Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections: Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection

Flynn Creek crater is a 3.8 km diameter, 360-million-year-old impact structure located in north central Tennessee, and is an invaluable terrestrial analog for the study of impact cratering dynamics. The Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection consists of over two thousand boxes of drill core from 18 drill holes in the crater’s central uplift, floor, and rim. Impact-induced hydrothermal systems are of considerable scientific interest because they may have played a significant role in the origin and evolution of life on early Earth and produced temporary near-surface habitable environments on Mars. Between 1967 and 1979, USGS scientist Dr. David Roddy conducted a drilling program at Flynn Creek crater. The drilling...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service

Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections: Shoemaker Sample Collection

The USGS Shoemaker collection is composed of impact crater rocks from Meteor Crater (AZ), Flynn Creek Crater (TN), Sierra Madera Crater (TX), Steinheim Crater (Germany), and several craters in Australia. Of special interest to planetary science are nine bags of fallback ejecta from the Meteor Crater interior. Also in the collection are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks from South Africa, Australia, the San Francisco Volcanic Field, the Colorado Plateau, and many other locations throughout the U.S. The USGS Shoemaker Collection is an essential part of the legacy of Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, whose pioneering work in the 1960’s established the new field of astrogeology, including shock metamorphism studies, impact...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service

Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections: Meteor Crater Sample Collection

Meteor Crater is a 180 m deep, 1.2 km diameter bowl-shaped impact crater in Northern Arizona, and has long been a terrestrial analog site for planetary exploration. During the 1960’s, Eugene Shoemaker trained NASA astronauts at the crater to prepare for the Apollo missions to the Moon. The Meteor Crater Sample Collection consists of geologic samples from the Meteor Crater ejecta blanket. USGS Astrogeology curates and provides access to the Meteor Crater Sample Collection for the planetary science community. Our goal is to facilitate scientific research on impact melting of sedimentary targets, ejecta distribution and deposition processes, and mineral shock metamorphism. The geologic samples in this collection were...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service