The formation of peak rings in large impact craters
Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2016 papers
Abstract
Large impacts provide a mechanism for resurfacing planets through mixing near-surface rocks with deeper material. Central peaks are formed from the dynamic uplift of rocks during crater formation. As crater size increases, central peaks transition to peak rings. Without samples, debate surrounds the mechanics of peak-ring formation and their depth of origin. Chicxulub is the only known impact structure on Earth with an unequivocal peak ring, but it is buried and only accessible through drilling. Expedition 364 sampled the Chicxulub peak ring, which we found was formed from uplifted, fractured, shocked, felsic basement rocks. The peak-ring rocks are cross-cut by dikes and shear zones and have an unusually low density and seismic velocity. Large impacts therefore generate vertical fluxes and increase porosity in planetary crust.
Related Papers
- → A Revision of the Formation Conditions of the Vredefort Crater(2022)15 cited
- Impact Ejecta at the Mistastin Lake Impact Structure, Labrador, Canada(2011)
- GEOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BOSUMTWI IMPACT CRATER FROM SEISMIC, GRAVITY AND MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS(2013)
- Abstract: Investigation of the form and age of the Bloody Creek Crater, southwestern Nova Scotia(2011)
- Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Impacts: Observations and Experiments(2018)