Bedout: A possible end-Permian impact crater offshore of northwestern Australia

L. Becker; R. J. Poreda; A. R. Basu; K. O. Pope; T. M. Harrison; C. Nicholson; R. Iasky

doi:10.1126/science.1093925

Bedout: A possible end-Permian impact crater offshore of northwestern Australia

L. Becker^*, R. J. Poreda, A. R. Basu, K. O. Pope, T. M. Harrison, C. Nicholson, R. Iasky

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

188 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Bedout High, located on the northwestern continental margin of Australia, has emerged as a prime candidate for an end-Permian impact structure. Seismic imaging, gravity data, and the identification of melt rocks and impact breccias from drill cores located on top of Bedout are consistent with the presence of a buried impact crater. The impact breccias contain nearly pure silica glass (SiO₂), fractured and shock-melted plagioclases, and spherulitic glass. The distribution of glass and shocked minerals over hundreds of meters of core material implies that a melt sheet is present. Available gravity and seismic data suggest that the Bedout High represents the central uplift of a crater similar in size to Chicxulub. A plagioclase separate from the Lagrange-1 exploration well has an Ar/Ar age of 250.1 ± 4.5 million years. The location, size, and age of the Bedout crater can account for reported occurrences of impact debris in Permian-Triassic boundary sediments worldwide.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1469-1476
Number of pages	8
Journal	Science
Volume	304
Issue number	5676
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1093925
Publication status	Published - 4 Jun 2004

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title = "Bedout: A possible end-Permian impact crater offshore of northwestern Australia",

abstract = "The Bedout High, located on the northwestern continental margin of Australia, has emerged as a prime candidate for an end-Permian impact structure. Seismic imaging, gravity data, and the identification of melt rocks and impact breccias from drill cores located on top of Bedout are consistent with the presence of a buried impact crater. The impact breccias contain nearly pure silica glass (SiO2), fractured and shock-melted plagioclases, and spherulitic glass. The distribution of glass and shocked minerals over hundreds of meters of core material implies that a melt sheet is present. Available gravity and seismic data suggest that the Bedout High represents the central uplift of a crater similar in size to Chicxulub. A plagioclase separate from the Lagrange-1 exploration well has an Ar/Ar age of 250.1 ± 4.5 million years. The location, size, and age of the Bedout crater can account for reported occurrences of impact debris in Permian-Triassic boundary sediments worldwide.",

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AU - Harrison, T. M.

AU - Nicholson, C.

AU - Iasky, R.

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Bedout: A possible end-Permian impact crater offshore of northwestern Australia

Abstract

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