalt flows. (the basalt flows I mention in my blog blog Mass Extinctions – end of Permian.
The Permian-Triassic extinction paved the way for the dinosaurs to rise to prominence. The dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago, probably because the earth was hit by another space rock at the Chicxulub crater.
- MSNBC - Antarctic crater linked to ancient die-off: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13089686/
- EurekAlert - Big bang in Antarctica -- killer crater found under ice: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/osu-bbi060106.php
Caption: Airborne radar image of land elevation in East Antarctica. Higher elevations appear red, purple, and white; the location of the Wilkes Land crater is circled (above center). An inset of the Chicxulub crater is included for comparison.Credit: Image courtesy of Ohio State University.
PS
Some people claim that an impact must have triggered huge eruptions on the exact opposite side of the Earth.. The Nature paper's lead author claims that an Antarctic impact would make Siberia erupt in massive basalt flows. (the basalt flows I mention in my blog blog Mass Extinctions – end of Permian.
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