Geologists have found the largest 400-kilometer crater in the Earth Australia – RIA Novosti

© Photo: D. Seymour

MOSCOW, March 23 – RIA Novosti. Geologists have found in the center Australia’s giant 400-kilometer crater that appeared on the surface of our planet about 300 million years ago as a result of the fall of the “double” of the asteroid, which, mysteriously, has not caused a mass extinction, according to a paper published in the journal Tectonophysics.

“Each of the halves of the asteroid has a diameter of at least 10 kilometers, and the fall of even one of them was to be the end for many species of living beings on Earth at that time. Why it did not happen – a big mystery – we have not been able to find traces of extinction, which would coincide in time with this fall. I suspect that the crater may actually be much older than 300 million years, “- said Andrew Glikson (Andrew Glikson) from the Australian National University in Canberra.

Glikson and his fellow geologists discovered quite by accident crater – initially they “translucent” soil in the central part of Australia, on the border between South Australia and the Northern Territory, trying to assess the suitability of local subsoil to build geothermal power.

During these studies they found two very unusual from a geological point of structure, extends for several hundred kilometers in length and 30 km in depth. After reviewing their mineral composition, density, magnetic properties, and other parameters, the researchers came to the conclusion that both of these areas of the continent at the same time experienced a powerful blow, compression of rocks and their partial melting of about 300 million years ago.

How do scientists believe they were able to find a trace of the fall of a large asteroid with a diameter of a few tens of kilometers, which is split into two halves of a ten already in the atmosphere. As a result, formed a double crater 400 kilometers, which is considerably larger than the previous record holder – the 300-kilometer crater Vredefort in South Africa.

So far, scientists do not know why you should not be seen this fall in the history of life on Earth. It is believed Glikson and his colleagues further excavations and refinement of dating will help them understand why this incident did not cause a mass extinction of animals or find traces of it in sediment sedimentary rocks.