The Earth Impact Database is a database of confirmed
impact structure
An impact structure is a generally circular or craterlike geologic structure of deformed bedrock or sediment produced by impact on a planetary surface, whatever the stage of erosion of the structure. In contrast, an impact crater is the surface ...
s or
craters on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. It was initiated in 1955 by the
Dominion Observatory
The Dominion Observatory was an astronomical observatory in Ottawa, Ontario that operated from 1902 to 1970. The Observatory was also an institution within the Canadian Federal Government. The observatory grew out of the Department of the Int ...
, Ottawa, under the direction of
Carlyle S. Beals
Carlyle Smith Beals, FRS (June 29, 1899 – July 2, 1979) was a Canadian astronomer.
Early life and education
Carl Beals was born in Canso, Nova Scotia to Reverend Francis H. P. Beals and Annie Florence Nightingale Smith, on June 29, 189 ...
. Since 2001, it has been maintained as a not-for-profit source of information at the Planetary and Space Science Centre at the
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...
, Canada.
, the database lists 190 confirmed impact sites.
Other lists are wider in scope by including more than just confirmed sites, such as probable, possible, suspected and rejected or discredited impact sites on their lists. These are used for screening and tracking study of possible impact sites. Sites will appear first in these lists while under study and may be incorporated into UNB's Earth Impact Database after confirmation and collection of enough information about the site to satisfy the database's strict entry criteria.
A previous list was maintained by the Impact Field Studies Group at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Catalogue of the Earth's Impact structures is maintained at the Siberian Center for Global Catastrophes.
See also
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List of impact craters on Earth
This list of impact craters on Earth contains a selection of the 190 confirmed craters given in the Earth Impact Database as of 2017.
To keep the lists manageable, only the largest craters within a time period are included. Alphabetical lists f ...
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List of possible impact structures on Earth
This is a list of possible impact structures on Earth. More than 130 geophysical features on the surface of the Earth have been proposed as candidate sites for impact events by appearing several times in the literature and/or being endorsed by the ...
References
External links
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{{Impact cratering on Earth
Impact geology
Online databases
University of New Brunswick
Scientific databases