Particles found in Antarctica reveal fresh clues to threat from meteor strikes

RESEARCH LED by a Kent-based space scientist has uncovered new evidence of meteor particles reaching the Antarctic ice sheet 430,000 years ago.

It may force a reassessment of the threat from medium-sized asteroids with the potential for “destructive” consequences.

Researchers recovered the extra-terrestrial particles on the summit of Walnumfjellet.

The discovery indicated a socalled low-altitude meteoritic touchdown event – where a jet of melted and vaporised material from an asteroid at least 100 metres in size reached the surface at high velocity. The impact appears to have affected a circular area of around 2,000km (1,242 miles).

The research was published in the Science Advances journal

The journal said finding evidence of such events “remains critical to understanding the impact history of Earth and estimating hazardous effects of asteroid impacts”.

Dr Matthias van Ginneke from the University of Kent said while it is “highly unlikely” that such an event would happen over a densely-populated area, its effects can be widespread.

He said: “Severe effects of such an impact can be felt over hundreds of kilometres.

“Therefore, even if such an impact were to occur hundreds of kilometres away from a densely populated area, the amount of devastation would not be negligible and would need to be taken into account.”

Dr van Ginneke said the study could help improve knowledge of the rate of such impacts in the past and how often these might happen in the future.

The paper states: “These events are potentially entirely destructive over a large area, corresponding to the area of interaction between the hot jet and the ground.

“Touchdown events may not threaten human activity, apart from the formation of a large plume and the injection of ice crystals and impact dust in the upper atmosphere, if these occur over Antarctica.”