US EditionBillion year old meteorite 'influenced early life'
- A meteorite struck northwest Scotland about 990 million years ago, creating the Stac Fada Member rock deposit.
- Researchers revised the impact date from 1.2 billion to 990 million years after analyzing zircon crystals in the Stoer Group sediments.
- The impact aligns closely with early land-based, non-marine microbial fossils preserved in Torridonian rocks, suggesting a possible link between impacts and life evolution.
- Chris Kirkland explained that when a meteorite impacts, it disrupts the internal radioactive dating system of zircon crystals, allowing researchers to develop a method to accurately determine the timing of the event at 990 million years ago.
- This revised timing offers new insights into how meteorite strikes might have influenced Earth's environment and early ecosystems, with ongoing work to locate the impact crater.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Ancient zircon crystals shed light on 1 billion-year-old meteorite strike in Scotland
Geologists have found that an ancient meteorite hit Scotland 200 million years later than previously thought, which has massive implications for the geological history of the region and some of the U.K.'s earliest land life.
A Meteorite Struck Scotland More Recently Than We Thought
We've discovered that a meteorite struck northwest Scotland 1 billion years ago, 200 million years later than previously thought. Our results are published today in the journal Geology. This impact now aligns with some of Earth's earliest known, land based, non-marine microbial fossils, and offers new insights into how meteorite strikes may have shaped our planet's environment and life.A rocky treasure troveThe Torridonian rocks of northwest…
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