title: Geological record and reconstruction of the late Pliocene impact of the Eltanin asteroid in the Southern Ocean.
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 asteroid impact into a deep ocean basin. Analyses of the geological record of the impact region place the event in the late Pliocene (approximately 2.15 Myr) and constrain the size 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 study should therefore provide a baseline for the reconstruction and modelling of similar events, which are common on geological timescales.
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany.  rgersonde@awi-bremerhaven.de
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gersonde
authors.forename: F T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Kyte
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bleil
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Diekmann
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gohl
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grahl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Sierro
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Volker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abelmann
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Bostwick
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D000077215:Clay; D017377:Diatoms; D018534:Earth, Planet; D056890:Eukaryota; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D007495:Iridium; D008280:Magnetics; D018543:Minor Planets; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010163:Paleontology; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D007495:Iridium; D000077215:Clay