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Scientists from Curtin University have discovered the world's oldest meteorite crater. It is 3,5 billion years old. The discovery could rewrite the history of Earth's formation and provide new clues about the origins of life. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers studied rocks in the Pilbara region of Australia. There, they found “impact cones” — unique geological structures that only form in the most powerful meteorite impacts. This became the main evidence of an ancient catastrophe.
The meteorite hit the Earth at a speed of over 36 km/h. The impact created a huge crater with a diameter of over 100 km. It probably affected global climate and geological processes.
Before this discovery, the oldest known crater was thought to be 2,2 billion years old. The new crater is more than a billion years older. This radically changes scientists' understanding.
Professor Tim Johnson, one of the study's leaders, said: "We know that there were frequent collisions in the early history of the solar system. But until now we had no evidence of such ancient craters on Earth. This opens a new chapter in the study of meteorite impacts."
Co-author of the study, Professor Chris Kirkland, emphasizes that such impacts could have played a key role in the origin of life.
"Meteorite craters created extreme conditions, including hot pools of water. They could have been the ideal environment for the emergence of the first microorganisms," he explained.
In addition, the energy of the impact could have changed the structure of the Earth's crust. This contributed to the processes that later led to the formation of continents. The researchers will continue to study the region. They hope to find new traces of ancient collisions that could have changed the course of Earth's history.
Scientists from Curtin University have discovered the world's oldest meteorite crater. It is 3,5 billion years old. The discovery could rewrite the history of Earth's formation and provide new clues about the origins of life. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers studied rocks in the Pilbara region of Australia. There, they found “impact cones” — unique geological structures that only form in the most powerful meteorite impacts. This became the main evidence of an ancient catastrophe.
The meteorite hit the Earth at a speed of over 36 km/h. The impact created a huge crater with a diameter of over 100 km. It probably affected global climate and geological processes.
Before this discovery, the oldest known crater was thought to be 2,2 billion years old. The new crater is more than a billion years older. This radically changes scientists' understanding.
Professor Tim Johnson, one of the study's leaders, said: "We know that there were frequent collisions in the early history of the solar system. But until now we had no evidence of such ancient craters on Earth. This opens a new chapter in the study of meteorite impacts."
Co-author of the study, Professor Chris Kirkland, emphasizes that such impacts could have played a key role in the origin of life.
"Meteorite craters created extreme conditions, including hot pools of water. They could have been the ideal environment for the emergence of the first microorganisms," he explained.
In addition, the energy of the impact could have changed the structure of the Earth's crust. This contributed to the processes that later led to the formation of continents. The researchers will continue to study the region. They hope to find new traces of ancient collisions that could have changed the course of Earth's history.
