Underwater impact craters get easily missed! At China's Kuga crater, water resurge eroded a ~700m rim down to 250-300m, burying the central uplift under resurgent breccia. Even a frying-pan-shaped feature off Portugal hasn't been recognized as an impact structure yet. How many more are hiding underwater?
Underwater impact crater formation and the Kuga crater example
Site mentioned
📍 Kuga impact crater
Key facts
- Underwater craters in shallow seas (less than 800m) show breached rims with reurge gullies formed by water sloshing in and out
- Kuga impact crater originally had rim height of ~700m, reduced to 250-300m by water resurge erosion
- Resurgent breccia layer filled Kuga crater to 150-200m depth, completely burying the central uplift
- Underwater craters are easily mistaken for natural geological features and often go unrecognized
- A frying pan-shaped underwater feature offshore of Portugal has not yet been recognized as an impact structure
Sources
[PDF] POSSIBLE IMPACT CRATERS IN CHINAlpi.usra.edu
Purpose of the present paper is to discuss. Possible impact craters in China from geological - topographic maps and satellite images. First candidate of Chinese ...
Jinlin Crater - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Jinlin Crater is a recent impact crater in Deqing County, Guangdong Province, southern China, about 90 metres (300 ft) deep and with a diameter varying ...
Scientists uncover the largest crater on Earth under 100,000 years oldspace.com
A crescent-shaped crater in Northeast China holds the record as the largest impact crater on Earth that formed in the last 100000 years.
Jinlin crater, Guangdong Province, China - The largest crater on Earthearth3dmap.com
The Jinlin Impact Crater in China, 900 meters wide, formed within the last 10000 years, has been confirmed as the world's largest known Holocene-age crater.
An impactful discovery: impact crater found in northeastern Chinaaip.org
A meteorite impact crater has been identified in northeast China, located in the mountainous region of the Changbai Mountain Range.
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