Geological record and reconstruction of the late Pliocene impact of the Eltanin asteroid in the Southern Ocean

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Abstract
In 1995, an expedition on board the research vessel FS Polarstern explored the impact site of the Eltanin asteroid in the Southern Ocean, the only known asteroidimpact into a deep ocean basin. Analyses of the geological record of the impact region place the event in the late Pliocene (∼2.15 Myr) and constrain thesize of the asteroid to be >1 km. The explosive force inferred for this event places it at the threshold of impacts believed to have global consequences, and its studyshould therefore provide a baseline for the reconstruction and modelling of similar events, which are common on geological timescales.