In Greenland, scientists have identified a large crater, evidence of a huge asteroid that fell 58 million years ago.
In 2015, researchers from the GLOBE Institute at the University of Copenhagen discovered a giant cavity. Hidden under the ice cap Hiawatha of Greenland, the structure occupied approximately 31 kilometers of land. At first, scientists thought the crater was only a thousand years old, but they changed their minds.
Apparently, the cavity is much older, and should have been formed about 58 million years ago.
To find out, scientists from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, who sampled sand from Hiawatha Crater and heated it, using argon gas released from the grains to date the impact event. At the same time, researchers from Swedish Museum of Natural History they sampled the rocks and dated them using the uranium fingerprint of the mineral zircon.
Results in hand, both teams agree on dating.
An amazing crater
Michael Storey, scientist from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, released a statement regarding the discovery.
“Impact dating has been a particularly difficult thing to crack, so it is very satisfying that two laboratories in Denmark and Sweden, using different dating methods, have come to the same conclusion. As such, I am convinced that we have determined the crater's actual age, which is much older than many people once thought."
When the asteroid hit Greenland, 58 million years ago, the area was covered in dense rainforest. Where the ice cap is now, there was previously a temperate territory.
All this has led scientists to wonder whether what was responsible for the crater also affected the global climate. The force of the impact, in fact, may have been more devastating than expected.
Scientists are therefore keen to continue the study of the Hiawatha cavity, in the hope of obtaining more information on its overall impact. All the news will then be reported to the public, waiting to receive further answers.
