Nineteen-mile-wide crater is discovered under Greenland's ice: Kilometre-wide iron meteor smashed into Earth with the force of 47 MILLION Hiroshima bombs just 12,000 years ago

  • A 3,300ft-wide meteor smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age
  • It is believed the resulting explosion threw debris as far as Canada 
  • The explosion obliterated all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius

A giant meteor crater five times the size of Paris has been found half a mile (0.8 km) under the ice in Greenland.

It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, and suggests a 3,300ft-wide (1,000-metre) object made of iron smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age.

It is believed the resulting explosion threw debris several hundred miles in every direction, reaching as far as modern day Canada.

The 12-billion-tonne meteor landed with the power of 47 million Hiroshima bombs, obliterating all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius, scientists said.

A 19-mile-wide (30 km) impact crater left by the event remained hidden for at least 12,000 years beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote north-west Greenland, although scientists have not categorically dated the event. It could be as long ago as three million years when Greenland's ice sheet had already begun to form. 

Scroll down for video

The 12-billion-tonne meteor (artist's impression) landed with the power of 47 million Hiroshima bombs, obliterating all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius, scientists said

The 12-billion-tonne meteor (artist's impression) landed with the power of 47 million Hiroshima bombs, obliterating all life within a 60-mile (100 km) radius, scientists said

The crater was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014, supplemented with more collected in 2016 using an advanced form of radar sounding.

Study co-author Dr John Paden, a computer scientist at Kansas University, said: 'We've collected lots of radar-sounding data over the last couple of decades.

'Glaciologists put these radar-sounding datasets together to produce maps of what Greenland is like underneath the ice.

'Danish researchers were looking at the map and saw this big, crater-like depression under the ice sheet and looked at satellite imagery and - because the crater is on edge of the ice sheet - you can see a circular pattern there as well.

'The two combined made a really strong case for this being an impact-crater site.'

The scars of the meteorite smash have been preserved since then after being buried underneath ice more than a kilometre thick.

The crater (highlighted in blue) was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014, supplemented with more collected in 2016 using an advanced form of radar sounding (white marks) taken from a small aircraft

The crater (highlighted in blue) was identified with data collected between 1997 and 2014, supplemented with more collected in 2016 using an advanced form of radar sounding (white marks) taken from a small aircraft

This image shows a regional view of northwest Greenland and the Hiawatha Glacier (A) the drainage of water caused by the impact (B) radar scans showing raised ridges that indicate area of impact (C; blue lines) and bed topography based on airborne radar sounding from 1997-2014 NASA data and 2016 AWI data (D)

This image shows a regional view of northwest Greenland and the Hiawatha Glacier (A) the drainage of water caused by the impact (B) radar scans showing raised ridges that indicate area of impact (C; blue lines) and bed topography based on airborne radar sounding from 1997-2014 NASA data and 2016 AWI data (D)

It was first discovered in July 2015 when researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, detected a depressed area underneath the glacier while inspecting a new map of its physical features.

A research plane then performed state-of-the-art ice radar measurements which revealed the huge crater in detail.

Scientists examined the size and shape of the crater to predict the impact that the meteor might have had.

They estimated the object hit our planet any time between three million and 12,000 years ago. 

It is believed the meteor impact (artist's impression) threw debris several hundred miles in every direction, reaching as far as modern day Canada

It is believed the meteor impact (artist's impression) threw debris several hundred miles in every direction, reaching as far as modern day Canada

A giant meteor crater has been found half a mile (0.8 km) under the ice in Greenland. It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, and suggests a 3,300ft-wide (1,000-metre) meteor made of iron smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age (artist's impression)

A giant meteor crater has been found half a mile (0.8 km) under the ice in Greenland. It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, and suggests a 3,300ft-wide (1,000-metre) meteor made of iron smashed into our planet during the last Ice Age (artist's impression)

Study coauthor Professor Kurt Kjaer, a researcher at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said the explosion would have had a devastating impact.

He told MailOnline: 'This was a very violent explosion. The energy that came down would have been equivalent to 47 million Hiroshima bombs.

'It would have killed anything in the region within 60 miles [100 km] of the impact.'

The 1945 Hiroshima bomb released an explosion equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT - meaning the meteor hit our planet with a force equivalent to 705 billion tons of TNT.

Professor Kjær added that Inuits had not yet colonised Greenland at the time of the event, so it was unlikely that any humans were affected.

The explosion had a lasting impact because it melted swathes of Greenland's ice sheet, causing a flood of freshwater into the Nares Strait.

Pictured is a satellite view of the impact crater left by the iron meteorite. Scientists said the ridges of the crater are still clearly visible today

Pictured is a satellite view of the impact crater left by the iron meteorite. Scientists said the ridges of the crater are still clearly visible today

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.

Advertisement

Dr Paden said: 'There would have been debris projected into the atmosphere that would affect the climate and the potential for melting a lot of ice.

'A sudden freshwater influx into the Nares Strait between Canada and Greenland that would have affected the ocean flow in that whole region.

'The evidence indicates that the impact probably happened after the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, but the research team is still working on the precise dating.'

The crater measures 19 miles (31 km) across, covering an area five times the size of Paris. Scientists examined the size and shape of the crater to predict the impact that the meteor might have had

The crater measures 19 miles (31 km) across, covering an area five times the size of Paris. Scientists examined the size and shape of the crater to predict the impact that the meteor might have had

Chemical analyses performed at Cardiff University allowed researchers to paint a picture of the type of object capable of causing the amount of destruction.

They measured the sediment from a river that drains straight through the glacier, and looked for signs of metals that would indicate it was caused by a meteorite.

A number of iron meteorites, including a 20-tonne fragment kept at the Geological Museum in Copenhagen, had previously been found in the area around Cape York, not far from Hiawatha, leading scientists to believe an impact must have occurred in the region, a theory which lacked evidence until now.

A research plane then performed state-of-the-art ice radar measurements which revealed the huge crater in detail. Pictured is a view of the crater from the aircraft

A research plane then performed state-of-the-art ice radar measurements which revealed the huge crater in detail. Pictured is a view of the crater from the aircraft

Work remains to determine with more precision the timing of the meteor impact on Greenland.

Professor Kjaer said: 'The crater is exceptionally well-preserved, and that is surprising, because glacier ice is an incredibly efficient erosive agent that would have quickly removed traces of the impact.

'But that means the crater must be rather young from a geological perspective.

'So far, it has not been possible to date the crater directly, but its condition strongly suggests that it formed after ice began to cover Greenland, so younger than three million years old and possibly as recently as 12,000 years ago - toward the end of the last ice age.'

The findings were published in the journal Science Advances. 

A 19-mile-wide (30 km) impact crater left by the event remained hidden for at least 12,000 years beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote north-west Greenland

A 19-mile-wide (30 km) impact crater left by the event remained hidden for at least 12,000 years beneath the Hiawatha Glacier in remote north-west Greenland

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.