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Mjølnir Crater as a Result of Oblique Impact: Asymmetry Evidence Constrains Impact Direction and Angle

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Impact Tectonics

Part of the book series: Impact Studies ((IMPACTSTUD))

Abstract.

The 40-km-diameter Mjølnir crater is proposed to have resulted from an oblique impact from the south/southwest direction and at a ~45° (possibly 30°–45°) angle from the horizontal. This is substantiated by several diagnostic structural and geophysical signatures related to obliquity and revealed through detailed re-assessment of Mjølnir’s well-established structure, morphology, and gravity and seismic velocity anomalies. The diagnostic signatures include: (1) a dominant N-S/NNE-SSW crater diameter elongation, (2) a consistent northward asymmetry both in the crater radius and the shallow part of the impact-induced seismic disturbance, (3) a peak ring breached towards the N/NE, (4) an annular gravity low with a horseshoeshape open towards the NE, (5) a transient cavity maximum-depth offset of 2 to 2.5 km towards south-southwest from the geometric crater center, combined with a similar structural uplift lateral offset towards the south, a similar central gravity high offset towards southwest, and an elongated traveltime central anomaly offset towards WSW. The oblique Mjølnir impact most probably generated a down-range sector/corridor of thicker ejecta deposits and faster travelling tsunami-waves, triggering short-term regional perturbations that are probably intensified within and adjacent to this sector.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, N-0316, Oslo, Norway

    Filippos Tsikalas

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  1. Filippos Tsikalas
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Christian Koeberl

  2. Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden

    Herbert Henkel

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Tsikalas, F. (2005). Mjølnir Crater as a Result of Oblique Impact: Asymmetry Evidence Constrains Impact Direction and Angle. In: Koeberl, C., Henkel, H. (eds) Impact Tectonics. Impact Studies. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27548-7_10

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