Oklahoma meteor crater found 100 million years younger than thought

· Science · United States

Zircon crystals show the Ames impact crater buried beneath Oklahoma formed about 370 million years ago, nearly 100 million years later than previously estimated. The revised age means it was not part of the Ordovician bombardment once linked to a possible debris ring around Earth.

Why it matters：Impact chronology underpins models of Earth's geological and biological history, so re-dating a major crater shifts how scientists link bombardment events to evolutionary change.

Key points

  • Zircon crystals yielded an age of about 370 million years.
  • Previous estimate was nearly 100 million years older.
  • Crater is no longer tied to the Ordovician bombardment hypothesis.

Sources (original reporting)

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