Post by 1dave on Nov 14, 2021 13:13:18 GMT -5
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4896322/Asteroid-strike-caused-hottest-temperature-Earth.html#:~:text=When%20an%20asteroid%20strike%20sent%20temperatures%20on%20Earth,2%2C370%C2%B0C%20%284%2C298%C2%B0F%29%2C%20was%20caused%20by%20an%20asteroid%20impact
When an asteroid strike sent temperatures on Earth soaring to 2,370°C: Researchers reveal the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the planet (but don't worry, it was 33 million years ago)
The temperature, of 2,370°C (4,298°F), was caused by an asteroid impact
The impact led to the formation of the Mistastin Lake crater in Canada
Researchers discovered a crystal called cubic zirconia on the wall of the crater, which can only form at temperatures of 2,370°C or higher
By Cecile Borkhataria For Dailymail.com
Published: 14:30 EST, 18 September 2017 | Updated: 20:07 EST, 18 September 2017
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 2,370°C (4,298°F) - just shy of half the sun's temperature, researchers have discovered.
The record high was caused by an asteroid impact which led to the formation of the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake crater in Canada.
The findings are based on the presence of cubic zirconia, a diamond-like stone which can only form at temperatures of 2,370°C or higher.
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 2,370°C (4,298°F) - just shy of half the sun's temperature. The record high was caused by an asteroid impact which led to the formation of the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake crater in Canada (pictured)
HOW THEY DID IT
Researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia and Western University in London, Ontario investigated the structure of zirconia sampled from the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake in northern Labrador, Canada.
The researchers found evidence that the crater impact was hot enough that a mineral called zircon was transformed to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt , which required super-heating in excess of 2,370°C.
They did this by analyzing the structure a zircon grain near the crater wall.
The crystals among zirconia grains preserve the phase transformation history of the crystal, so researchers can trace back how they formed.
Advertisement
The study, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, was conducted by researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia and Western University in London, Ontario.
The researchers found evidence that the crater impact was hot enough that a mineral called zircon was transformed to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt , which required super-heating in excess of 2,370°C.
'This new temperature determination is the highest recorded from any crustal rock,' the researchers wrote in their study.
The Mistastin Lake crater in Labrador, Canada, shows evidence of an asteroid impact, for example the presence of glass-like minerals and melt rocks.
'Nobody has even considered using zirconia as a recorder of temperatures of impact melts before,' Dr Nicholas Timms, the lead author of the research, told New Scientist.
According to the researchers, minerals have a tendency to vaporize at such high temperatures, so their discovery of cubic zirconia offers insights as to what occurred approximately 38 million years ago.
When an asteroid strike sent temperatures on Earth soaring to 2,370°C: Researchers reveal the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the planet (but don't worry, it was 33 million years ago)
The temperature, of 2,370°C (4,298°F), was caused by an asteroid impact
The impact led to the formation of the Mistastin Lake crater in Canada
Researchers discovered a crystal called cubic zirconia on the wall of the crater, which can only form at temperatures of 2,370°C or higher
By Cecile Borkhataria For Dailymail.com
Published: 14:30 EST, 18 September 2017 | Updated: 20:07 EST, 18 September 2017
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 2,370°C (4,298°F) - just shy of half the sun's temperature, researchers have discovered.
The record high was caused by an asteroid impact which led to the formation of the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake crater in Canada.
The findings are based on the presence of cubic zirconia, a diamond-like stone which can only form at temperatures of 2,370°C or higher.
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 2,370°C (4,298°F) - just shy of half the sun's temperature. The record high was caused by an asteroid impact which led to the formation of the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake crater in Canada (pictured)
HOW THEY DID IT
Researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia and Western University in London, Ontario investigated the structure of zirconia sampled from the 28-kilometer diameter Mistastin Lake in northern Labrador, Canada.
The researchers found evidence that the crater impact was hot enough that a mineral called zircon was transformed to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt , which required super-heating in excess of 2,370°C.
They did this by analyzing the structure a zircon grain near the crater wall.
The crystals among zirconia grains preserve the phase transformation history of the crystal, so researchers can trace back how they formed.
Advertisement
The study, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, was conducted by researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia and Western University in London, Ontario.
The researchers found evidence that the crater impact was hot enough that a mineral called zircon was transformed to cubic zirconia plus silica in impact melt , which required super-heating in excess of 2,370°C.
'This new temperature determination is the highest recorded from any crustal rock,' the researchers wrote in their study.
The Mistastin Lake crater in Labrador, Canada, shows evidence of an asteroid impact, for example the presence of glass-like minerals and melt rocks.
'Nobody has even considered using zirconia as a recorder of temperatures of impact melts before,' Dr Nicholas Timms, the lead author of the research, told New Scientist.
According to the researchers, minerals have a tendency to vaporize at such high temperatures, so their discovery of cubic zirconia offers insights as to what occurred approximately 38 million years ago.