Eltanin impact

Eltanin impact
Eltanin impact is located in Atlantic Ocean
Eltanin impact
Eltanin impact
Eltanin site in the southeast Pacific Ocean
Impact crater/structure
ConfidenceHypothetical
Diameter35 km (22 mi)
Impactor diameter1–4 km (0.62–2.49 mi)
Age2.51 ± 0.07 Ma, earliest Pleistocene
Location
Coordinates57°47′S 90°47′W / 57.783°S 90.783°W / -57.783; -90.783
The possible impact site is located at the edge of the Bellingshausen Sea (part of the Southern Ocean)

The Eltanin impact is thought to be an asteroid impact in the eastern part of the South Pacific Ocean that occurred around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary approximately 2.51 ± 0.07  million years ago.[1] The impact occurred at the north edge of the Bellingshausen Sea 1,500 km (950 mi) southwest of Chile, where the sea floor is approximately 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) deep.[2] The asteroid was estimated to be about 1 to 4 km (0.6 to 2.5 mi) in diameter. No crater associated with the impact has been discovered.[3] The impact likely evaporated 150 km3 (36 cu mi) of water, generating large tsunami waves hundreds of metres high.[4]

  1. ^ Goff, James; Catherine Chagué-Goff; Michael Archer; Dale Dominey-Howes; Chris Turney (3 September 2012). "The Eltanin asteroid impact: possible South Pacific palaeomegatsunami footprint and potential implications for the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition". Journal of Quaternary Science. 27 (7). Wiley: 660. Bibcode:2012JQS....27..660G. doi:10.1002/jqs.2571. ISSN 0267-8179. S2CID 131415717.
  2. ^ Gersonde, R.; F. T. Kyte; T. Frederichs; U. Bleil; H. W. Schenke; G. Kuhn (2005). "The late Pliocene impact of the Eltanin asteroid into the Southern Ocean – Documentation and environmental consequences" (PDF). Geophysical Research Abstracts. European Geosciences Union. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  3. ^ Ward, Steven N.; Erik Asphaug (2002). "Impact tsunami–Eltanin" (PDF). Deep-Sea Research Part II. 49 (6). Elsevier: 1073–1079. Bibcode:2002DSRII..49.1073W. doi:10.1016/s0967-0645(01)00147-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  4. ^ Shuvalov, Valery; Gersonde, Rainer (2014). "Constraints on interpretation of the Eltanin impact from numerical simulations". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 49 (7): 1171–1185. Bibcode:2014M&PS...49.1171S. doi:10.1111/maps.12326. ISSN 1945-5100. S2CID 140649899.