Meteoroid mayhem in Ole Virginny: Source of the North American tektite strewn field

Geology
By: , and 

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Abstract

New seismic reflection data from Chesapeake Bay reveal a buried, 85-km-wide, 1.5-2.0-km-deep, peak-ring impact crater, carved through upper Eocene to Lower Cretaceous sedimentary strata and into underlying pre-Mesozoic crystalline basement rocks. A polymictic, late Eocene impact breccia, composed mainly of locally derived sedimentary debris (determined from four continuous cores), surrounds and partly fills the crater. Structural and sedimentary characteristics of the Chesapeake Bay crater closely resemble those of the Miocene Ries peakring crater in southern Germany. We speculate that the Chesapeake Bay crater is the source of the North American tektite strewn field.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Meteoroid mayhem in Ole Virginny: Source of the North American tektite strewn field
Series title Geology
DOI 10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0691:MMIOVS>2.3.CO;2
Volume 22
Issue 8
Year Published 1994
Language English
Publisher Geological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description 4 p.
First page 691
Last page 694
Country United States
State Virginia
Other Geospatial Chesapeake Bay
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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