Bedout
Coordinates: 18 ° 11 ′ S , 119 ° 15 ′ E
The Bedout Structure is a geological formation 250 km northwest of the coast of Australia in the Roebuck Basin . It is an approximately 200 km large, roughly circular depression in the sea floor with a central elevation .
The structure may have been formed about 250 million years ago by the impact of a larger meteorite . The impact of the strike could have caused mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary .
Scientists have also been discussing since 2006 whether the impact of the hypothetical Wilkesland meteorite in Antarctica triggered this mass extinction. It is also possible that both impacts, possibly staggered in time, were the cause.
literature
- L. Becker, AR. J. Poreda, AR Basu, KO Pope, TM Harrison, C. Nicholson, R. Iasky: Bedout : A Possible End-Permian Impact Crater Offshore of Northwestern Australia . In: Science . 304, No. 5676, 2004, pp. 1469-1476. doi : 10.1126 / science.1093925 .
- RD Müller, A. Goncharov and A. Kritski: [ Geophysical Evaluation of the Enigmatic Bedout Basement High, Offshore Northwestern Australia (PDF 3.03 MB) ( Memento from July 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Geophysical Evaluation of the Enigmatic Bedout Basement High , Offshore Northwestern Australia (PDF 3.03 MB) .] In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters . 237, 2005, pp. 264-284.
Web links
- Meteorite new suspect of mass extinction 250 million years ago. On: Wissenschaft.de from May 15, 2004.
- Donald Savage, Cheryl Dybas, Gail Gallessich: Evidence Of Meteor Impact Found Off Australian Coast. In: NASA News. May 13, 2004, accessed May 10, 2015 .
- Evidence of Meteor Impact Found Off Australian Coast , May 13, 2004, Earth Observatopry, NASA News Archive (July 9, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive )
- Stephen Earle: Double jeopardy at the end of the Permian - new evidence for a large impact ( Memento of March 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )