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Articles featuring crater
mysteries and debates
Go to list of
articles
Here is a small selection of
articles - merely a few from a vast literature on cratering
- that highlight some of the mysteries and controversies
surrounding the Vredefort Dome. Debate about the cause and
effects of the Vredefort blast began early in the 20th
Century and has not ceased since. Although the majority of
earth and space scientists today accept an asteroid impact
as the cause of the Vredefort structure, some theorists past
and present have maintained that it was not simply that.
Connections between impacts and volcanism have been
suggested - the one causing the other.
One such theory is that shock waves
from an impact may travel around the earth and, when they
collide on the opposite side of the planet, the crust
ruptures and a massive volcanic outpouring occurs. A related
theory is that a blast from inside the earth (a mysterious
but massive "cryptoblast" or Verneshot) could eject matter
which lands elsewhere, creating craters with some volcanic
features.
The controversies have by no means
been put to rest by scientific consensus around the impact
origins of the Vredefort Dome. Also, it may not be the
largest impact crater on Earth, just the largest so far
positively identified and measured. None of this reduces the
interest of the area - in fact it enhances the Dome as a
scientific phenomenon, fully meriting its World Heritage
status.
ARTICLES
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Hawking:
asteroids are the biggest threat to life. More...
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Antarctic crater under the ice bigger than
Vredefort crater.
More...
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Are some craters caused by explosions out of the
Earth? More...
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Earth-Moon impact the biggest ever, though
speculative. More...
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Bull's Eye Earth - the widely accepted asteroid
impact theory.
More...
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'Discovery' of the Vredefort crater was not news.
More...
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I'm
a writer of popular science and technology books and
articles, a former Professor of Communication whose
hobby is now "backyard astronomy" with history thrown
in! I'm a keen mountain-biker and kayaker, so the
Dome and Vaal River are my playground.
I'm
a former teacher who has worked with Graeme on many
aspects of science & local history research, and I have
got to know the Dome by preparing the maps and data used
in our various presentations. My passions are mountain
running and education. I manage Otters' Haunt.