Asteroid Impact Extinction?
An asteroid is believed to have hit the Earth causing the extinction of the dinosaurs - the Cretaceous (K) was the last of the dinosaur bearing periods - the Tertiary (T) is the period we as humans live in today
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 1953
|
Cretaceous (K) - Tertiary (T) Boundary
While at Berkeley in 1980 Luis and Walter Alvarez, Frank Asaro, and Helen Michel proposed a convincing theory for the K-T extinction - about 60% of all species that existed below the K-T boundary are not present above the line
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 1871
|
K-T Boundary
The thin K-T boundary layer of earth is marked by the presence of 31% iridium - an element that is rare on Earth - but is common in asteroids and meteorites - so scientists believe the iridium is evidence of a massive impact
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 2059
|
Chicxulub Crater
The Chicxulub Crater which is located mostly underwater in the Yucatan part of Mexico is suspected of being the massive impact site which caused the K-T boundry event resulting in the mass extinctions of life at that time
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 2909
|
K-T Boundary Material
We have these interesting samples of K-T boundry material which is the focus of so much on-going research - these photos show the interior
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 2066
|
K-T Boundary Material
These photos show the exterior of the material
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 1745
|
Lappajärvi Crater Location
Lappajärvi is also municipality - it is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 1769
|
Lappajärvi Crater
Lappajärvi is also a lake in Finland - it spans the municipalities of Lappajärvi, Alajärvi and Vimpeli - it has formed in the 23 km-wide meteorite crater
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 1803
|
Lappajärvi Impact Rock
The age of the crater is estimated to be 73.3 million years old
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 1633
|
Map of a Libyan Glass discovery field
Taken from a report to the British Museum written in 1934 by P.A. Clayton and L.J Spencer
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 1755
|
Libyan Glass - 23.27 grams
Our sample is almost pure silica - it came from the Sand Sea of the Libyan desert - found in an area about 130 by 53 kilometers
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 1773
|
Libyan Glass - 23.27 grams
The composition and structure of our specimen is consistent with a hypothesis that the glass was formed from a meteorite which melted the desert dune sand and which then subsequently cooled for longer than 24 hours
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 1924
|
King Tutanchamun Pectoral
This priceless Egyptian artifact from King Tut's tomb features a scarab made from Libyan Desert Glass!
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 2043
|
Libyan Glass
A few of our more clear specimens
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 1904
|
Libyan Glass
Some of our samples have a little bit of a milky-white appearance
Date: 02/28/2010
Views: 1795
|
Moldavite Example
An olive green or greenish vitreous material which was possibly formed by a meteorite impact - it is found near town of Moldauthein in the Czech Republic
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 1896
|
Moldavite
Our nicely translucent sample displays the pittings and wrinkles on the surface which resemble the characteristic markings on many meteorites
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 2035
|
Moldavite
The total amount of Moldavite recovered to date is estimated at about 275 tons
Date: 07/16/2009
Views: 1933
|
Monturaqui Crater
This incredible photo of the crater - seen at the botton right of the picture - was taken by Haroldo Horta Tricallotis
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 2137
|
Monturaqui Crater
The crater is located south of the Salar de Atacama in the Antofagasta Region of Chile - the crater was discovered in 1962 in aerial photographs - erosion has been minimal due to the extreme arid conditions of the area
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 1751
|
Monturaqui Impactite
The crater is 460 meters in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than a million years - our impactite samples show the familiar jumble of lightweight material common to these specimens
Date: 02/27/2010
Views: 2213
|