Australian scientists recently discovered an asteroid impact zone in central Australia’s Wartburton Basin, which is believed to be the world’s largest. Dr. Andrew Glikson and his research team from the Australian National University said that two ancient craters may be caused by a meteorite that split million years ago before hitting Earth. “I have a suspicion the impact could be older than 300 million years,” said Glikson.

The impact zone cannot be seen on the surface of the Earth, according to a statement from the research team, but the evidence taken from the geophysical modelling performed below the surface will prove the existence of two massive impacts.

Team lead Glikson explained that the impact may come from two large structures, each measuring 200 kilometres. "So together, jointly they would form a 400-kilometre structure which is the biggest we know of anywhere in the world,” he said.

The recent discovery may be more of an accident. Scientists were working on a geothermal research project when they stumbled upon rock layers that turned to glass due to exposure to extreme pressure and temperature, which is an indication that high-energy impact has occurred.

There is no clear information as to when this phenomenon occurred, but the rocks surrounding the asteroid impact zone suggest it may have occurred between 300 and 600 million years ago. According to Glikson, when the age of impact becomes known, only then will it be clear if it had something to do with the extinction of dinosaurs.

"At this stage we do not have all the answers, but there has been a lot of interest and people are certainly interested in any impact on the dinosaurs," said Glikson.

Dr. Glikson said that the next step to take will be more research and he expressed his hope that the “deep crust seismic traverses.” More of the research findings on the largest asteroid impact zone can be found in the published journal Tectonophysics.

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