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Geological and geophysical investigation of Kamil crater, Egypt
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
3.8. Geofisica per l'ambiente
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
11 / 47 (2012)
ISSN
1086-9379
Electronic ISSN
1945-5100
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Pages (printed)
1842–1868
Issued date
December 14, 2012
Abstract
We detail the Kamil crater (Egypt) structure and refine the impact scenario, based
on the geological and geophysical data collected during our first expedition in February
2010. Kamil Crater is a model for terrestrial small-scale hypervelocity impact craters. It is an
exceptionally well-preserved, simple crater with a diameter of 45 m, depth of 10 m, and rayed
pattern of bright ejecta. It occurs in a simple geological context: flat, rocky desert surface, and
target rocks comprising subhorizontally layered sandstones. The high depth-to-diameter ratio
of the transient crater, its concave, yet asymmetric, bottom, and the fact that Kamil Crater is not part of a crater field confirm that it formed by the impact of a single iron mass (or a tight cluster of fragments) that fragmented upon hypervelocity impact with the ground. The circular crater shape and asymmetries in ejecta and shrapnel distributions coherently indicate a direction of incidence from the NW and an impact angle of approximately 30 to 45 . Newly
identified asymmetries, including the off-center bottom of the transient crater floor downrange, maximum overturning of target rocks along the impact direction, and lower crater rim elevation downrange, may be diagnostic of oblique impacts in well-preserved craters. Geomagnetic data reveal no buried individual impactor masses >100 kg and suggest that the total mass of the buried shrapnel >100 g is approximately 1050–1700 kg. Based on this mass value plus that of shrapnel >10 g identified earlier on the surface during systematic search, the new estimate of the minimum projectile mass is approximately 5 t.
on the geological and geophysical data collected during our first expedition in February
2010. Kamil Crater is a model for terrestrial small-scale hypervelocity impact craters. It is an
exceptionally well-preserved, simple crater with a diameter of 45 m, depth of 10 m, and rayed
pattern of bright ejecta. It occurs in a simple geological context: flat, rocky desert surface, and
target rocks comprising subhorizontally layered sandstones. The high depth-to-diameter ratio
of the transient crater, its concave, yet asymmetric, bottom, and the fact that Kamil Crater is not part of a crater field confirm that it formed by the impact of a single iron mass (or a tight cluster of fragments) that fragmented upon hypervelocity impact with the ground. The circular crater shape and asymmetries in ejecta and shrapnel distributions coherently indicate a direction of incidence from the NW and an impact angle of approximately 30 to 45 . Newly
identified asymmetries, including the off-center bottom of the transient crater floor downrange, maximum overturning of target rocks along the impact direction, and lower crater rim elevation downrange, may be diagnostic of oblique impacts in well-preserved craters. Geomagnetic data reveal no buried individual impactor masses >100 kg and suggest that the total mass of the buried shrapnel >100 g is approximately 1050–1700 kg. Based on this mass value plus that of shrapnel >10 g identified earlier on the surface during systematic search, the new estimate of the minimum projectile mass is approximately 5 t.
References
Anderson J. L. B. and Schultz P. H. 2006. Flow-field center
migration during vertical and oblique impacts. International
Journal of Impact Engineering 33:35–44.
Artemieva N. and Pierazzo E. 2009. The Canyon Diablo
impact event: Projectile motion through the atmosphere.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44:25–42.
Artemieva N. and Pierazzo E. 2011. The Canyon Diablo
impact event: 2. Projectile fate and melting upon impact.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:805–829.
Bland P. A. and Artemieva N. A. 2006. The rate of small
impacts on Earth. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41:
607–631.
Bottke W. F., Love S. G., Tytell D., and Glotch T. 2000.
Interpreting the elliptical crater populations on Mars,
Venus, and the Moon. Icarus 145:108–121.
Collins G. S., Melosh H. J., and Marcus R. A. 2005. Earth
impact effects program: A web-based computer program
for calculating the regional and environmental
consequences of a meteoroid impact on Earth. Meteoritics
& Planetary Science 40:817–840.
Collins G. S., Melosh H. J., and Osinski G. R. 2012. The
impact cratering process. Elements 8:25–30.
Dence M. R. 1965. The extraterrestrial origin of the Canadian
craters. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
123:941–969.
D’Orazio M., Folco L., Zeoli A., and Cordier C. 2011. Gebel
Kamil: The iron meteorite that formed the Kamil Crater
(Egypt). Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:1179–1196.
Ekholm A. G. and Melosh H. J. 2001. Crater features
diagnostic of oblique impacts: The size and position of the
central peak. Geophysical Research Letters 28:623–626.
Folco L. and D’Orazio M. 2011. Shocked quartz at the Kamil
Crater (Egypt) (abstract #5018). Meteoritics & Planetary
Science 46:A67.
Folco L., Di Martino M., El Barkooky A., D’Orazio M., Lethy
A., Urbini S., Nicolosi I., Hafez M., Cordier C., van
Ginneken M., Zeoli A., Radwan A. M., El Khrepy S., El
Gabry M., Gomaa M., Barakat A. A., Serra R., and El
Sharkawi M. 2010. The Kamil crater in Egypt. Science
329:804. Folco L., Di Martino M., El Barkooky A., D’Orazio M., Lethy
A., Urbini S., Nicolosi I., Hafez M., Cordier C., van
Ginneken M., Zeoli A., Radwan A. M., El Khrepy S., El
Gabry M., Gomaa M., Barakat A. A., Serra R., and El
Sharkawi M. 2011. Kamil crater (Egypt): Ground truth for
small-scale meteorite impacts on Earth. Geology 39:179–182.
Gault D. E. and Wedekind J. A. 1978. Experimental studies of
oblique impact. Proceedings, 9th Lunar and Planetary
Science Conference. pp. 3843–3875.
Gerovskaa D., Arau` zo-Bravo M. J., and Stavrevc P. 2004.
Determination of the parameters of compact ferro-metallic
with transforms of magnitude magnetic anomalies. Journal
of Applied Geophysics 55:173–186.
Grieve R. A. F. 2001. The terrestrial cratering record. In
Accretion of extraterrestrial matter through Earth’s history,
edited by Peucker-Ehrenbrink B. and Schmitz B. New
York: Kluwer Academic ⁄ Plenum Publishers. pp. 379–402.
Grieve R. A. F. and Garvin J. B. 1984. A geometric model for
excavation and modification at terrestrial simple impact
craters. Journal of Geophysical Research 89:11,561–11,572.
Grieve R. A. F. and Therriault A. M. 2004. Observations at
terrestrial impact structures: Their utility in constraining
crater formation. Meteoritics&Planetary Science 39:199–216.
Halliday I., Griffin A. A., and Blackwell A. T. 1996. Detailed
data for 259 fireballs from the Canadian camera network
and inferences concerning the influx of large meteoroids.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 31:185–217.
Herrick R. R. and Forsberg-Taylor N. K. 2003. The shape and
appearance of craters formed by oblique impact on the
Moon and Venus. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38:
1551–1578.
Herrick R. R. and Hessen K. K. 2006. The planforms of lowangle
impact craters in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41:1483–1495.
Herrick R. R. and Phillips R. J. 1994. Implications of a global
survey of Venusian impact craters. Icarus 111:387–416.
International Geomagnetic Reference Field. International
Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, Working
Group V-MOD. Participating members: Finlay C. C.,Maus S.,
Beggan C. D., Bondar T. N., Chambodut A., Chernova T. A.,
Chulliat A., Golovkov V. P., Hamilton B., Hamoudi M.,
Holme R., Hulot G., Kuang W., Langlais B., Lesur V., Lowes
F. J., Luhr H., Macmillan S., Mandea M., McLean S., Manoj
C., Menvielle M., Michaelis I., Olsen N., Rauberg J., Rother
M., Sabaka T. J., Tangborn A., Toffner-Clausen L., Thebault
E., ThomsonA.W. P., Wardinski I.,Wei Z., and Zvereva T. I.
2010. International Geomagnetic Reference Field: The
eleventh generation. Geophysical Journal International
183(3):1216–1230 doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04804.x.
Kenkmann T., Artemieva N. A., Wu¨ nnemann K., Poelchau M.
H., Elbeshausen D., and Nu´ n˜ ez Del Prado H. 2009. The
Carancas meteorite impact crater, Peru: Geologic surveying
and modeling of crater formation and atmospheric passage.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44:985–1000.
Kenkmann T., Wu¨ nnemann K., Deutsch A., Poelchau M. H.,
Sha¨ fer F., and Thoma K. 2011. Impact cratering in
sandstone: The MEMIN pilot study on the effect of pore
water. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:890–902.
Klerkx J. 1980. Age and metamorphic evolution of the
basement complex around Gabal Al Uwaynat. In The
Geology of Libya, edited by Salem M. J. and Busserawil
M. T. London: Academic Press. pp. 901–906.
Klitzsch E., Harms J. C., Lejal-Nicol A., and List F. K. 1979. Nubia strata, south-western Egypt. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 63:967–974.
Klitzsch E., List F. K., and Po¨ hlmann G., eds. 1987. Geological
Map of Egypt, 1: 500 000, NF 35 NW, Gilf Kebir Plateau.
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.
Kofman R. S., Herd C. D. K., and Froese D. G. 2010. The
Whitecourt meteorite impact crater, Alberta, Canada.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 45:1429–1445.
Langenhorst F. and Deutsch A. 1994. Shock experiments on
pre-heated a- and b- quartz: I. Optical and density data.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 125:407–420.
Melosh H. J. 1989. Impact cratering: A geologic process: Oxford
Monographs on Geology and Geophysics 11. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. 245 p.
Melosh H. J. 2011. Planetary surface processes. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 550 p.
Moore H. J., Hodges C. A., and Scott D. H. 1974. Multiringed
basins—Illustrated by Orientale and associated features.
Proceedings, 5th Lunar Science Conference. pp. 71–100.
Morbidelli A., Jedicke R., Bottke W. F., Michel P., and
Tedesco E. F. 2002. From magnitude to diameters: The
albedo distribution of near-Earth objects and the Earth
collision hazard. Icarus 158:329–343. Nemtchinov I. V., Svetsov V. V., Kosarev I. B., Golub’ A. P.,
Popova O. P., and Shuvalov V. V. 1997. Assessment of the
kinetic energy of meteoroids detected by satellite-based
light sensors. Icarus 130:259–274.
O’Keefe J. D. and Ahrens T. J. 1985. Sampling of planetary
surfaces by oblique impact jet entrainment (abstract). 16th
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. pp. 629–630.
Orti L., Di Martino M., Morelli M., Cigolini C., Pandeli E.,
and Buzzigolis A. 2008. Non-impact origin of the craterlike
structures in the Gilf Kebir area (Egypt): Implications
for the geology of eastern Sahara. Meteoritics & Planetary
Science 43:1629–1639.
Passey Q. R. and Melosh H. J. 1980. Effects of atmospheric
breakup on crater field formation. Icarus 42:211–233.
Pierazzo E. and Melosh H. J. 2000a. Understanding oblique
impacts from experiments, observations and modeling.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 28:141–167.
Pierazzo E. and Melosh H. J. 2000b. Hydrocode modeling of
oblique impacts: The fate of the projectile. Meteoritics &
Planetary Science. 35:117–130.
Pike R. J. 1977. Size dependence in the shape of fresh impact
craters on the Moon. In Impact and Explosion Cratering,
edited by Roddy D. J., Pepin R. O., and Merrill R. B. New
York: Pergamon Press. pp. 489–509. Poelchau M. H., Kenkmann T., and Kring D. A. 2009. Rim uplift
and crater shape in Meteor Crater: The effects of target
heterogeneities and trajectory obliquity. Journal of Geophysical
Research 114:E01006, doi:10.1029/2008JE003235.
Polanskey C. A. and Ahrens T. J. 1990. Impact spallation
experiments: Fracture patterns and spall velocities. Icarus
87:140–155.
migration during vertical and oblique impacts. International
Journal of Impact Engineering 33:35–44.
Artemieva N. and Pierazzo E. 2009. The Canyon Diablo
impact event: Projectile motion through the atmosphere.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44:25–42.
Artemieva N. and Pierazzo E. 2011. The Canyon Diablo
impact event: 2. Projectile fate and melting upon impact.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:805–829.
Bland P. A. and Artemieva N. A. 2006. The rate of small
impacts on Earth. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41:
607–631.
Bottke W. F., Love S. G., Tytell D., and Glotch T. 2000.
Interpreting the elliptical crater populations on Mars,
Venus, and the Moon. Icarus 145:108–121.
Collins G. S., Melosh H. J., and Marcus R. A. 2005. Earth
impact effects program: A web-based computer program
for calculating the regional and environmental
consequences of a meteoroid impact on Earth. Meteoritics
& Planetary Science 40:817–840.
Collins G. S., Melosh H. J., and Osinski G. R. 2012. The
impact cratering process. Elements 8:25–30.
Dence M. R. 1965. The extraterrestrial origin of the Canadian
craters. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
123:941–969.
D’Orazio M., Folco L., Zeoli A., and Cordier C. 2011. Gebel
Kamil: The iron meteorite that formed the Kamil Crater
(Egypt). Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:1179–1196.
Ekholm A. G. and Melosh H. J. 2001. Crater features
diagnostic of oblique impacts: The size and position of the
central peak. Geophysical Research Letters 28:623–626.
Folco L. and D’Orazio M. 2011. Shocked quartz at the Kamil
Crater (Egypt) (abstract #5018). Meteoritics & Planetary
Science 46:A67.
Folco L., Di Martino M., El Barkooky A., D’Orazio M., Lethy
A., Urbini S., Nicolosi I., Hafez M., Cordier C., van
Ginneken M., Zeoli A., Radwan A. M., El Khrepy S., El
Gabry M., Gomaa M., Barakat A. A., Serra R., and El
Sharkawi M. 2010. The Kamil crater in Egypt. Science
329:804. Folco L., Di Martino M., El Barkooky A., D’Orazio M., Lethy
A., Urbini S., Nicolosi I., Hafez M., Cordier C., van
Ginneken M., Zeoli A., Radwan A. M., El Khrepy S., El
Gabry M., Gomaa M., Barakat A. A., Serra R., and El
Sharkawi M. 2011. Kamil crater (Egypt): Ground truth for
small-scale meteorite impacts on Earth. Geology 39:179–182.
Gault D. E. and Wedekind J. A. 1978. Experimental studies of
oblique impact. Proceedings, 9th Lunar and Planetary
Science Conference. pp. 3843–3875.
Gerovskaa D., Arau` zo-Bravo M. J., and Stavrevc P. 2004.
Determination of the parameters of compact ferro-metallic
with transforms of magnitude magnetic anomalies. Journal
of Applied Geophysics 55:173–186.
Grieve R. A. F. 2001. The terrestrial cratering record. In
Accretion of extraterrestrial matter through Earth’s history,
edited by Peucker-Ehrenbrink B. and Schmitz B. New
York: Kluwer Academic ⁄ Plenum Publishers. pp. 379–402.
Grieve R. A. F. and Garvin J. B. 1984. A geometric model for
excavation and modification at terrestrial simple impact
craters. Journal of Geophysical Research 89:11,561–11,572.
Grieve R. A. F. and Therriault A. M. 2004. Observations at
terrestrial impact structures: Their utility in constraining
crater formation. Meteoritics&Planetary Science 39:199–216.
Halliday I., Griffin A. A., and Blackwell A. T. 1996. Detailed
data for 259 fireballs from the Canadian camera network
and inferences concerning the influx of large meteoroids.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 31:185–217.
Herrick R. R. and Forsberg-Taylor N. K. 2003. The shape and
appearance of craters formed by oblique impact on the
Moon and Venus. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38:
1551–1578.
Herrick R. R. and Hessen K. K. 2006. The planforms of lowangle
impact craters in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41:1483–1495.
Herrick R. R. and Phillips R. J. 1994. Implications of a global
survey of Venusian impact craters. Icarus 111:387–416.
International Geomagnetic Reference Field. International
Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, Working
Group V-MOD. Participating members: Finlay C. C.,Maus S.,
Beggan C. D., Bondar T. N., Chambodut A., Chernova T. A.,
Chulliat A., Golovkov V. P., Hamilton B., Hamoudi M.,
Holme R., Hulot G., Kuang W., Langlais B., Lesur V., Lowes
F. J., Luhr H., Macmillan S., Mandea M., McLean S., Manoj
C., Menvielle M., Michaelis I., Olsen N., Rauberg J., Rother
M., Sabaka T. J., Tangborn A., Toffner-Clausen L., Thebault
E., ThomsonA.W. P., Wardinski I.,Wei Z., and Zvereva T. I.
2010. International Geomagnetic Reference Field: The
eleventh generation. Geophysical Journal International
183(3):1216–1230 doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04804.x.
Kenkmann T., Artemieva N. A., Wu¨ nnemann K., Poelchau M.
H., Elbeshausen D., and Nu´ n˜ ez Del Prado H. 2009. The
Carancas meteorite impact crater, Peru: Geologic surveying
and modeling of crater formation and atmospheric passage.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44:985–1000.
Kenkmann T., Wu¨ nnemann K., Deutsch A., Poelchau M. H.,
Sha¨ fer F., and Thoma K. 2011. Impact cratering in
sandstone: The MEMIN pilot study on the effect of pore
water. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46:890–902.
Klerkx J. 1980. Age and metamorphic evolution of the
basement complex around Gabal Al Uwaynat. In The
Geology of Libya, edited by Salem M. J. and Busserawil
M. T. London: Academic Press. pp. 901–906.
Klitzsch E., Harms J. C., Lejal-Nicol A., and List F. K. 1979. Nubia strata, south-western Egypt. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 63:967–974.
Klitzsch E., List F. K., and Po¨ hlmann G., eds. 1987. Geological
Map of Egypt, 1: 500 000, NF 35 NW, Gilf Kebir Plateau.
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation.
Kofman R. S., Herd C. D. K., and Froese D. G. 2010. The
Whitecourt meteorite impact crater, Alberta, Canada.
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 45:1429–1445.
Langenhorst F. and Deutsch A. 1994. Shock experiments on
pre-heated a- and b- quartz: I. Optical and density data.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 125:407–420.
Melosh H. J. 1989. Impact cratering: A geologic process: Oxford
Monographs on Geology and Geophysics 11. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. 245 p.
Melosh H. J. 2011. Planetary surface processes. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 550 p.
Moore H. J., Hodges C. A., and Scott D. H. 1974. Multiringed
basins—Illustrated by Orientale and associated features.
Proceedings, 5th Lunar Science Conference. pp. 71–100.
Morbidelli A., Jedicke R., Bottke W. F., Michel P., and
Tedesco E. F. 2002. From magnitude to diameters: The
albedo distribution of near-Earth objects and the Earth
collision hazard. Icarus 158:329–343. Nemtchinov I. V., Svetsov V. V., Kosarev I. B., Golub’ A. P.,
Popova O. P., and Shuvalov V. V. 1997. Assessment of the
kinetic energy of meteoroids detected by satellite-based
light sensors. Icarus 130:259–274.
O’Keefe J. D. and Ahrens T. J. 1985. Sampling of planetary
surfaces by oblique impact jet entrainment (abstract). 16th
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. pp. 629–630.
Orti L., Di Martino M., Morelli M., Cigolini C., Pandeli E.,
and Buzzigolis A. 2008. Non-impact origin of the craterlike
structures in the Gilf Kebir area (Egypt): Implications
for the geology of eastern Sahara. Meteoritics & Planetary
Science 43:1629–1639.
Passey Q. R. and Melosh H. J. 1980. Effects of atmospheric
breakup on crater field formation. Icarus 42:211–233.
Pierazzo E. and Melosh H. J. 2000a. Understanding oblique
impacts from experiments, observations and modeling.
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 28:141–167.
Pierazzo E. and Melosh H. J. 2000b. Hydrocode modeling of
oblique impacts: The fate of the projectile. Meteoritics &
Planetary Science. 35:117–130.
Pike R. J. 1977. Size dependence in the shape of fresh impact
craters on the Moon. In Impact and Explosion Cratering,
edited by Roddy D. J., Pepin R. O., and Merrill R. B. New
York: Pergamon Press. pp. 489–509. Poelchau M. H., Kenkmann T., and Kring D. A. 2009. Rim uplift
and crater shape in Meteor Crater: The effects of target
heterogeneities and trajectory obliquity. Journal of Geophysical
Research 114:E01006, doi:10.1029/2008JE003235.
Polanskey C. A. and Ahrens T. J. 1990. Impact spallation
experiments: Fracture patterns and spall velocities. Icarus
87:140–155.
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