Geologists have confirmed a crater discovered more than 20 years ago as the oldest crater ever discovered. They estimated the crater was formed some 2.229 billion years ago.
Scientists can now confirm that the Yarrabubba crater is the oldest in the world, having been formed some 2.229 billion years ago. The crater is located in Australia and it was discovered 20 years ago.
The discovery of the crater
The crater is one of the largest in the world and oldest craters in the world. It is roughly 40 kilometers wide (44 miles) and now scientists are calling it the oldest crater ever discovered.
Researchers indicated that the crater is over 200 million years older than the next oldest impact. Its age was determined through scientific dating process which examined its impact, rock formations and isotopes.
They examined how after the impact, the rocks were compressed like a spring, releasing heat up and having temperatures higher than volcanoes. This made some rocks in the center of the impact to vaporize while others just melted at high temperatures of over 2,000 degrees (3,600 F).
This resulted in the conversion of uranium to lead at a known pace which can be calculated. When the uranium crystals are heated, the lead is got rid off and what remains is an ‘isotopic clock’ that can be used for dating how old these rock formations are.
Earth and planetary scientist Chris Kirkland from Curtin University said:
[The] crater was made right at the end of what’s commonly referred to as the early Snowball Earth, a time when the atmosphere and oceans were evolving and becoming more oxygenated and when rocks deposited on many continents recorded glacial conditions.
The study was published in Nature Communications where it also shows how the crater formation impacted our climate. The authors went into detail and explained the changes caused by the meteorite impact on the humid levels and environment during that time.
Featured image by Pixabay
