Australian impact structure

The Australian impact structure is also called the "massive Australian Precambrian/Cambrian impact structure" or MAPCIS.

It is thought to be the remains of a huge meteorite strike.[1] Its centre is in the Northern Territory, about halfway between Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Mount Conner. The crater is about 600 km (370 mi) in diameter.[2] There is a wider ring 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in diameter which may be related to the impact. If it is confirmed, MAPCIS would be the largest impact structure on Earth. It is not confirmed at present.

The age of this hypothetical impact is about 545 mya. This puts it just before the Cambrian period.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Connelly D. (2009a) The case for a massive Australian Precambrian/Cambrian impact structure (MAPCIS) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. 41(3):38
  2. ↑ Connelly D. (2009b) Age dating MAPCIS (Massive Australian Precambrian/Cambrian Impact Structure) a multi-modal indirect approach Archived 2017-10-07 at the Wayback Machine Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. 41(7):418