Australasian impact crater buried under the Bolaven volcanic field, Southern Laos

The crater and proximal effects of the largest known young meteorite impact on Earth have eluded discovery for nearly a century. We present 4 lines of evidence that the 0.79-Ma impact crater of the Australasian tektites lies buried beneath lavas of a long-lived, 910-km³ volcanic field in Southern La...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 117; no. 3; pp. 1346 - 1353
Main Authors Sieh, Kerry, Herrin, Jason, Jicha, Brian, Angel, Dayana Schonwalder, Moore, James D. P., Banerjee, Paramesh, Wiwegwin, Weerachat, Sihavong, Vanpheng, Singer, Brad, Chualaowanich, Tawachai, Charusiri, Punya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 21.01.2020
SeriesFrom the Cover
Subjects
Basalt
Breccia
Craters
Ejecta
Geochemistry
Geologic mapping
Geological mapping
Gravity anomalies
Meteorite collisions
Mudstone
Outcrops
Physical Sciences
Sandstone
Tektites
Volcanic fields
Laos
Lao
crater
tektite
Australasian
impact
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Summary:The crater and proximal effects of the largest known young meteorite impact on Earth have eluded discovery for nearly a century. We present 4 lines of evidence that the 0.79-Ma impact crater of the Australasian tektites lies buried beneath lavas of a long-lived, 910-km³ volcanic field in Southern Laos: 1) Tektite geochemistry implies the presence of young, weathered basalts at the site at the time of the impact. 2) Geologic mapping and 40Ar-39Ar dates confirm that both pre- and postimpact basaltic lavas exist at the proposed impact site and that postimpact basalts wholly cover it. 3) A gravity anomaly there may also reflect the presence of a buried ∼17 × 13-km crater. 4) The nature of an outcrop of thick, crudely layered, bouldery sandstone and mudstone breccia 10–20 km from the center of the impact and fractured quartz grains within its boulder clasts support its being part of the proximal ejecta blanket.
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Author contributions: K.S., J.H., D.S.A., J.D.P.M., and P.B. designed research; K.S., J.H., B.J., D.S.A., J.D.P.M., P.B., W.W., V.S., B.S., T.C., and P.C. performed research; K.S., J.H., B.J., D.S.A., J.D.P.M., P.B., B.S., and T.C. analyzed data; and K.S., J.H., B.J., D.S.A., J.D.P.M., P.B., and B.S. wrote the paper.
Contributed by Kerry Sieh, October 7, 2019 (sent for review March 13, 2019; reviewed by Fred Jourdan, Henry Jay Melosh, and John Douglas Yule)
Reviewers: F.J., Curtin University; H.J.M., Purdue University; and J.D.Y., California State University, Northridge.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1904368116