Effect of ice sheet thickness on formation of the Hiawatha impact crater

TL;DR

This study models impact crater formation beneath thick ice sheets to understand the Hiawatha crater's morphology and implications for impact history in Greenland.

Contribution

It introduces hydrocode simulations varying ice thickness and impactor composition to explain the crater's features and potential impact timing.

Findings

Crater morphology consistent with 1.5-2 km ice thickness

Thick ice inhibits rocky ejecta ejection

Impact could be Pleistocene or older, based on modeling

Abstract

The discovery of a large putative impact crater buried beneath Hiawatha Glacier along the margin of the northwestern Greenland Ice Sheet has reinvigorated interest into the nature of large impacts into thick ice masses. This circular structure is relatively shallow and exhibits a small central uplift, whereas a peak-ring morphology is expected. This discrepancy may be due to long-term and ongoing subglacial erosion but may also be explained by a relatively recent impact through the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is expected to alter the final crater morphology. Here we model crater formation using hydrocode simulations, varying pre-impact ice thickness and impactor composition over crystalline target rock. We find that an ice-sheet thickness of 1.5 or 2 km results in a crater morphology that is consistent with the present morphology of this structure. Further, an ice sheet that thick substantially inhibits ejection of rocky material, which might explain the absence of rocky ejecta in most existing Greenland deep ice cores if the impact occurred during the late Pleistocene. From the present morphology of the putative Hiawatha impact crater alone, we cannot distinguish between an older crater formed by a pre-Pleistocene impact into ice-free bedrock or a younger, Pleistocene impact into locally thick ice, but based on our modeling we conclude that latter scenario is possible.