Previously overlooked: 900-meter meteorite crater discovered in southern China
In the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, a research team may have discovered one of the largest meteorite craters from the period after the last ice age.
(Image: Ming Chen et.al)
A previously unknown meteorite crater has been discovered in southern China, which, despite its diameter of about 900 meters, has so far been overlooked. A Chinese research team published this a few days ago in a scientific article, describing the structure in detail. The difference in elevation between the crater rim and its deepest point is approximately 200 meters, and the research group estimates its age to be a maximum of 10,000 years. This would make it one of the largest impacts since the end of the last ice age. However, this still needs to be confirmed; the team itself speaks only of a “very probable” dating.
Crater not remote at all
The “Jinlin Crater” is located in the northwest of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, only a few dozen kilometers from the million-strong city of Yunfu. If you know what to look for, you can even find the ground structure easily in Google Maps. The research team does not specify how the crater was discovered, but the research paper includes a drone image that clearly shows the crater-shaped structure. The circular basin is covered with grass and trees, and the crater rim is said to be well preserved. The team has discovered various rock fragments in and around the crater rim that are said to be related to the impact. From these, the group has inferred the age, but further work is needed for precise dating.
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Impact craters from meteorites visible on the Earth's surface are rare; for such a structure to still be recognizable, it must not have been exposed to the elements for too long. Although southern China makes up a quarter of the People's Republic's landmass, no crater has been discovered there so far, the team writes. If their discovery is confirmed, it would indicate a strong impact on Earth during the Holocene. This current period of Earth's history began only with the end of the last ice age. Such an impact would certainly have affected human history. Experts are therefore still advising caution, for example, to Scientific American. The research paper can be viewed in the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes meanwhile.
(mho)
