A Paleoarchaean impact crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia.

ABSTRACT: The role of meteorite impacts in the origin, modification, and destruction of crust during the first two billion years of Earth history (4.5-2.5 billion years ago; Ga) is disputed. Whereas some argue for a relatively minor contribution overall, others have proposed that individual giant impactors (>10-50 km diameter) can initiate subduction zones and deep mantle plumes, arguably triggering a chain of events that formed cratons, the ancient nuclei of the continents. The uncertainty is compounded by the seeming absence of impact structures older than 2.23 Ga, such that the evidence for the terrestrial impact flux in the Hadean and Archaean eons is circumstantial. Here, we report the discovery of shatter cones in a complex, dominantly metasedimentary layer, the Antarctic Creek Member (ACM), i

SUBMITTER: Kirkland CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11885519 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature