Where have all the craters gone? Earth’s bombardment history and the expected terrestrial cratering record

Research Article| July 01, 2014 Where have all the craters gone? Earth's bombardment history and the expected terrestrial cratering record B.C. Johnson; B.C. Johnson * 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA *E-mail: brcjohns@mit.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T.J. Bowling T.J. Bowling 2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47901, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2014) 42 (7): 587–590. https://doi.org/10.1130/G35754.1 Article history received: 05 Dec 2013 rev-recd: 08 Apr 2014 accepted: 14 Apr 2014 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation B.C. Johnson, T.J. Bowling; Where have all the craters gone? Earth's bombardment history and the expected terrestrial cratering record. Geology 2014;; 42 (7): 587–590. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G35754.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Here we make the first quantitative estimates of the maximum total number of large terrestrial impact craters that can survive until the current era on Earth. Our estimates of crater survival are made using the age of Earth's crust and the expected flux of large extraterrestrial bodies striking Earth. This analysis neglects effects such as weathering and burial, which tend to preferentially erase smaller craters. Thus, our results represent the maximum number of craters we expect to exist on Earth today. Although the constant recycling of crustal material creates a strong bias toward younger ages, our model suggests that the terrestrial cratering record can be used to determine the size frequency distribution of the impactors that bombarded Earth over the past 3.5 G.y. However, our model suggests that the cratering record cannot be used to distinguish between scenarios with a constant flux of impactors over time and scenarios where the bombardment rate was considerably higher in Earth's ancient history. Luckily, layers of distal impact ejecta may act as records of impacts even when the source craters have been tectonically recycled. We suggest that searches for these distal impact ejecta layers will be more fruitful for constraining the bombardment history of Earth than searches for large craters. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.