Impact Processes on the Early Earth

Research Article| August 01, 2006 Impact Processes on the Early Earth Christian Koeberl Christian Koeberl 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria E-mail: christian.koeberl@univie.ac.at Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Christian Koeberl 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria E-mail: christian.koeberl@univie.ac.at Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1811-5217 Print ISSN: 1811-5209 © 2006 by the Mineralogical Society of America Elements (2006) 2 (4): 211–216. https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.2.4.211 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Christian Koeberl; Impact Processes on the Early Earth. Elements 2006;; 2 (4): 211–216. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.2.4.211 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 SocietyElements Search Advanced Search Abstract At the beginning of the solar system, impacts and collisions were dominant processes. After an early collision that may have led to the formation of the Moon, both Earth and Moon suffered intense post-accretionary bombardment between about 4.5 and 3.9 billion years before present. There is evidence from lunar rocks for an intense "Late Heavy Bombardment" at about 3.85-3.9 Ga, which must have had severe consequences for Earth as well, even though no terrestrial record has yet been found. Several 3.4 to 2.5 Ga old spherule layers in South Africa and Australia and two impact craters near 2 Ga represent the oldest terrestrial impact records found to date. Thus, the impact record for more than half of Earth's geological history is incomplete, and there is only indirect evidence for impact processes during the first 2.5 billion years of Earth history. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.