Meteor shower has repeatedly "poured" onto planet Earth. After the fall, huge fragments of the meteorite left distinct traces on the earth's surface - astroblems of enormous size. Scientists have examined about 150 huge "star wounds" with a diameter ranging in the range of 25-500 kilometers.
A rather large asteroid dent is the Popigai crater located in Russia. In terms of diameter, it takes fourth place. Popigai astrobleme - a monument of nature on a planetary scale, which is under the protection of UNESCO.
Location of Popigai Crater
About 35 million years ago in Siberia, in the northern part of the Anabar shield, where Yakutia borders on the Irkutsk region, a gigantic monolithic celestial body crashed into the earth. Having split the earth's surface in the Popigai river basin, the meteorite left on it a huge gaping funnel 150 meters deep.
The asteroid Popigai crater, where the unique black diamond deposit is located, occupies part of the northeastern expanses of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The eastern side of the dent spread across Yakutia. Discovered a mysterious astroblem with a diameter of 100 kilometers in 1949 D. Kozhevin.
The structure of the Popigai crater
The Popigai astrobleme is a rather large ring structure. It is a combination of rings and ovals. This "star wound" looks like a rounded drop in relief. The depth of the funnel reaches 200-400 meters. Quaternary sands and pebbles partially fill its internal space.
The outer funnel ring reaches a width of 20-25 kilometers. Its sides are composed of sedimentary rocks. They underwent severe deformation resulting from centrifugal thrusts and radial discontinuities with huge amplitude displacements.
The diameter of the inner funnel is 45 kilometers. It is formed by an annular uplift with traces of shock. It shows the destruction and interspersed glass. It formed a powerful thick layer of pasty substance.
Popigai crater in Yakutia has a central layer composed of impactites. Its thickness is about two and a half kilometers. Loose materials, blocks of various sizes and fragments formed allogeneic breccia with a thickness of 150 meters. Impactites are formed by glasses fused with gneisses and minerals.
The meteorite explosion at the epicenter was accompanied by a pressure of 105 pascals and a temperature of about 2000 0 C. This led to the fact that the gneisses melted to a liquid state. The moving masses, spreading radially with great speed, formed ring structures. Flowing out from the center by streams and streams, they lined the bottom of the funnel.
The incredibly strong impact of the asteroid on the ground led to the formation of a central uplift. Then, the expansion increased by inertia until the crater was filled, and the elastic recoil was of sufficient strength.
Features of the astrobleme
The area surrounding the Popigai Crater is virtually uninhabited. In the north-west of the astrobleme is a small village of the same name - Popigai. Trees have not yet grown here, despite the fact that the hills have been tightened by them for twenty years after the cessation of mining.
Stony placers here crumble underfoot, like sand. Soft rocks partially weathered. The reason for this is the movement of the layers up and down. Deep voids formed between the calcareous debris.
Decent water supplies were found here. Aquifers occur at a depth of one meter. Water freezing in voids contributes to the "shaking" of the layers. The Popigai meteorite crater is a place where a magnetic anomaly was discovered when probing the soil. Probably, an alloy of iron-containing substances lies in it.
Hypotheses of the "Great Break"
In 1970, scientists, relying on studies of exposed rocks whose deposits suffered shock melting and crushing, put forward a hypothesis about the meteorite origin of the astrobleme. According to researchers, the cosmic body crashed into Siberian lands during the Eocene-Oligocene extinction. The “great turning point” happened simultaneously with the formation of the astrobleme.
Crater is the cause of nuclear winter
Scientists attribute the massive pestilence of animals to a meteorite. They believe that a fallen celestial body caused the death of toothed whales, mollusks and sea urchins, rather than climatic conditions. It is the asteroid that is the main catalyst for this negative phenomenon in nature. His fall caused a nuclear winter that killed animals.
Faced with the surface of the earth, giant cosmic bodies force many particles to rise into the atmosphere. Sunlight reflecting off particles causes global cooling. Scientists analyzed the isotopes of oxygen, carbon, and other elements that make up the Eocene coeval rocks, and concluded that when the Popigai Crater arose in Siberia, a sharp change in climatic conditions occurred. The climate of humid and warm became dry and cold.
Research scientists confirm that in a space collision there was an instant powerful release of tiny particles of sulfur. Having filled the atmosphere, they became reflectors of light and heat. Climate change has led to fatal consequences - the extinction of many species of animals and plants.
Geological exploration of the crater
Once discovered, the Popigai Crater became the venue for exploration. Geologists discovered two of the largest diamond deposits there. There are 140 in the Skalnoye deposit, and 7 billion carats in the Shock.
Diamonds here appeared as a result of a short exposure to extremely high temperatures and pressure on deposits of coal and graphite. Diamonds found in basalt rocks were given a unique name - Yakutite.
Until 2012, information about black diamonds was not disclosed. Immediately after the discovery of deposits, information about them was classified, and the study of discovered diamond placers was stopped. Experts have calculated that it is more profitable to continue the production of synthetic diamonds than to mine and process natural stones. In addition, geologists spoke of black diamonds as follows: stones with extra strength are unsuitable for jewelry processing, they are ideal for grinding work.
Geologists, exploring the Popigai crater, were engaged in drilling rocks. Samples were taken from wells with a depth of 1.7 kilometers. Currently, in the area of the abandoned village Mayak, about one thousand tons of core samples are scattered on the surface of the earth.
2013 expedition
Interest in diamond placers astrogle Popigai revived recently. In 2013, an expedition was sent to the crater. The results of new research turned into a sensation. Scientists' forecasts have suggested that the Russian Federation is capable of collapsing the global diamond market.
