Antarctic: giant crater found. Of worst mass extinction ever?


This video is called PART ONE – IODP Expedition 318 Wilkes Land Documentary.

From Space.com:

Giant Crater Found: Tied to Worst Mass Extinction Ever

By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer

posted: 01 June 2006

An apparent crater as big as Ohio has been found in Antarctica.

Scientists think it was carved by a space rock that caused the greatest mass extinction on Earth, 250 million years ago.

The crater, buried beneath a half-mile of ice and discovered by some serious airborne and satellite sleuthing, is more than twice as big as the one involved in the demise of the dinosaurs.

The crater’s location, in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica, south of Australia, suggests it might have instigated the breakup of the so-called Gondwana supercontinent, which pushed Australia northward, the researchers said.

See also here.

4 thoughts on “Antarctic: giant crater found. Of worst mass extinction ever?

  1. Pingback: Sub-Antarctic: first teal ducklings on Campbell Island | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  2. Pingback: Young plesiosaur’s fossil found in Antarctic | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  3. Pingback: ‘Mass extinctions killed less wildlife than thought’ | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  4. Pingback: Antarctic: invasive species from the North | Dear Kitty. Some blog

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.