Posted on 09/25/2024 7:17:19 AM PDT by Red Badger
A potential 370-mile-wide crater in Australia, known as MAPCIS, may reshape our understanding of Earth’s geological history. Researchers found geological evidence, including shocked minerals and melt rock, suggesting a massive impact at the end of the Ediacaran period. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com
===========================================================================
Research team is delving into history, exploring events that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. A potential crater over 370 miles (600 kilometers) wide in central Australia may transform our knowledge of Earth’s geological past.
Researcher Daniel Connelly and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Arif Sikder, Ph.D., believe they have found evidence to support the existence of MAPCIS – the Massive Australian Precambrian-Cambrian Impact Structure – which is a nonconcentric complex crater that could provide new insights into the geological and biological evolution of our planet.
“Working on the MAPCIS project has been an incredible journey,” said Sikder, an associate professor in the Center for Environmental Studies, a unit of VCU Life Sciences. “The data we’ve gathered offers a unique glimpse into the forces that have shaped our planet, and I’m excited about the future research this discovery will inspire.”
A surface geology map of the proposed Massive Australian Precambrian-Cambrian Impact Structure. Credit: Daniel Connelly
============================================================================
This September, Connelly will make a presentation in Anaheim, California, at Connects 2024, the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting. In August, he presented at the 37th International Geological Congress 2024 in Busan, South Korea. According to researchers, the impact occurred at the end of the Ediacaran period, within the Neoproterozoic Era, which spans from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago.
Geological Evidence of the Impact
Among the geological evidence they have uncovered to support the age, size, and location of the impact are massive deposits of pseudotachylite breccia, or melt rock, near the crater center. The researchers found shocked minerals, including lonsdaleite, or shocked diamond, in the deposits, along with impact level amounts of iridium.
“The discovery of MAPCIS is a testament to the power of collaborative research,” Connelly said. “Our findings not only highlight the significance of this impact structure but also open new avenues for understanding Earth’s geological past.”
Meeting: Connects 2024
There’s a hole in their theory Ping!.................
They have to come up with an acronym for everything. They can't help themselves.
I like comets.
Always been fascinated by the "Shock Dynamics" Theory versus the slow Continental Drift Theory.
That, and where the hell do all of the odd socks go....
I like Mustangs............
Puts a new spin on the “Cambrian explosion.”
Aliens have superior guidance systems.
It would be useful for people to have at least a vague notion of timelines.
Lots of them online.
Knowing the difference between 500 million years ago and 100 million and 50 million and 1 million turns out to be rather important.
For example, why are the Texas oil fields called the Permian basin? Because that’s how old the rock is containing the oil. 250ish million years ago to 200 million years ago. That’s the rocks. The oil began forming more recently, about 70 million years ago.
That is Earth’s naval.
Exactly where you’d expect it to be. Down under.
Thanks Red Badger. Nice find!
It’s human nature..............
😁🙄............................
You sure about that?
Yep, prove me wrong.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
