Letter abstract
Nature Geoscience 1, 131 - 135 (2008)
Published online: 13 January 2008 | doi:10.1038/ngeo103
Subject Categories: Seismology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Importance of pre-impact crustal structure for the asymmetry of the Chicxulub impact crater
Sean P. S. Gulick1, Penny J. Barton2, Gail L. Christeson1, Joanna V. Morgan3, Matthew McDonald1,6, Keren Mendoza-Cervantes4, Zulmacristina F. Pearson5,7, Anusha Surendra2, Jaime Urrutia-Fucugauchi4, Peggy M. Vermeesch3,7 & Mike R. Warner3
Impact craters are observed on the surfaces of all rocky planets and satellites in our Solar System1; some impacts on Earth, such as the Cretaceous/Tertiary one that formed the Chicxulub impact crater2, 3, have been implicated in mass extinctions4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. The direction and angle of the impact—or its trajectory—is an important determinant of the severity of the consequent environmental damage, both in the downrange direction (direction bolide travels) and in the amount of material that enters the plume of material vaporized on impact2, 13, 14, 15. The trajectory of the Chicxulub impact has previously been inferred largely from asymmetries in the gravity anomalies over the crater2, 3. Here, we use seismic data to image the Chicxulub crater in three dimensions and demonstrate that the strong asymmetry of its subsurface correlates with significant pre-existing undulations on the end-Cretaceous continental shelf that was the site of this impact. These results suggest that for rocky planets, geological and geomorphological heterogeneities at the target site may play an important role in determining impact crater structure, in addition to impact trajectories. In those cases where heterogeneous targets are inferred, deciphering impact trajectories from final crater geometries alone may be difficult and require further data such as the distribution of ejecta.
- Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Austin, Texas 78758, USA
- Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, South Kensington Campus, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Del Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Natural Sciences Facility, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA
- Present address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA
- Present address: Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, J.J. Pickle Research Campus, Austin, Texas 78758, USA
Correspondence to: Sean P. S. Gulick1 e-mail: sean@ig.utexas.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Structural geology The buried record of ChicxulubNature Geoscience News and Views (01 Feb 2008)
Multi-ringed revelationNature News and Views (04 Dec 1997)
Geophysics Deep down at ChicxulubNature News and Views (20 Dec 2001)
See all 4 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
Importance of pre-impact crustal structure for the asymmetry of the Chicxulub impact craterNature Geoscience Letter (01 Feb 2008)
Size and morphology of the Chicxulub impact craterNature Article (04 Dec 1997)
See all 15 matches for Research
