Future Drilling of the Chicxulub Impact Crater

September 11-12, 2006 – Potsdam, Germany
Convener: Gail Christeson

Summary

A workshop on joint ICDP/IODP drilling of the Chicxulub impact crater was held at GFZ, Potsdam, Germany, from September 11-12, 2006 to discuss proposals for future drilling at Chicxulub. On the first day twelve speakers gave presentations on our current understanding of large impact craters and of Chicxulub in particular. Each speaker was asked to identify important scientific questions that remained unanswered. On the second day workshop participants split into groups to discuss their scientific interests, and to consider which drill holes would best address the key scientific questions. Each group then presented a summary of their discussions. Two holes were identified as critical to improving our understanding of large craters and Chicxulub in particular: 1) an offshore hole through the crater’s topographic peak ring and 2) an onshore hole near the crater center through the melt sheet and into the structural uplift. Based upon the workshop consensus, we submitted an IODP addendum for the deadline of October 1, 2006, and propose to submit an ICDP proposal for a January 15, 2007 deadline. Provisional science teams for proposals to IODP and ICDP were identified.

Workshop Report (pdf)

Workshop Organizers

Jo Morgan, Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
Gail Christeson, University of Texas at Austin
Sean Gulick, University of Texas at Austin
Richard Grieve, Natural Resources Canada
Jaime Urrutia-Fucugauchi, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Mario Rebolledo-Vieyra, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán
Penny Barton, University of Cambridge
Mike Warner, Imperial College London
Jay Melosh, Lunar Planetary Laboratory