Discovering the Nadir Crater
When
Where
Dr. Veronica Bray
Research Scientist, HiRISE
University of Arizona
Studying the craters left by asteroid impact is a multi-disciplinary activity. The surface morphology of Impact craters on far-away bodies are revealed by imagery and topography, occasionally bolstered with information from radar and spectral analysis. The sub-surface features of the craters and the cratering process itself can then be studied with the application of theory, laboratory experiments, and numerical models. On Earth, we can study impact craters in greater detail as we can hold the impact products in our hands, look at shocked material through our microscopes, and obtain detailed sub-surface structural information through seismics, radar, and drilling campaigns. This talk concentrates on the discovery and continuing validation of the Nadir impact crater - a potential impact structure discovered off the west coast of Africa. Combination of existing seismic and drill core data suggest that this crater dates from the K-Pg boundary, and might have been associated with the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Host: Dr. Lynn Carter