HR: 0800h
AN: P51A-0907    [Abstracts]
TI: Preliminary Chicxulub Crater Peak Ring Interpretation on 2-D Seismic Reflection Profiles From R/V Maurice Ewing 2005 Survey.
AU: * Mendoza-Cervantes, K
EM: kerenmacs@yahoo.com
AF: Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, CU, Circuito Institutos sn, D.Coyoacan, Mexico City, 04510 Mexico
AU: Gulick, S S
EM: sean@ig.utexas.edu
AF: Institute of Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, Univ. of Texas at Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78759 United States
AU: Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J
EM: juf@geofisica.unam.mx
AF: Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, CU, Circuito Institutos sn, D.Coyoacan, Mexico City, 04510 Mexico
AU: McDonald, M
EM: mcdonald@ig.utexas.edu
AF: Institute of Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, Univ. of Texas at Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78759 United States
AU: Barton, P
EM: barton@esc.cam.ac.uk
AF: Bullard Laboratories, Univ. of Cambridge, Madingley Rd., Cambridge, CB3 0EZ United Kingdom
AU: Christeson, G
EM: gail@utig.ig.utexas.edu isteson
AF: Institute of Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, Univ. of Texas at Austin, 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Austin, TX 78759 United States
AU: Morgan, J
EM: j.v.morgan@imperial.ac.uk
AF: Imperial College of London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ United Kingdom
AU: Warner, M
EM: m.warner@imperial.ac.uk
AF: Imperial College of London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ United Kingdom
AU: Melosh, J
EM: jmelosh@lpl.arizona.edu
AF: Department of Planetary Sciences & Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Univ. of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd. , Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AB: Chicxulub crater was formed 65 my ago as a result of a meteorite impacting Earth on what nowadays is the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. This crater, located half offshore, is the only large-diameter (>150 km) impact structure on Earth that is well preserved due to surrounding weather and tectonic conditions and being subsequently buried by 1 km of carbonates. Since second half of 20th century, Chicxulub impact crater has been surveyed using different geophysical methods to try to define its major characteristics. The most recent seismic survey was carried out during January and February, 2005 aboard the R/V Maurice Ewing. During this experiment marine and land seismic data were acquired. A 24 line grid and 3 radial profiles located in between old 1996 seismic lines provide new images to aid definition of the offshore crater. Previous studies on the Chicxulub impact crater structure interpreted a topographic peak ring at different distances from crater center according to the method used. This recognizable feature in large impact craters is thought to be formed mainly by gravitational forces acting on central uplift material that collapses outward while rim material collapses inward. Preliminary results of processing 2-D seismic reflection profiles from the 2005 survey indicates the outer extent of this peak ring ~40 km distance from center of the crater and could be interpreted as a 10-20 km wide ring in the lines analyzed. Chicxulub peak ring is imaged at a depth range of 500-900 ms two-way-travel time as a deformation of pre-impact lithology. Other major features like slump blocks and the inner and outer ring can also be recognized on the processed reflection seismic data
DE: 3025 Marine seismics (0935, 7294)
DE: 7205 Continental crust (1219)
DE: 8136 Impact phenomena (5420, 6022)
DE: 9604 Cenozoic
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005