
A new meteorite crater has been discovered in southern France, according to geologist and cosmochemist Professor Frank Brenker from Goethe University Frankfurt. While on holiday, Brenker noticed a vineyard at the “Domaine du Météore” (meteor domain) winery located in a round depression approximately 220 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep. The winery owners proposed the unusual depression was an impact crater of a meteorite in their marketing strategy for their wine. Although the hypothesis was initially proposed in the 1950s, other scientists later dismissed it.
Brenker and his wife collected rock samples for analysis in the labs at Goethe University Frankfurt and found the first signs of an impact crater. They discovered that dark-colored layers in one of the shists might be shock veins produced by the grinding and fracturing of the rock, which an impact could have caused. They also found evidence of breccia, angular rock debris held together by a kind of “cement,” which can also occur during a meteorite impact.
Brenker then took his colleague Professor Andreas Junge and a group of students to examine the crater in detail. They discovered that Earth’s magnetic field was slightly weaker in the crater than in the surrounding area. The researchers found tiny iron oxide spherules of up to one millimeter in diameter and shock micro diamonds produced through the high pressure during the meteorite’s impact.
According to Brenker,
“This discovery extends the small list of meteorite craters worldwide. Every visitor can experience here the immense energies released upon such an impact.”
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Domaine Du Meteore winery meteor crater via Frank Brenker, Goethe University Frankfurt with usage type - News Release MediaFeatured Image Credit
Domaine Du Meteore winery meteor crater via Frank Brenker, Goethe University Frankfurt with usage type - News Release Media