The impact rate on Earth.
Recent data, and modelling of the interaction between asteroids and the atmosphere, has defined a complete size-frequency distribution for terrestrial impactors, from meteorite-sized objects up to kilometre-sized asteroids, for both the upper atmosphere and the Earth's surface. Although there remain significant uncertainties in the incidence of specific size-fractions of impactors, these estimates allow us to constrain the threat posed by impacts to human populations. It is clear that impacts remain a significant natural hazard, but uniquely, they are a threat that we can accurately predict, and take steps to avoid.
Bland
Philip A
PA
Imperial College London Department of Earth Science and Engineering South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. p.a.bland@imperial.ac.uk
D003198:Computer Simulation; D004190:Disasters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018534:Earth, Planet; D005844:Geology / Q000379:methods*; D019110:Meteoroids; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors