IGA Lecture – 22nd March 2017 – Dr. Mike Simms (Ulster Museum) on Giant Meteorites Hitting Scotland

Britain’s Greatest Hits: In search of giant meteorite craters

In 2008, an Oxford geologist published proof that an obscure layer of rock in north-west Scotland, assumed for many years to be volcanic in origin, had been formed by a giant meteorite impact. In 2011, I travelled to Scotland to pay homage to this remarkable rock and collect a few pieces. What I saw there convinced me that there was much more to discover about this remarkable event 1.2 billion years ago. This talk will describe how a chance discovery on holiday led to the discovery, maybe, of a giant impact crater buried beneath Scotland, and how its existence may have profound implications for understanding the geological history of this region of Britain.

Biography

Mike developed an interest in fossils at the age of 6, which led to a Geology with Zoology degree at Bristol University and a Ph.D. on Jurassic crinoids at Birmingham University. Since the late 1980s Mike’s research has increasingly shifted away from fossils onto subjects ranging from karst geomorphology and landscape evolution, to Holocene sea-level change and the glaciation of western Ireland, and from evidence of giant meteorite impacts to the possibility of such events launching ‘terrestrial meteorites’ from Earth into Space. Many of his research projects in the past 25 years have arisen from serendipitous discoveries and chance conversations. The subject of this talk is one example of this.

When and where: The lecture theater in the Geological Survey of Ireland, Beggars Bush, Dublin 4 on Wednesday, March 22nd, between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. Coffee and biscuits will available from 5:30 pm. All welcome