In Western Australia, a remarkable discovery has been made: the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth. This crater, known as the North Pole Dome Site, was formed when a massive meteorite struck our planet around 3.5 billion years ago in the Pilbara region.
Researchers from the Geological Survey of Western Australia and Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences made this groundbreaking find. They believe it could offer new insights into the early stages of life on Earth. Interestingly, the crater itself is a large area of exposed red rock with little plant life.
A study published in Nature Communications explains how this impact could have dramatically changed the Earth’s surface, potentially creating conditions that helped life to begin.
Co-lead researcher Professor Tim Johnson from Curtin University noted that this discovery challenges previous beliefs about our planet’s ancient history. “Before this, the oldest known impact crater was just 2.2 billion years old. This one is much older,” he said in a statement.
The team identified the crater using ‘shatter cones,’ unique rock formations formed by the extreme pressure of a meteorite impact. Located about 40 kilometers west of Marble Bar, these formations reveal that the meteorite hit at speeds over 36,000 km/h.
This event was significant, creating a crater more than 100 kilometers wide and scattering debris across the globe. Professor Johnson remarked, “Large impacts were common in the early solar system, as seen from our studies of the Moon.”
The absence of ancient craters has led many geologists to overlook their importance. This study not only sheds light on Earth’s impact history but also hints that there may be many more undiscovered ancient craters waiting to be found.
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Meteorite Impact Crater,Ancient Earth,North Pole Dome Site,Western Australia,Pilbara Region,Curtin University,Geological Survey of Western Australia
