Earth ID: 13146

NASA Finds Second Massive Greenland Crater

Released on February 11, 2019

Just 114 miles from the newly-found Hiawatha impact crater under the ice of northwest Greenland, lies a possible second impact crater. The 22-mile wide feature would be the second crater found under an ice sheet, and if confirmed, would be the 22nd-largest crater on Earth. A NASA-led team discovered the feature using satellite data of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet as well as radar measurements from the airborne campaign Operation IceBridge. Although the two massive craters lie fairly close to each other, it’s thought they weren’t created at the same time. The second crater looks to be much older than Hiawatha, with features that are significantly more eroded, and it contains older ice than its neighbor.

Credits

Jefferson Beck (USRA): Lead Producer
Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Visualizer
Joe MacGregor (NASA/GSFC): Lead Scientist
Maria-Jose Vinas Garcia (Telophase): Lead Writer
Joe MacGregor (NASA/GSFC): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13146

Keywords:
SVS >> Ice Sheets
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Cryosphere
SVS >> Operation IceBridge
SVS >> Craters
NASA Science >> Earth
SVS >> Meteor

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0