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Meteor Crater Beneath Oklahoma Is 100 Million Years Younger Than Thought
Key Takeaways
- The Ames impact structure beneath Ames, Oklahoma, was previously dated to about 467.5 million years ago as part of the Ordovician Meteor Event.
- New zircon dating from impact-altered granite places the strike at roughly 370 million years ago, in the Late Devonian — nearly 100 million years younger.
- The earlier date relied on conodont teeth found in the rock, which lead author Elizabeth Catlos says were likely already millions of years old when the asteroid hit.
- The revised timing coincides closely with a major Late Devonian mass extinction that devastated marine life.
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DT Editorial Team··via sciencedaily.com