- Haughton impact crater
Haughton
impact crater is located onDevon Island ,Nunavut in far northernCanada . It is about 23 kilometres (14 mi) in diameter and formed about 39 million years ago (lateEocene ). [http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/images/haughton.htm Haughton] . "Earth Impact Database". Retrieved on2007-02-18 .] The impacting object is estimated to have been approximately two kilometres in diameter. Devon Island itself is composed ofPaleozoic shale andsiltstone overlayinggneiss icbedrock . When the crater formed, the shale and siltstone were peeled back to expose the basement; material from as deep as 1700 metres has been identified.At 75° north latitude, it is one of the highest-latitude impact craters known. The temperature is below the freezing point of water for much of the year, and the limited vegetation is slow-growing, leading to very little
weathering . For this reason Haughton retains many geological features that lower-latitude craters lose toerosion .Because Haughton's geology and climatology are as close to Mars-like as can be had on Earth, Haughton and its environs have been dubbed by scientists working there as "Mars on Earth." For example the center of the crater contains impact
breccia (ejected rock which has fallen back into the impact zone and partially re-welded) that is permeated withpermafrost , thus creating a close analog to what may be expected at crater sites on a cold, wetMars . TheMars Institute andSETI operate theHaughton-Mars Project at this site, designed to test many of the challenges of life and work on Mars.ee also
*
Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station References
External links
* [http://www.marsonearth.org/about/devon.html Devon Island & Haughton Crater - Arctic-Mars.org]
* [http://cmex-www.arc.nasa.gov/CMEX/Haughton%20Crater.html Haughton Crater Concept Map]
* [http://www.arctic-mars.org/ESSICK/ Peter Essick Photo Essay]
* [http://www.fmars2007.com/ Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS), The Mars Society]
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