[meteorite-list] Crater maker

From: Chris Peterson <clp_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 13:24:59 2005
Message-ID: <039501c52dcb$e7078d50$f551040a_at_bellatrix>

When you talk about something as large as the K-T event, even defining
"crater" gets a bit tough. The primary physical structure was probably
around 150km in diameter. Given an impactor that was 10km in diameter, this
doesn't fall far outside the 10:1 rule. At the other end of the range, you
have Sikhote-Alin, producing marginal craters- certainly as small as craters
on the Earth can be, and in many cases the bodies producing them are not
identified. In the middle you have something like Barringer crater, where it
would seem that the crater may be unusually large because the air blast was
so large. It is all very complicated. All the same, given the wide range, if
you have to pick a single figure I think the 10:1 rule still gives a good
indication of what to expect.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael L Blood" <mlblood_at_cox.net>
To: <cynapse_at_charter.net>; "Meteorite List"
<Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 7:28 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Crater maker


> Thanks to all who responded.
> Other than the 10 to 1 ratio, I pretty much thought
> the same as what most people stated.
> Here is what I did respond with:
> --
> One "formula" in which I hold very little
> belief, is a ratio of 10 times the diameter of the
> impactor. This question has far to many variables, such
> as speed of meteorite upon contact, type of soil
> and composition of meteorite (ie, stone or Iron),
> angle of trajectory, etc. In addition, the K-T event
> produced a crater (as indicated by hypercompacted
> quartz) with a diameter of 500 miles - but the impactor
> is estimated at "only" 6 miles in diameter - the ol' 10
> to one ratio implies there should have "only" been a crater
> 60 miles in diameter.
> Best wishes, Michael
Received on Sun 20 Mar 2005 11:10:22 PM PST